Riding into the Past

More conferencing today (presented my paper!), so once again only had part of the day to explore. We bought tourism cards that give you by-the-day unlimited access to all forms of public transportation and admission to a large number of museums and cultural sites in and around Lisbon. Very handy for us and a great way to get around this huge city. We metroed back into the Alfama and boarded Tram 28, one of the 1930s-era streetcars with hard wooden seats and wide open wooden-framed windows. It's considered a tourist "must" because it travels through most of the historic neighborhoods and passes a number of important cultural sites. You can get on and off but the insider intell was to get on and stay on or you wouldn't get a seat, and give the sharp tight turns and steep grades you really don't want to stand! It was a great 50 minute ride (no tour guide- you just figure out what you're looking out) complete with a traffic jam on one of the narrowest streets where an unoccupied tuk tuk bike trolley blocked our way. The tram driver clanged his very loud bell about 1,000 times; cars and other tuk tuks were stuck in the other directions, and a crowd formed until finally the bike driver came running back from wherever he had gone and got an earful of what I'm guessing were curses from our driver.

Approximately 2 ft between the tram and buildings on the twisty narrow back roads 

The tram ended at the 19th century Cemitério dos Prazeres (which translates to Cemetery of Pleasures)in the Campo de Ourique neighborhood. This is one of the largest historic cemeteries in Lisbon and includes hundreds of family mausoleums and chapels surrounded by huge cypress trees with incredible views across the city and Tagus River. It's also home to a whole bunch of cats who are clearly fed by regulars who come to sit in the cemetery and throw our bread for the feathered and feline residents.

 

View of the Ponte 25 de Abril over the Tagus River

Some vaults have religious figurines inside between the coffins

When we first walked in I was reminded of the historic cemeteries in New Orleans and some in Oaxaca, but these individuals family vaults are so much more ornate. Many of them also have glass windows (some with curtains- but not all) through which you can see handmade small wooden coffins with delicate metal hardware stacked on shelves on the side walls. Many of the coffins have delicate lace cloths draped over them and the coffins and covers are old- most from the nineteenth century, so not the sealed, polished, padded behemoths we use today. It was equally cool and creepy to peer in and see these so close by. I decided not to post any pictures because Jen thinks its bad juju, but it was really something incredible to see.      

We ended the evening with some excellent seafood (bacalhau, sea bass, shrimp) and vino verde. Boa noite!