Ep 21 - Paddling tour of the Tagus River through the historic Lisbon harbour, Portugal

Lisbon harbour is saturated in scenery. From Belém Tower, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon, to the Praça do Comércio (Commerce Plaza) that hosted the Paço da Ribeira (Royal Palace of Ribeira) until it was destroyed by the great 1755 Lisbon earthquake.

Few nations have a richer maritime history than Portugal. Ferdinand Magellan achieved the first European navigation to Asia via the Pacific, and after his death this same expedition was the first to circumnavigate the globe in 1519–22. Before this, Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, setting out from Lisbon harbour.

On 8 July 1497 Vasco da Gama led a fleet of four ships with a crew of 170 from Lisbon harbour. The distance travelled in that journey around Africa to India and back was greater than the length of the entire equator. Of the 170 crew, about 55 returned, and two ships were lost.

We set off to see the harbour sites, in truly modest maritime fashion, by packrafting the 7-8 kilometres from the iconic Belém Tower, to the Praça do Comércio.


Here are some key moments:

1:27 – Belém Tower
1:53 – 360 degree drone footage of the Tagus River starting point at Belém Tower
12:51 – Paddling under the Confeitaria Nacional Belém
13:44 – 'Bom Sucesso' Marina
15:50 – Belem Lighthouse
18:26 – Padrão dos Descobrimentos - the Monument of the Discoveries
25:01 – Escultura de luz - light sculpture on the Tejo Promenade
27:15 – Tejo Power Station
29:02 – MAAT Museum
30:39 – Herdenkingsbeeld sculpture
35:32 – Under the 2km-long 25 April Bridge linking Lisbon to Almada
39:30 – Paddling under the massive modern Port of Lisbon
52:34 – Alcantara docks
56:50 – Graffiti Art Street
58:14 – Cais do Sodré Ferry terminal
58:48 – Paddling to avoid a moving string of flotsam
59:30 – Ferry heading out, and playing in the wash
1:03:11 – Reminiscência (Almada Negreiros) sculpture
1:06:05 – Doca da Caldeirinha, Marinha museum, Cais das Colunas
1:10:54 – Landed at Praça do Comércio, Arco da Rua Augusta, and walking up Rua Augusta


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