Solar Eclipse in Portugal
We were invited by Scott's older sister, Bev, to come join their family + friends group in Lisbon, Portugal for the 2026 solar eclipse. We chased the sun for the entire 3+ hour flight from Venice to Lisbon, and it was quite spectacular.
After we landed and collected our suitcase, Bev and her husband Ken were there to pick us up and bring us back to the AirBnB, which was about 30 minutes south of the airport. The house they rented was very spacious for the 7 of us staying there: Bev and Ken, their friend Kay Bishop, Scott and me, and two of Kay's friends - Mary Jo and Ruby.
We had the whole day to play before the eclipse was due to begin, so while Scott and Ken stayed home to gab about guy stuff, all the ladies piled into two cars to go on a morning adventure. Bev had been put in touch with a lady named Maria Elisa, a local resident of Lisbon, to act as a tour guide. Maria will answer if you call her Maria, but she prefers to be called Elisa because, as she puts it, "Everyone in Portugal is named Maria." She was quite a character.
Elisa drove her own car, accompanied by Mary Jo and Ruby, while I rode with Bev and Kay. Our first destination was the National Palace and Gardens of Queluz (Palacio Nacional e Jardins de Queluz).
We drove across the "Golden Gate Bridge" multiple times a day to get to the mainland of Lisbon. Our AirBnB was located south of the big city, on a peninsula known as Almada.
The bridge used to be known as Ponte Salazar, named after the dictator that was in power for many years. But after a peaceful, military-led coup that overthrew the authoritarian dictatorship on 25 April 1974 (known as the Carnation Revolution), the citizens symbolically removed Salazar's name from the bridge and renamed it Ponte 25 de Abril.
Another interesting fact about this bridge is that it was made to mimic the actual Golden Gate Bridge that connects to San Francisco, because it was made by the same company!! (The American Bridge Company)
Quick rabbit hole detour: There was a MASSIVE earthquake in 1755 - I've mentioned this before - but it is still considered to be one of the most devastating natural disasters in European history. It is known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake. What made it even more devastating, was that there 3 distinct disasters that took place in rapid succession:
Wow. I can't even imagine . . .
After a few years to regroup and put their lives back together, a new architect was hired and in 1760 work began once again on this National Palace. It was finally completed in 1789.
I got the biggest kick out of this painting . . . it's almost as if the little girl is saying, "Get a load of this guy!" ha ha
This painting was so stunning and crisp . . . I had to work hard to eliminate the glare as best as I could.
The Throne Room . . . This is where the Royal Court would stage their official receptions, state banquets, and formal galas during the 18th and 19th centuries. The room itself is in magnificent Rococo style, even though I had never heard of it before until now, ha ha. Today, the Portuguese government still uses this room occasionally for official state dinners and even classical music concerts.
There were 2 young ladies working in the shade, meticulously and slowly repainting over the original designs on the tiles . . .
Video of them here: (30 seconds) **They sure have their work cut out for them!! Not an easy task.
Either Mary Jo or Ruby mentioned that there is a program called WorkAway where you can sign up (or apply?) to help with art renovation work projects around the world. Maybe my daughter Amber would like to do this someday . . .
The five of us: (L to R) Ruby, Kay, Bev, Mary Jo, and Me
Description of the Malta Garden (below) . . . built between 1758 and 1765.
We drove into a busy section of Lisbon where Elisa knew of a bank with ATM's for those in the group who needed some cash. We passed by some impressive monuments in the center of a few large roundabouts on the way.
We ate a "bifana" for lunch, considered to be Portugal's National Sandwich. What is a Bifana, you ask?
At its core, a bifana consists of thin slices of pork loin that are pounded until tender and then simmered low and slow in a rich, deeply savory sauce. The sauce typically consists of white wine, lard, garlic, paprika, and bay leaves.
The dripping-wet pork is then stuffed into a crusty, fresh Portuguese bread roll (carcaça). The soft interior of the roll absorbs all the savory, garlicky juices while the crust stays crisp.
Somehow we ended up with an extra sandwich with all the "buy 1 - get 1" pairs we paid for. What Mary Jo and Ruby suggested we do next was the first of many times I noticed how generous and kind they were. They said we should find one of the homeless people wandering around and offer it to them. So Ruby and I walked a short distance to get to the next street over, and sure enough, we found someone who was happy to take our sandwich. That felt really good.
Just as there is a Portuguese Golden Gate Bridge, there were other similarities between Lisbon and San Francisco. They had the quintessential cable cars, for starters . . .
