Fatima plaza and penitents on their knees
Day 12, Saturday, was the day of our scheduled trip to Fatima. But Jett remained too sick to leave the cabin, so I went alone. Well, not alone, exactly. I was accompanied by three other couples and a very nice young tour guide and driver. On the 90 minute trip north to Fatima he kept up a steady stream of informative chatter which included such nuggets as it takes a cork tree over 40 years to produce income. And that once they are 6 years old they are protected as national treasures which cannot be moved or removed until they die of natural causes. Which, of course, causes many cork trees to be killed before age 6 and many others to be poisoned to death surreptitiously when they are located inconveniently.
Fatima was interesting, but without the suffocating pathos that I witnessed many years ago in Lourdes, France, where doomed people went to find miracles. The most striking thing was the path from the new cathedral to the old cathedral (well, not quite – actually to the open-air chapel where nearly continuous masses were held) that was marked by white marble. This downhill path – over 200 yards by my estimation – was a route taken by penitents on their knees. Painful to watch and, I am sure, far more painful to traverse.
The new cathedral was huge, with over 7,000 seats. The altar was backed by a huge abstract scene in gold leaf, with an odd little red and black cutout in the lower right corner which was meant, I believe, to represent hell. It was impressive, if a little cold.
The old cathedral was much smaller but more to my liking. It featured the crypts of the three children who, in 1917, witnessed the apparition that made this little town world famous. Two died young, in 1918, of the Spanish Flu. The third lived a long and reverent life.
I also visited the museum which contains the many artifacts used in the annual celebration and the ones left there by visitors, including Pope Paul VI. There was a tour, but it was in Portuguese, so I didn’t get much from the talk.
We stopped at a supermarket in Fatima to buy food for lunch, which we ate in the minivan as we drove back to Lisbon. I got edam cheese, chocolate croissants and water, plus a large bag of Lay’s potato chips, all for less than $6.00. I was amazed as I expected prices to be sky high in a town visited by 9 million tourists every year.
We finished the day in Lisbon, visiting the Lisbon Cathedral, taking in the sights from an elevated vantage point and getting a sample of Lisbon’s famous custard pastries (superb!). We also got drive-by glimpses of the President’s residence, a Roman aqueduct, the Belem Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries.
When I returned Jett had rallied a bit and I got her out of the room long enough to grab some dinner in the Lido Cafe. But she still isn’t well. If she doesn’t recover on her own we may have to visit the ship’s infirmary.
Custard pastry
Overlooking Lisbon
Old cathedral
New cathedral at Fatima
Crypt of Lucia
Roman aqueduct
Downtown park
Lisbon Cathedral
Inside cathedral
Stained glass
Tomb of Vasco da Gama
View to river