Onward to Cuenca

As mentioned in my post yesterday, the 9th of October is a national holiday ("dia festivo" in Español).  But, since the day falls in the middle of the week, they will move the celebrations to the weekend so everyone gets a 3-day holiday.  All that to say, if Antonio had not told us it was a holiday, we would never have noticed (and yes, part of that is because we're tourists so the places we visit most likely wouldn't be closed anyway).

We began our day with a tour of a large, local market called Mercado Sauces IX.  I didn't notice any other tourists, and the variety of items for sale was extensive.  Anything from fresh plants and flowers to fruits, veggies, raw meats (pork, fish, chicken, beef, etc.), cleaning products, and even toilet paper.  I was able to help Gita and her sister Urmilla purchase a few things with my limited Spanish, and then we were off to the bus for our next stop.,

A main event on today's itinerary was our tour of a cacao farm.  The farm we visited was part of Unocace, a non-profit agricultural cooperative.  Unocace is made up of about 1900 families that raise organic cacao.  The farm we visited had only 5 acres and 4 full-time employees, but seasonal employees are needed during harvest since all of the cultivation is done by hand, no machines at all!

The flowers of the cacao plant (which grow the seed pod) are incredibly fragile, so they plant banana trees around the farm to provide the cacao plant protection from too much wind, rain, or sun.  Even with those measures, only maybe 6% of the flowers will survive and create a seed pod.  Thankfully the tree blossoms almost year-round, but they have two main seasons when they can harvest.  If you're into chocolate, or biology, or both, here's a good spot to learn a bit more: www.thechocolatejournalist.com.
Despite the tropical climate, I was surprised to learn their biggest pest is squirrels!  They like to eat the seeds out of the pod, but since the squirrels are a protected species they can only trap and relocate them.  Only about 20% of the cacao in the world is premium cacao AND organic, so this farm is in a niche market.  Ecuador, overall, is the world's third largest producer of cacao beans (Ivory Coast and Ghana hold the top two spots, although the plants are not native to Africa).  This cooperative exports to exclusively to Switzerland, France, Canada, and the U.S.

Our plans for the rest of the day were changed by an attempted robbery of an armoured car along the highway we were on as we headed for Cuenca.  Unfortunately, one person died during the robbery and there are not a lot of alternate routes through the Andes.  Although our detour doubled our time on the bus, the day was beautiful and the drive through the mountains was lovely.  You could spot the local, indigenous people (in their customary fedoras and colorful clothing) out in the fields and mountain sides.  On the Cuenca side of the Andes there were lots of milk cows, and the towns of El Tambo and Cañar are known for milk production.

We made it to Oro Verde (our hotel) around 6:30pm, and Antonio offered to take anyone who was interested on a walk through the Old Town of Cuenca.  Deb and I (the young ones on the tour), took him up on the offer to see the buildings all lit up.  Now, if you've followed any of the news surrounding Ecuador these days you might be wondering about the power outages.  Well, the power outages are due to the current drought the country is experiencing.  About 10-15 years ago Ecuador decided to go "green" so they borrowed money from China (yes, everyone's doing it) to build hydroelectric dams.  At the time, no one really expected such an extended drought, but it had been over 50 days without rain in the regions where the dams are located, so to deal with the energy crisis they have scheduled outages.  The large businesses, and especially the large businesses catering to tourists, all have generators so they can continue to operate rather seamlessly.  

The flags in this alley are due to the holiday (Guayaquil flag)

This beautiful pink tree is an Arupo tree,
famous for its unique blossoming,
which occurs only once a year.

There were some areas that were dark (no streetlights), and we could hear generators running in some spots, but Antonio noted that there were a lot less people than his last time here at night (pre-blackouts).  There some beautiful views, as many of the buildings had their lights on, and although it was quite brisk out, the views and walking were better than an evening in my hotel room.

Adventure to South America

I booked this tour, with Gate 1, to Ecuador because it was a good deal (they waived the single supplement fee) and because I have yet to visit South America.  I was very close to South America on my visit to Panama in 2012, but wanted to be able to officially cross my 6th continent off the list (Oceania/Australia, Europe, South America, North America, Africa, and Asia).

