Viking Cruises

Viking Explorer Society News - Issue 16 - Winter 2022

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new lands. Standing in the middle of this illustration and looking straight across the marina and its small pleasure boats, I could see the famous Jerónimos Monastery—also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and part of which now houses the Maritime Museum. We headed there next and saw one of my favourite exhibits, the Map of the World, which shows the demarcation upon which Spain and Portugal agreed to divide the known world in 1494; Spain got everything west of the line. If you have ever wondered why Brazil is the only country in South America whose inhabitants speak Portuguese, it is because King John II was convinced that new lands lay to the south and west of the Azores. In 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil—which, luckily, lay to the east of the 1494 line, meaning Portugal was able to claim it. In Lisbon, we also had the opportunity to visit a famous bakery, Pastéis de Belém, the only place in Portugal where custard tarts are allowed to be called by this name (elsewhere, they have the suffix "de nata"). If you are prepared to wait in line, you will be rewarded with the taste of still-warm deliciousness. e next morning, it was time to say "Adeus!" to Lisbon and board the luxury motor coach heading north to Porto, where Viking Osfrid and the Douro awaited. I took an optional half-day excursion to a historic estate outside of Porto. We discovered the lush oasis of an IT WAS A CHANCE TO APPRECIATE THE BEAUTIFUL VINES AND WHITE QUINTAS THAT ADORN THE DOUROʼS BANKS Clockwise, from left: Colourful sights on the streets of Lisbon; the funicular is a popular way to get around Lisbon; an archway decorated with blue-and-white azulejo tiles; the landscape is dotted with terraced fields and villages 70 VIKING

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