There were also several homeless people on the streets. Some were lying down on the sidewalk sleeping. Some were standing with a cup or a hat to collect coins and money offerings. And many simply walked past us, staring into space, and were clearly struggling. It's not something I've seen in Italy - at least not to that extent. I don't recall seeing hordes of homeless people in Germany, France, Switzerland, or England. But they are sure there in Lisbon.
I also saw several souped-up golf carts for tourists to get a ride, with bright flowers decorated all over.
Inspired by the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this version stands at 92 feet tall, just 6 feet shorter than the one on the mountaintop in Brazil. But, technically there are a few things to take into consideration.
- The pedestal on which Christ the King stands in Lisbon = 269 feet.
- The pedestal for Christ the Redeemer in Rio = 26 feet.
- The statue of Christ in Lisbon = 92 feet.
- The statue of Christ in Rio = 98 feet.
- Total structure of Christ in Lisbon = 361 feet.
- Total structure of Christ in Rio = 124 feet.
As we waited to board the dual tour boat, there was a replica ship that floated by, passing underneath the "Golden Gate Bridge". SO COOL. The replica is known as a Caravel, and is an exact replica of the Caravela Vera Cruz or its sister ship, Caravela Boa Esperanca, ships that were part of the fleet used by famous explorers such as Vasco da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias during the 15th century. I learned later that you can pay to sail aboard one of these vessels!! Ahoy - I would love to do this next time we come.
Video of the Caravel modern-day replica: (8 seconds)
Video of a street that could 100% be in SF: (5 seconds)
Murals are also very popular all over Lisbon.
Video here: (5 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/YzXM7EEsmMn4XLZ7A
We got to see the back side of the famous landmark, "Monument to the Discoveries". More about this in a minute . . .
Once we were at the water's edge in the marina, they played some entertaining music to help us prepare to launch: (15 seconds)
And then we got to LAUNCH into the Tagus River!!
Video of the splashy launch here: (15 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/3yWAHMiKiXDJ2P7Y6
Our young guide on the tour was such a hoot! She navigated with ease between Portuguese, English, and even German!! In this next clip, she is heard exclaiming, "OMG it's working!" - as if she was truly surprised that we could also chug along in the water, ha ha.
(20 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/WcfY8wx95RCuETnG8
With 33 prominent figures from history, each sculpted out of limestone, the massive monument is made to resemble the prow of a traditional Portuguese Caravel heading out to sea. Prince Henry the Navigator is at the helm, leading them all out to sea. Other figures included in the monument are: Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, as well as kings, ancient financial backers of the explorations, scientists, cartographers, navigational pilots, pathfinders, conquerors, writers, artists, and missionaries. The only woman depicted on the monument is Queen Philippa of Lancaster, the English-born mother of Prince Henry the Navigator.
Another famous landmark (if you did a Google search for Lisbon) is the Belem Tower (Torre de Belem), seen below . . .
Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was built in the 16th century as a defensive fortress to guard the entrance to Lisbon's harbor. It was also a welcoming sight for weary travelers coming back into port after their latest global adventures. It was built between 1514 and 1519.
All in all, I would have to say this was one of the better tours we've been on. Scott is very vocal (with me) that he hates to be on a tour because he prefers to go at his own pace, which is usually much faster than whoever is in charge of the tour. He gets cagey and doesn't like to feel "locked in". But he actually enjoyed this tour with all of us!
By the time we got back to the AirBnB, I was SO READY to hop in that swimming pool - finally!! This is the stuff MY dreams are made of . . . Nevermind the fact that we were in PORTUGAL. All I could think about was the pool.
It was perfectly refreshing in temperature, in case you were wondering. I could just walk right in, without a single squeal of shock when it hit my midsection . . . That's what I call perfect.
After a solid couple of hours in the pool, I reluctantly got out so I could prepare for the solar eclipse . . . you know, the thing we all came here for. Between Bev and us, we had more than plenty of NASA-approved solar eclipse sunglasses to watch the action as it unfolded.
Ruby - testing out her special eclipse sunglasses . . .
From our balcony, we noticed several people had gathered in a tiny little "park" closeby with some benches. There was also a carful or two of people who just pulled over to try to watch the eclipse. But what we noticed right away is that NO ONE had safety glasses on!! How can you watch the eclipse with your bare eyeballs?? YOU CAN'T!! You'll murder your eyes . . .
