Episode 8-3 Days in Lisbon, Final Blog Post

Turns out that the real reason you can’t go home again is because your old home has been converted into multiple short term rental units and even if you could afford to rent one they are all fully booked into the foreseeable future.

That may sound funny but it’s the stark and unpleasant reality for the working class, elderly and retired populations of the historic centers of Lisbon and Porto.

Recall that Portugal was a basket case after the 2009 financial meltdown. It was the “P” in PIGS, on EU life-support and limping along under the crushing weight of enormous and seemingly unmanageable national debt. A few years later European tech workers discovered Lisbon. German tech workers having the highest incomes in the EU particularly benefited from the ability to live in and work remotely from Lisbon one of the least expensive and most beautiful cities in the EU. Portuguese government policy seized on the trend as a way to dig itself out of its financial morass by encouraging foreign investment in real estate including the issuance of “golden visas.” Madonna got one.

The number of expatriates living in Portugal has quintupled since the turn of the century, now totaling more than 5% of the Portuguese population. Little or no protection was afforded in Lisbon and seemingly none in Porto for the traditional populations of these historic city centers which of course were the areas of greatest interest to foreign investors. Those populations, the working class, elderly and retired, in just a short couple of years were literally priced out of their homes and no longer populate Lisbon or Porto’s historic centers.

But it’s been hugely successful economically. The Portuguese economy is growing strongly, now over 6%, and sustainably and as a whole the Portuguese are enjoying a rise in their standard of living.

And visitors love Lisbon and Porto more than ever. The historic centers of both are thriving. The streets are literally teeming with throngs of tourists having the time of their lives. And if you chose to visit you will have an absolutely wonderful time too.

But don’t come thinking that you’re going to have the opportunity to brush up on your Portuguese. 30 years ago my conversational Portuguese was pretty good. I would practice by wandering up to a stranger on a street corner and asking them what time it was or for directions to some place. I’d do this multiple times a day even if I knew what time it was or didn’t care where I was going and my Portuguese would improve with each ensuing conversation. But today it’s just a frustrating waste of time because the chances are less than 1 in 10 that the person you approach is a native speaker of Continental Portuguese.

Of course Lisbon is still the same magnificent gem of a city that was laid out by the Marquis of Pombal after the earthquake of 1755 and the weather is chamber of commerce ideal.

The Instituto do Vinhos do Porto is closed permanently and the Cervejeria da Trindade is closed for remodeling but the 3 funiculars and the Elevador Santa Justa are all still operating although almost exclusively as tourist attractions. A ride on one lasts 2 or 3 minutes but you’ll wait on line for an hour. Likewise Tram 28 where you will be packed in like a tin of Portuguese sardines.

But there are a couple of eléctrico lines that are still used by locals going to and from home or work. I had a great time riding No. 25 from the Praza do Comércio to Prazeres early one morning. It was basically empty except for me and a few locals and it’s a nice long ride reminiscent of when the eléctricos were transportation for the working populace.

And it terminates at the Prazeres Cemetery, one the most beautiful in Europe made up entirely of mausoleums with it’s neoclassical church and spectacular views of the Tagus and the Ponte 25 do Abril. And they have a really wonderful and fascinating exhibit, Flores de Pedra, unveiling the symbology of the flowers carved into the monuments.

And a short few blocks away is the home, now a museum, where Fernando Pessoa lived for the last 15 years of his life. What an interesting group of people he was!

The carriages on display in the new Museo Nacional do Coches are wonderful but it was more fun when it was housed in the Picadeiro Real.

The Gulbenkian which houses the collections donated by the man who was the wealthiest man in the world when he passed in the 1950’s is a must see museum. Calouste Gulbenkian was an Armenian businessman who in the late 19th Century was the first person to export Iraqi oil and founded the predecessor companies of Royal Dutch Shell and others. He was called Mr Five Percent because that was his cut of every deal. His collection is massive including masterpieces from the Hetmitage that were sold to him by Lenin.

And I stumbled upon a great museum that I’d never seen before the Museu Militar near the Feira da Ladras.

I had some great meals, I returned to Bomjardim and Cafe Nicola. I had espetada mixta, arroz mariscos, duck and rabbit, yup rabbit, I saw the farms where they are raised in Galicia and I ate fried rabbit with clams in Lisbon and it was so good!

And it’s so fun, inspiring really, to have coffee, write and think in the Chiado at Cafe Brasileira, beside the statues of Fernando Pessoa, Luis Camoes and “Chiado” himself Antonio Ribeiro.

And every evening I watched the sun set from a different Miradouro.

And on my last night I went to Fado in the Barrio Alto. I cried as if I had something to cry about but you are supposed to cry at Fado the collective plaintive lamentations of the Portuguese soul, their longing “saudade”over the loss of their empire, once the most powerful economic, military and moral authority on planet earth.

My Portuguese adventure was the bomb, I walked the Camino Portuguese to Santiago, I rode a wonderful horse to the end of the world, Finisterre, and I strolled down memory lane in Lisbon.

Thank you for joining me. This blog, like life itself, wouldn’t mean much without family and friends to share it.

I’m blessed with both and now I’m headed home.

Buen Camino!