Despite the relatively close proximity (after Australia and New Zealand so many places seem "close"), my travels to Ecuador too awhile.  I had to go to Philly before I could go to Miami, but blessedly I had no delays or cancellations, and no lost luggage.  I'd scheduled the hotel shuttle to pick me up and when I got to the arrivals area at Guayaquil airport there was a man with my name on a sign - always a welcome sight when arriving in a country for the first time.  I met another couple, David & Alice, who joined me on the shuttle and were also in my tour group.  They were mid-70's, I would guess, and were from Albuquerque, NM. 

With most people arriving late in the evening this tour began with an orientation meeting on the 2nd day of travel.  After breakfast we all headed to one of the conference rooms to meet everyone, and our guide for the week, Antonio.  We all went around the room and introduced ourselves and said where we were from (only 1 Brit and no Aussies this time). The group is quite small, only 20 people, which Antonio believes is due the misguided travel warnings for Ecuador.  Yes, there is crime (who doesn't have crime?), but it's contained to specific areas and is all drug-related.  The scheduled power outages are not related to the crime, but are due to the drought.  The country switched to hydro-electric about 10 years ago and this year they've been having an extreme lack of rain.  Most businesses and all the big hotels in the touristy areas run diesel generators to keep everything functioning.  The official name of the city is Santiago de Guayaquil (pronounced "why-ahh-keel") and it is the capital of the Guayas province.  Surprisingly, it is the largest city in Ecuador and is also their main seaport.

Our first stop for the day was the brightly colored Las Peñas neighborhood where we climbed the 444 steps to the top of Santa Ana hill for gorgeous views of the city below.  The steps actually have little bricks with the step number in them, so you don't actually have to count them.  At the top there was a lighthouse and a small chapel.  The additional 68 steps to the top of El Faro was worth it for the delicious breeze on a humid morning, and for the additional views out into the Guayas River and the city beyond.

From there we headed towards the La Rotonda monument, located on their Malecón 2000 riverfront promenade.  This monument is located on the Avenida 9 de Octubre (today is October 8th and tomorrow is a holiday), named for the date of their independence from Spain in 1820 (Guayaquil was the first city to gain its independence).  The statue depicts José de San Martín (from Argentina) and Simón Bolívar (from Venezuela) meeting to make plans to liberate the people from Spain.

 

It was at this monument that the following exchange occurred with one of my fellow travelers:
Subash: So where in Pennsylvania are you from?

Me: I'm from an hour north of Pittsburgh, I don't actually live in the city.  It's a small town, no one has usually heard of it.

Subash: I'm from Ohio, so I might have heard of it, what is it called.

Me: It's called Butler.

Subash (giving me a strange look): Everyone has heard of Butler, PA!

Me (palm to forehead): Oh my goodness...the assassination attempt...I'd forgotten.

ALL of these years I've been traveling the world it was instinct to respond that "no one has heard of it".  We both had a good laugh, but that being said, I'll still probably stick with "north of Pittsburgh".  

Next we headed to Parque Bolívar (or Seminario Park) which is more commonly known as "Iguana Park".  It was very odd to see so many large green iguanas in such a small place! Since the city feeds them, and they're protected, I suppose they have no reason to leave.  Our visit to the beautiful Guayaquil Metropolitan Cathedral, at the end of the park, was sidelined because they were having mass and we couldn't go inside to look around and I could only get one photo through the glass in the entryway.

From there we headed back to the Malecón for the variety of options for lunch along the riverfront.  I enjoyed some fresh lemonade and a brocheta at La Vaca Purpura (the word "brocheta" is Spanish for "kebab").  By the time we were back on the bus I was beat.  We had free time for a few hours and I ended up falling asleep for 2 of those hours.  After showering for dinner I took a walk to the huge mall next door to our hotel for a browse (basically the same as any other mall you'd find) and then headed back for our official Welcome Dinner.