Since we had several extra pairs, Mary Jo and Ruby said, "Let's go hand out a few extras to these people." And off they trotted to make the personalized deliveries. When they got to this family (below) who were squinting and trying to see whatever they could (without success), I heard their squeals of delight as soon as they put the sunglasses on. Gleeful shouts echoed with, "Oh WOW. That makes a HUGE difference!!"
Mary Jo and Ruby learned that this family drove all the way over from Germany to this very spot, but either they didn't know or didn't realize that you need special glasses to actually see what's happening with the sun. They were absolutely thrilled that now they could SEE the eclipse!
We were all shocked that so many people in Portugal were uneducated about the need for protective eyewear . . . And really, they wouldn't have been able to see anything either! All you see is a bright yellow circle before your eyes start going all buggy.
But what a powerful duo these two ladies are . . . All these years later, they are still aiming to serve and reaching out to strangers with kindness.
Mary Jo and I walked together, while Bev and Kay walked much faster and way off in the distance, ha ha. Mary Jo is very inquisitive and wanted to know more about me and my life. So that's mostly what we talked about . . . She also thought that I should pose by these beautiful flowers. :)
Bev wanted Scott to enjoy the specialty meat from this area, so she ordered the same platter for herself, Ken, Scott, and Kay.
Passing under the old aqueduct . . .
Driving two cars again, first we stopped at a place called Aldeia Típica José Franco. It's a handcrafted outdoor museum that represents what a typical 20th century Portuguese village would have looked like.
Video of some of the cute little village people working: (15 seconds)
Colorful tiles in Portugal are literally everywhere, and they are really beautiful . . . This pattern was on a concrete tabletop where people could eat a little treat from one of the cafes.
Video of me helping to bring up some water from the well: (12 seconds)
*In the photo below: Note the fascinating ceiling in the Queijada shop - made from CORK. Cork trees grow in Portugal (primarily in the central and southern regions), and they make all kinds of products from them. Portugal is the world's largest supplier of cork, supplying more than half of what the world uses. The cork oak has been protected for the past 800 years and is the national tree of Portugal.
Fun fact: If you want to see a true celebrity tree, take a day trip to the small village of Águas de Moura in the Alentejo region. It is home to the Whistler Tree (O Cajueiro), which was planted in 1783. It stands over 14 meters tall and holds the Guinness World Record for being the world's oldest and most productive cork oak! A single harvest from this giant tree once produced enough raw material to make over 100,000 wine corks. [1]
Just like in Italy, the Portuguese storekeeper wrapped up our goodies all pretty, even though as soon as we got out to the car, our intent was to simply devour them, ha ha. On the tag, it says Quijadas de Mafra (which is the locality where we were). It also lists the ingredients that were used.
There was also a VERY cute shop on site with all kinds of pretty little goodies, including honey, jam, granola, tea towels, soaps, lotions, etc. with locally sourced ingredients. I purchased some bee propolis, a little jar of honey, and a few soaps because I like to have a stash of ready-made gifts to share.
Above and below: The National Palace of Mafra, built between 1717 and 1755 with the help of 45,000 workers.
We only drove slowly past the Palace without going inside, but some interesting fun facts are as follows:
- King John V ordered the project in 1711 to fulfill a religious vow after the birth of his first child.
- It took an average of 15,000 - 45,000 workers climbing on the scaffolding each DAY to complete this colossal project.
- The Palace Library uses a colony of tiny bats to help protect their massive collection of books.
- The bats function as a natural and chemical-free pest control squad.
- The library is home to 36,000 historic and leather-bound books that go back centuries. The greatest threat to these ancient pages = tiny insects (bookworms, beetles, moths) that love to eat through the old paper and glue. Instead of spraying toxic chemicals that could stain or rot the delicate pages, the bats take care of the pest population.
- During the day, the bats are asleep and stay hidden up in the rafters, or hidden away behind the ornate bookshelves. At night, after everything is locked up and the lights go out, the bats wake up and start hunting for all the bugs that are buzzing around the dark halls.
- By eating thousands of insects every single night, a single bat prevents generations of bugs from laying eggs inside the priceless books.
- But bats poop.
- To keep the library pristine, the curators have a strict daily routine: Every evening before closing, they cover the historic hand-carved wooden tables with thick leather sheets to protect them.
- Every morning, the workers remove the leather sheets, sweep up the bat droppings, and wipe down the floors before the library opens to the public.
Some of the special and priceless books include:
- A first-edition (1543) of the Holy Quran translated into Latin.
