Wednesday 18 September

A "leisurely start" today so we are on the bus at 9.00am. Nearly forget Kathy's bag but managed to get back in the room before the coach left. Mostly a driving day as we head in a westerly direction across country, headed for Lisbon. The major routes from Seville either go north or south, so we cut across on the N-433, which takes us to the Montesierra Jamon factory in Jabugo. Here we don plastic coats, galoshes, and hats for a tour to gain an understanding of how genuine Iberian hams are produced. The process starts with the black Iberian pig, which ideally spends September to January roaming under the oaks eating only acorns. The acorn oil has a special affect of the flesh of the animal. The pigs can roam up to 40km aa day and this leads to a lean meat with distinctive marbling.

Only the shoulder and leg are used for Jamon. The joints are salted, and then hung in various conditions so they dry and most of the fat drips on the floor. This and the loss of moisture produces a reduction in weight of 30%. The hams have to be moved frequently to ensure they cure evenly, and the whole process is manual. As usual, at the end of a tour you get to sample the product. So a Jamon boccadillo with a glass of Muyfina dry sherry is waiting.

The coach continues west and crosses the border at Rosal de la Frontera. Nothing to it these days of course. We pass lots of small olive bushes, cork trees, some vines and crops in the undulating dry countryside. Soon we arrive at a major roundabout and the start of the freeway. Only one problem, it isn't open. A common sight in Portugal we are told where the Government is penniless after getting in to huge debt to, amongst other things, match the funding from the European Union to build the road in the first place.

We stop for lunch at Restaurant Calibri, Palma, Monte Novo where we both try the vegetable soup. Portugal is famous for its veggie soups we are told. This version was mostly potato with some sliced green leaves which didn't really taste of anything, but it was inexpensive. We arrive in Lisbon from the south which sees us drive over the "Ponte de 25 Abril" and past a large Christ statue "Christ The King" overlooking the wide Talgus River in Almada. The statue was modelled in concrete, after the "Christ The Redeemer" statue in Rio, and commemorates all the lives saved by virtue of Portugal remaining neutral during WW2 (not just soldiers but also all those who found sanctuary by crossing the border, including many jews).

The bridge is a suspension type some 2km long, is red in colour and is often compared to its bigger cousin, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Opened in August 1966 and named after the dictator Salazar, it was at one time the longest bridge in Europe. In 1974 it was renamed in celebration of the bloodless coup that removed the dictator.

Our hotel, the Turim Saldanha Hotel, is close to Parque Eduardo VII, and some 2km north of the central district. A medium-sized 7 floor modern building, it is part of a chain but nevertheless quite comfortable, although the breakfast coffee is disgusting!

Once again we are staying independent this evening whilst most others on the coach are going for a meal and Fado Music evening (traditional Portuguese music). We use the metro to head downtown and discover that Lisbon is built on many hills, some quite steep. We choose to walk up a couple of blocks north and discover the Largo do Carmo (plaza) which features al fresco restaurants, the Guarda Nacional Republicana HQ and the Carmo Archaeological museum in the ruins of a church. We enjoy some excellent food and wine outside the police station which featured a couple of guards dressed in traditional uniform, complete with shiny helmets and drawn swords.

A young British couple at the next table are going to a sound & light show "Lisbon Under Stars" in the museum that starts at 9.30pm. Tony walks over to the ticket office and for a total of €27, so are we. The computer-controlled projections on 3 sides of the interior of the unroofed building is very effective and traces the history of the church, from its initial construction by monks in 1393 to its destruction in the great earthquake, fire and tsunami of 1755. Although the friars started reconstruction and completed the walls, it was never finished as Marques de Pombal (Prime Minister of the time and responsible for the reconstruction of the city) threw out the Catholic holy orders, believing they had too much power and wealth. The clerics were only allowed back in the 20th Century although the lands and possessions were not returned.