A Toktok to Christ

A Day in Almada

The best part of writing this blog is the new friends we have met. Mike and Mary, now in Porto reached out to us during their D7 process. Lucille and Eric, who we visited in their home near Silves “Zoomed” with us before arriving. South Africans, Theresa and Lesley, who live nearby and reached out to us after my post on finding a tribe. Most recently, Joe and Nester, who offered a tour of Almada. How could we say no?

Been Here Before

Joe and I exchanged a few emails. I suggested we meet for coffee in Lisbon during one of our Wednesday excursions. (I’ve learned that this is a less scary suggestion than would you like to spend an entire day with me?) But Joe wasn’t afraid and said he would show us around, Almada. Great, we’ve not yet been there! Or had we?

We learned from Joe that when we thought we were in Cacilhas we were actually in Almada. It seems all the small “towns” are now part of Almada. Once more we took the Cascais train to Cais do Sodré and then the ferry to Cacilhas. Joe met us at the disembarkment point. We walked about 100 meters to the bus stop. The 101 bus would take us to our first destination, the Christo Rei Christ Statue. A few minutes after we got to the bus stop, a toktok driver suggested he should take us. “Não, obrigada. Vamos esperar.” (No, thank you. We will wait.)

“Only €10 for all three of you. The bus will not come until 11:00.” Nearly one hour later.

“No thank you.” Joe consulted his watch … he knew the bus was scheduled to arrive in 10 minutes.

“I’ll just be over here if you change your mind.”

A few minutes later we saw him whisk away other customers. We waited well past 11:00. Clearly, the 101 was MIA. At this point, another toktok driver offered to take us to the statue. We gave her €10, wedged ourselves into the back seat, fastened our seat belts, and bumped along the cobblestone streets to the top of the hill.

Gardens and a View

Gardens, which are free to the public, surround the Christ statue. We quickly realized that tourism is returning to Portugal as a queue extended from the base of the statue. While Joe kindly offered to wait in line, he suggested we snap a few photos of Lisbon and the suspension bridge that spans the Tagus River 133 meters below.

After a 15-minute wait we made our way inside the building and paid the €6/pp entry fee…hmm, no senior discount…drats. We took an elevator approximately 27 floors up, actually 88 meters. We then took a flight or two of very steep stairs to the viewing pedestal…was I catching my breath because of the steep steps or the view? Let’s go with the view.

We had read that on a clear day you could see the Sintra Mountains 24km to the north and those in Arribida 28km to the south. It was a partly cloudy day, and my eyesight is less than stellar…yet the view was captivating.

Inspired by Its Brazilian Cousin

Christo Rei was conceived after D. Manuel Gonçalves Cerejeira (then the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon) saw Christ the Redeemer of Corcovado while visiting Rio de Janeiro. After working through some bureaucracy he got approval for the statue from the Lisbon bishops in 1937. However, it was not until 1940, that the national bishops declared:

“If Portugal were spared the war, a Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus would be erected over Lisbon, a sign visible of how God, through Love, wishes to conquer all humanity for Himself”.

Portugal remained “neutral” during WWII. A fundraising campaign was launched and the land where the monument sits was purchased. After the war, the campaign intensified and construction began in earnest in 1952. Over the next 7 years, scaffolding was erected and over 40,000 tons of concrete was used. The statue of Christ was actually carved in place. Miraculously, no one died in the construction of this monument.

More recently a sanctuary, artwork, a cafeteria, and Youth Camp have been added to the facility.

Some go as a religious pilgrimage…others for the view. Whatever your reason, it will be made better by going with new friends.