- The Lusiads - Rare early print editions of an epic 1572 poem written by Luis de Camoes. Similar to Homer's Odyssey.
- Books that were strictly banned by the Catholic Church during the Inquisition. Monks were allowed to read them (but nobody else was or they would be excommunicated), so that they could study and write counter-arguments to them.
- The Nuremberg Chronicle (1493) - a famous and illustrated world history book that was published right as Columbus was sailing to the New World. It mapped out the world as it was understood at that time.
- The Complutensian Polyglot Bible (1514) - This Bible features the text laid out in multiple languages side by side (including Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin) so that scholars could compare translations.
But I didn't know any of this as we slowly drove on by . . .
Nazare is a beautiful place to be year round, but I'm sure there were more tourists there than usual because A) It was summertime, and B) It was the week of the eclipse. People, cars, and bicycles were swarming everywhere, and our trying to find a parking spot for one car was extremely difficult, let alone for TWO cars. But finally we made contact - miraculously through a new tool on WhatsApp.
Scott showed me how to use the location tool, and essentially it's like you're using the Uber app or Door Dash, and you can see the other person's live location as they move closer and closer to where you are. If you want to try it, here are the basics (although they might differ slightly if you have an i-Phone, because we have Androids).
Open WhatsApp.
Go into the chat with the person you need to share your location with.
In the box where you would start typing a message, choose the paperclip icon.
Choose "Location".
You can choose "live location" or "send your current location".
"Live location" lets you choose how long you want to make your location available to the other person, and they can accept the invitation on their end through the same WhatsApp chat.
You will then be able to see your little profile picture icon moving closer to the other person's icon as you make your way toward each other (by car, on foot, etc.).
"Send your current location" lets you send your exact current location, and as long as you stay put, the other person can make their way toward you, but you cannot see their progress.
This is how we found each other in Nazare!! Pretty cool.
When I mentioned "upper" Nazare, this is what I'm referring to . . .
Sitio is the formal name for "upper" Nazare. It sits high on a rocky cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and is rich in history. This is a great viewing point for the annual world-class surfing championships that take place here, and is a premium spot to be when the waves are astoundingly tall during the winter months. Waves can be as high as 50 feet on average, with some waves cresting at 75 to 100 feet tall!!
Video #1 of the crescent shaped beach down below: (9 seconds)
Video #2 of the beach below: (17 seconds)
This tiny little church next to the scenic overlook was built in the 12th century! There is a cool story about its beginnings . . .
The Legend of the Miracle (1182)
According to local folklore, on a deeply foggy morning in September 1182, a Portuguese nobleman and Templar knight named Dom Fuas Roupinho was out hunting deer on horseback along the high cliffs. [1, 2]
- The Chase: In the thick mist, Dom Fuas chased a deer straight toward the edge of the precipice. (Later Christian tales suggest the "deer" was actually the Devil in disguise, trying to lure the knight to his death). [1, 2, 3]
- The Abyss: The deer leaped off the cliff into the void. Blinded by the fog, the knight realized too late that his horse was about to plunge over the edge right behind it. [1, 2, 3, 4]
- The Salvation: Desperate, Dom Fuas cried out to the Virgin Mary, whose sacred statue was tucked away in a nearby grotto. Miraculously, the horse slammed its hooves into the rock and stopped instantly on the absolute edge of the cliff, saving the knight's life. [1, 2, 3]
Shortly after this legendary miracle, and in deep gratitude for his survival, Dom Fuas ordered this small chapel to be built directly over the sacred grotto where he was saved. If you look closely at the rocks right outside the chapel, locals will still point out markings said to be the permanent horseshoe imprints left by his horse during its miraculous stop! [1, 2, 3]
I didn't know this at the time (because everyone was waiting on me so we could take the funicular down to the beach below), but when the blue and white tiles were created in 1702, they actually illustrate the story of what happened to Dom Fuas and his horse . . .
Ken, Scott, Bev, Kay, and Me . . .
Inside the station was a large tile tribute from the Centennial Celebration of the Funicular: from 1889 - 1989 . . .
Video as we traveled down on the funicular: (14 seconds)
Video of Mary Jo's and my feet enjoying a refreshing wave: (9 seconds)
Mary Jo, Ruby, and Me . . . (Maria/Elisa opted to wait for us in the shade away from the sandy beach)
I wish we weren't in such a hurry. I wish we could have played at the beach longer. I wish it didn't feel so cramped with time that day. Sigh. I guess that just means that Scott and I will need to go back again when we can slow the pace down and really enjoy some of the things that we had to skip over.
