Belem Tower and The War Memorial

It's hard to believe I've already written seven blog posts about just one day in Portugal, but that's how much we crammed into the day.  It's always best for us to keep moving, but there is also a point when you have to slacken the reins a bit on a trip.  For us, it was Saturday morning, as we slept in, and didn't get to breakfast till about 10am.

We Uber'd down to Belem, a crackerjack small town about 4-5 miles from Lisbon.  There is no doubt that there are many things to see in Belen.  We were dropped off by the Tower.  The Belem Tower is a UNESCO World Heritage site that was built in 16th century as a fortification right on the Tagus river.

Although it is closed to the public, it is one of two centers of attention on the waterfront.  It was both crowded and not crowded.  There were multiple groups standing around getting their photos taken in front of it, but you could also swing wide of the groups and find your own space to admire the Tower.

When we arrived, a long block from the Tower, we were set upon by women selling jewelry.  We were mindful of pickpockets, but the jewelry sellers never got too close and walked away when we waved them off.  After the initial onslaught, we weren't bothered again, so it was all good.

Before getting to the Tower, there is an old biplane model to honor the first flight to cross the South Atlantic by two Portuguese fliers.  They did it in 1922, five years before the celebrated Charles Lindbergh flight.  Well, they did not fly solo, and they made stops at some islands along the way.  Still, it's an impressive feat.

Then we turned our attention to the Tower:

We are adding one of these to the house.

And one of these.

You can't really tell the photos, but the wind was whipping the water around.  Waves were crashing against the tower and riverbank.  The cloudy weather gave a really old feel to the place, like we were transported back to the 16th Century and the glory days of Portugal.  It's amazing to think a country that small was once the most powerful country in the western world, and led the way to so many discoveries.

We walked a bit further to the mostly ignored Memorial to the Overseas War dead, built in 1993-1994.  We went into the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  We were completely alone in there, with no guards or Portuguese people paying their respects.  We were surprised how overlooked the memorial is.

The War Memorial.  Names are inscribed

along the wall behind it, much like the

Viet Nam war memorial.

Memorial to those who have

died on peace-keeping missions.

The seemingly-forgotten Tomb

of the Unknown Soldier.