Lisbon's Countryside Towns

 Thursday was a tour of a few of the surrounding towns, with our first stop in the medieval town of  Óbidos (pronounced 'o-bee-dosh' by Nélia).  They formerly used windmills in this area to grind grain, so they are somewhat a symbol of the region, however, they must not sell well because they weren't to be found, in replica form, in most of the shops I visited.  I've been searching, since Porto, for a pair of dangly earrings shaped like tiny azulejos.  Unfortunately, it has been in vain thus far; every shop I've perused (in lightning fashion) has only a poor imitation of the tiles: a glazed dome over the tile pattern, partially obscuring the pattern so you'd never imagine it to be a tile from Portugal.  

Anyway, the town has been well restored, so the exterior of the homes there still appear as they may have in the 1500's, and the city wall is still incredibly well intact.  It was considered one of the Queen's towns for hundreds of years, so their taxes all went to her, and not to the King.  As such, many of the Óbidos festivals reflect that heritage.  Understandably, they have a huge Medieval festival each year (even the Portuguese attend), and they have a large chocolate festival.  In this area they sell and, I assume, make Ginja, a sour-cherry liquor which they serve in chocolate cups.  I popped my head into a few churches, but there was no real "tour" so we were free to wander.  I struck out for the walls of the city to catch the views of the surrounding landscape (while quickly checking the numerous shops for the aforementioned earrings).

Back on the bus we headed north to the city of Alcobaça (pronounced Al-koo-baas-sa) to visit their monestary, also known as Santa Maria de Alcobaça Church.  It's the first building in the country to be fully built in the Gothic style.  in addition, it's the largest church Portugal, with over 100 meters from the door to the alter.  Despite the Gothic inside, the exterior façade is in the Baroque style. 

Construction was begun in 1178 by Cistercian monks and the church was consecrated in 1252.  The other interesting aspect of the church is who was entombed there: King Pedro I and his lover, Inês de Castro.  The story, as told by Nélia and what I've read online have similar narrations, but the exact timeline is still fuzzy for me.  Either way, he was madly in love with her, claimed they had been married in secret (all before he was actually king), but his father, King Afonso, had her killed to prevent her family from influencing politics in Portugal and from becoming royalty (by extension) - the usual reasons for that time period, I guess.  Their sarcophaguses were incredibly ornate.  Sadly, many of the statues carved into them are now headless because of Napoleon's troops. 

They believed that the Portuguese buried their kings with jewels (they don't, even though they had incredible wealth), so when the troops found none inside the sarcophaguses they thought the monks had been clever and hidden the jewels inside the statues carved into the outside (wrong again).  The monastery was extensive and in it's heyday had at least 1,000 monks.  Although it was a bit austere, it was a beautiful church, though enjoyed mainly by the monks.  Since they didn't allow common-folk inside until the 18th century, that could explain its plain interior.

From there we headed east to Nazaré which was once known for their small, beautiful fishing boats used in the dangerous waters (there is a bad undertow).  
                                    

The women dry the catch out in the sun on the beach to preserve it for times when the men can't go out and fish.  

They still do some fishing today, not now the area is known for surfing -- especially the colossal waves out around the point that are stories-high.  The area by the beach is extremely touristy, but one or two streets in it all appeared very residential -- no shops, just laundry drying in the warm spring wind.

We got back on the bus for the hour-and-a-half ride back to Lisbon and then had about an hour before our farewell drink and dinner.  Because of the seat rotations on the bus I didn't get a chance to properly meet everyone on the tour, and within a few days most people stop wearing their name tags, so if you didn't catch a name by day 2 or 3 you'll have to ask.  Anyway, I finally met a couple from Ohio that it turns out used to vacation in Australia quite frequently 30 years ago.  Port Douglas and Palm Cove...lovely memories of those places, so it was almost as good as meeting someone from Western PA.  We did get a group photo before heading to dinner, so that was a really nice memento.  Dinner was tasty, but it was stifling hot in the restaurant that night.  I bookended my trip with the Boston crew, rounding out their numbers for one final time.  Oddly enough, it was the first time I could have sat elsewhere (there weren't exactly 42 seats saved), but my welcome dinner and every group dinner after had been with them, so it was only fitting.  Overall, we had such a lovely crew that I can honestly say I could have spent another week with them all.  Who knows, maybe we'll bump into each other on another Gate1 tour someday.