We were super hot and sweaty inside the station as we waited for our turn to ride back up to the top. The fresh breeze outside was so much better than standing in a line with 100 other sweaty people.
Video as we rode back up: (23 seconds)
After using the bathroom inside the upper station (because it was free), we began the short trek back to the rest of the group. BUT FIRST . . . I saw these gorgeous hand embroidered dresses when we passed by earlier, and I stopped to ask how much they were. They were only 15 euros each!! So I bought one for each of my 4 beautiful granddaughters: Abby (11), Gwen (9), Avery (4 1/2), and Maisie (2).
Back under the old aqueduct . . . and across the "Golden Gate Bridge" . . .
Ken and Scott had been discussing the idea of getting burgers for dinner, so off we trotted to the same restaurant again, the one that had the steak and the sushi from the night before.
Friday, August 14th: Our last full day in Portugal.
We had a nice lazy morning, including a morning swim. In the early afternoon, Bev and Ken drove Scott and me over to our hotel near the Lisbon Airport, since we also had an early morning flight coming up.
We passed by the Sanctuary of Christ the King one last time on our way across the bridge . . .
After we checked our luggage into the hotel room, Bev and Ken drove us over to the Lisbon Temple and dropped us off, about 10 minutes away.
We walked over to the store, but they didn't have the garments that I needed, so we made our way back to the air-conditioned temple again.
The temple session was so special this time. There is a very sweet spirit inside this temple, more so than many of the other temples that I have visited. The Portuguese language is a strange one - kind of a mixture of Spanish, French, and Russian. I used a headset and listened to the session in English, but I could still hear the narration in Portuguese along with the Portuguese subtitles on the screen.
As I prepared to enter the pristine, beautiful, quiet, and sacred Celestial Room, I was moved to tears. I could hardly muddle through the words I needed to say before entering into that holy room. As I sat down to wait for Scott in the Celestial Room, I just kept crying and crying. I felt such a feeling of love and joy and connection to the temple itself, and to the woman whose name I had to read out loud in order to progress into the Celestial Room. Her name was a traditional Spanish one - Maria Teresa something-something. Four names in all. But saying her Spanish name got me all choked up.
I have always been really moved by the Spanish language, and it was my absolute favorite class in high school. I fervently hope that I can serve a mission in a Spanish-speaking country someday and put those 4 years of study to good use!!
In front of the temple, there is a sign that says (in Portuguese): The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Temple of Lisbon Portugal.
We were able to get a taxi back to our hotel, where we changed our clothes and went for a walk to get some dinner. We settled on a place called Honest Greens, near the harbor. There was a long line, but the food choices looked really good, so we stayed. You order at the register, then find yourself a table and they will bring the food out to you when it's ready.
My tummy has been really acting up lately, getting really angry and upset at almost every single thing that I try to eat. The chicken that I ordered was a bit dry, but the sweet potatoes were phenomenal. And the detox green smoothie drink was very comforting.
After dinner, we went for a walk along the harbor, enjoying the nice evening breeze . . .
I remembered this quirky and fun art sculpture from when I stayed nearby (for one night) a few years ago. I had traveled from Idaho to Washington DC to stay with Jake and Hannah for a couple days, then I flew off to spend 90 days with Scott in Italy. On my way back to DC, I had a long layover in Lisbon and I stayed at a hotel near this very same harbor area.
We sort of saw this colorful cone-shaped fountain explode with water earlier, but we were too far away to really see what happened. As we circled back toward the hotel, we stopped in front of it to wait patiently for the "event", just like the tourists do as they wait for Old Faithful to erupt at Yellowstone National Park . . .
After about 25 minutes . . . it finally exploded!!
Video before it exploded: (6 seconds)
Video when it exploded: (4 seconds)
Saturday, August 15th: We got up super early and took a taxi to the airport, about 8 minutes away. Our flight was set for 6:50 a.m., but it got postponed until 7:30. We didn't mind, because it was a nonstop flight back to Venice and that's where we left our car to get us the rest of the way home. We didn't have any connecting flights to get stressed about.
All four of those sweet little dresses have now made their way to each of my 4 granddaughters . . .
We had a great time in Portugal! The best times were when we just sat around talking together. Yes, I would have liked to do a little more exploring, but not so much when it's so hot and miserable to be outside. I definitely want to go back again someday, and that's when we will take our sweet time and see the things that we didn't have time to see this time.
Next blog post: Time with family in Slovenia during Labor Day weekend. :)
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