GK Tours. Day 65 & 66
Tuesday 7th to Wednesday 8th January 2025.
Comporta to Lisbon, Portugal & Merida, Spain
We had a good night’s sleep in the parking area in Comporta and set off for Lisbon when we were ready.
A handy parking area had been recommended to us by our Scottish friend we had met in Seville.
It’s not actually in Lisbon itself but across the River Tagus estuary in Seixal. There is a ferry port with a huge carpark allowing vans to stopover.
We were a bit concerned driving towards it, as the area did not seem very nice at all (rough!), but on arriving at the dock, we were reassured by the location of the car park to the ferry terminal.
There were about 10 other vans parked already, another good sign that it was relatively safe to leave the van.
It started raining as we headed to the terminal so we doubled back to get raincoats. Of course, the rain then stopped 
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Dogs are allowed on the ferry, all in it was €15 return for all 3 of us and took about 18 minutes. Bargain!
The ferries dock right by the old town in Lisbon so you don’t have to get any other transport if you so wish.
We stopped for a coffee in the sunshine on the waterfront. Most of the parks have these cute little kiosks serving refreshments with tables and chairs for you to enjoy the surroundings.
Walking on towards Commerce Square we passed the impressive blue port authority buildings and opposite, on the shore line, painted pebble structures and figures put together by a little old man 
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Commerce Square is huge, skirted on 3 sides by a collonaded building housing shops, cafes and restaurants. Here you’ll find a statue of King Jose I and the Augusta Street Arch, both symbols of the rebuilding of Lisbon after a devastating earthquake in 1755.
Passing through the arch you arrive at the start of the pedestrian area with cafes and bars plus a lot of street sellers, lining the paths with their wares.
Our next stop was the Santa Justa Elevator – the only remaining vertical street lift in Lisbon, which, until 1907 was powered by steam. Very Impressive 
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We wandered through a couple more plazas then asked the funicular tram Gloria driver if Meg was permitted to ride.
Sadly, the answer was no, so we braced ourselves for the steep ascent to the viewing area on the next level, can’t call it the top of town because there’s more above .
They were just clearing away the Christmas market when we arrived so no pics taken there but we did take some of the view which was lovely.
You have to watch where you step on the narrow pavements as cars and lovely old trams share the road.
Some of the gorgeous old buildings are tile fronted, absolutely delightful, though better seen with the naked eye.
We stopped near a theatre for a well earned drink and food.
I had a delicious pizza (I know, but I had a hankering for one!) while Gareth ordered his old favourite ‘Bife a Portuguesa’: steak, egg and chips with a beer gravy 
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It was all delicious and set us up for the rest of our walk, taking us up and down some very steep roads, enjoying church ruins, beautiful squares and old trams, now, as it was getting dark, with their headlamps on .
A little bit magical I’d say 
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Keeping off the main roads which were now quite busy, we made it back to the ferry port with a few minutes to spare. This time there were a lot more passengers. we think we were in rush hour and the commuters were trying to get home!
It was properly dark when we got back to the van, where a cup of tea was the order of the day .
The night was quiet and we had a good sleep. Sadly, our luck with the weather ran out this morning. I managed to get Meg out for a run before the clouds started emptying their fill on us.
Our loose plan was to drive towards the Spanish border and stop at Elvas. As we neared the town it was still raining quite heavily, so we made a decision and carried on to Merida, back into Spain. There are a few Roman ruins here which we are hoping to explore in the morning.
The Spanish region of Extremadura is a new one for us and we’re looking forward to having a mooch about it in the coming days.
Parker ( my driver!) is having a well-deserved snooze and I’m finishing my knitting .
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