Lisbon, Cascais, & Sintra

Former convent that houses Parliament

 Our tour began with a drive just up the hill from our hotel to King Edward VII's Park where we enjoyed the view of the hills of Lisbon and out to the Tagus River (Rio Tejo). In 1903, King Edward VII of England came to Portugal to commemorate, and reaffirm, the political alliance between the two countries. Prior to that visit the 64 acre park was called Parque da Liberdade (Liberty Park).  The huge statue (it's over 130ft tall) of  Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquês de Pombal sits in the middle of the roundabout.  He was a fascinating character and also the namesake of our hotel.

On All Saints Day (November ) in 1755, Lisbon experienced a devastating earthquake (Voltaire even wrote a poem about it).  "The total number of persons killed included those who perished by drowning and in fires that burned throughout Lisbon for about six days following the shock."  The Marquês de Pombal was a statesman, diplomat, and prime minister to King Joseph I, and following the disaster he took charge of the reconstruction.  Amazingly, in less than a year the city was partially rebuilt and with the world's first earthquake-resistant buildings!  He's also credited with creating the demarcated wine regions of Portugal (with the Douro Valley being the first in the world). 

Calçada portuguesa pavement on Avenida da Liberdade

Our next stop was the lovely Belém Tower from the 16th century, a fortification that was used as the beginning point and end point of the voyages of the Portuguese explorers.  It was also often used as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon.  The Knights Templar were very powerful and wealthy at that time, and they had a hand in the voyages and discoveries made.  You can see some of their insignias on the fortress (Templars cross, nautical knot, rope motif, etc.).

On to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoverers), a stunning work that commemorates the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator (discoverer of the Azores, Madeira, and Cape Verde).  It stands 170ft tall and "is made up of a group of sculptures that represent the prow of a caravel (a small sailing ship constructed by the Portuguese to explore the Atlantic Ocean). Leading the ship is Prince Henry the Navigator and behind him are many other great Portuguese discoverers", including Vasco de Gama, Magellan, and Henry's mother.

A short drive to the Jerónimos Monastery, where we had to wait in a very long queue before granted entry.  Blessedly, our dear guide for the day, Maria, had plenty of information to pass along while we waited.  Under King Manuel I, the Portuguese explorers discovered the ocean route to India. "The monastery was built on an existing church dedicated to Santa Maria de Belém. Its purpose was to assist seafarers who passed the area and...[T]he church was inaugurated by King Manuel, with plans to expand the grounds into a monastery."  The architectural style used became known as Manueline, but, since it took about 100 years to build, you can notice aspects of several styles within the monastery.

The beautiful limestone façade includes a statue of Henry the Navigator above the twin front doors.  The main chapel has the tombs of King Manuel I, and his wife, Queen Maria, (because of the India trade route the King had elephants brought back to Portugal and their tombs rest on elephant statues); the church also is the final resting place of Vasco de Gama.

Amazingly, this church survived the 1755 earthquake, even with the large dome having no support columns!  The only items damaged were the statues inside the niche's on the wall; they fell out (breaking) and were never replaced.

From Belém we headed to the lovely Portuguese Riviera town of Cascais (pronounced kaash-kai-ss).  We stopped for lunch, and I ended up spending most of our free time at "The Palm Tree Beach House" restaurant for lunch, so thankfully the food was good!  It used to be a fishing village, and then the noble families started coming on the weekends.  Even Salazar had a home here during his reign.

Our next, and last stop on the tour for today was the mountain town of Sintra.  They're famous for their travesseriro and queijada de Sintra pastries.  I tried them both and prefer the travesseiro pastry (made of puff pastry and an almond and egg yolk crème-filling), but perhaps that's because I tried it from the bakery (Piriquita) that invented the treat back in the 1940's.  Queijada de Sintra have been around for centuries and are "prepared with a combination of queijo (cheese), eggs, milk, flour, and sugar". 

Our main reason for visiting was not, despite my introduction, for tasting pastries.  We had come to tour the spectacular National Palace of Sintra (technically it is now a series of royal palaces).  It was full of azulejos patterns I had never seen before, so that alone made it worth a visit.

There were lots of interesting stories and legends about the different rooms in the palace, including the Swan Room, the Magpie room, and the Sala dos Brasões.

We didn't have much time left over for exploring Sintra, but what I saw of the town was lovely.

Back in Lisbon, and off on my own, I headed to the oldest bookstore in the world.  I'll admit I had high hopes, but was rather disappointed with the Livraria Bertrand.  Had I realized it's now a nationwide bookstore chain I might have lowered my expectations a bit.  Either way, it was established in 1732 and is recognized with a Guinness World Record.

On my walk back to the hotel (I did detour and go to the bay before heading back towards the hotel) I found even more azulejos patterns (my obsession is full-blown at this point)!  I also saw the famous yellow funicular and stumbled upon good lookout point too.

References:
https://www.britannica.com/event/Lisbon-earthquake-of-1755

https://www.lisbon.net/monument-discoveries

https://www.jeronimosmonasterytickets.com/history/

https://www.tasteatlas.com/travesseiros  and https://www.tasteatlas.com/queijada

Dia da Liberdade - April 25th

 April 25th, Liberty Day (or Freedom Day), is a national holiday here in Portugal (which partially explains the fireworks that woke me up at midnight last night.  Perhaps I should have crawled out of bed to see them, my room had a perfect view towards the square, but I was far too tired to manage.  Anyway, we spent most of our day touring Évora, known for its ancient Roman temple ruins.

We could not have asked for better weather - stunning blue skies, all day.  Our first stop was the former church and convent of the Franciscan order, Igreja de São Francisco.  Loads of marble & granite were used, I believe in part because they were local materials.  It is so opulent, in part, because the court of King Afonso V used the convent space when they would visit, so the church has images of Mary wearing a crown.  

The church is also famous for its Bone Chapel (Capela dos Ossos).  The 17th century architecture was meant to encourage reflection on the transitory nature of human life.  Indeed, the words over the entrance translate to "We bones that are here, we wait for yours."  Just to keep things in perspective.  There are about 5,000 bones inside, and they're from the local people, not the Franciscan monks.

We were also able to go up onto the roof of the church and get a nice look at the town.  I meant to return later (during our free exploring time) to check out the nativity gallery they have as well, but never did, so I only got a quick peek.

    On our way to the Cathedral (Se Catedral de Évora) we were passed by a marching band celebrating the holiday, so that was a fun surprise.  The cathedral had tons of wonderful photo opportunities in the cloister - the Gothic structure with Arab influences was quite picturesque.  It's the largest medieval cathedral in the entire country as well, which makes sense when you realize the height of the ceiling in the sanctuary - it's several stories high.

Our tour with Nélia ended and we were free until 2:30pm, so I decided to visit nearby Igreja dos Lóios (also known as St. John the Evangelist church).  It is covered inside with floor-to-ceiling azulejos!!  I gladly paid the 5 euros to get inside.  It was restored in 1957-58 by the 10th Duke of Cadaval, so it was in wonderful condition.  

After that I just did some more wandering, had lunch (including french fries with oregano flakes, surprisingly tasty), and then met back up with the group to head to our bus.  Here are my favorite photos from that wandering period (right place, right time):

We managed to make it to our hotel in Lisbon.  Nélia kept trying to prepare us by explaining that the holiday parade/protests happen on the main street (Avenida da Liberdade), which is the same street on which our hotel is located, so the road closures could interfere.  Not a worry, the timing worked out perfectly.  We exited the bus, took videos of the parade and walked into our hotel.