The Expo `98 Site (Park of Nations)

Tuesday, December 29, 1998

The next day I decided to see the “History of the Sea Museum”. It is located way out of the city center at the last stop of the last line on the metro. I purchased an all day metro ticket for about $1.50. It took a bit of thinking to figure out the two station changes and direction of travel, but I eventually arrived at the Expo grounds. The Expo was put on this year but the main event is over. The area is now called the “Park of Nations”.

The entire theme of the Expo was based on the sea. It appears they built some 20 city blocks of buildings for the various exhibits, many of which were occupied by various other countries when the show was going on. It’s a pity I missed it as it looked a bit forlorn now - most things being closed.

It had been raining since last night and I didn’t have an umbrella - nor did a lot of people I saw. I ducked under building awnings as I walked along. Unfortunately the Sea Museum was closed on Tuesday - darn! So instead I walked the entire grounds several times and took pictures. There was quite a crowd of visitors from Lisbon, especially school kids out for the holidays. The popular exhibit appeared to be the one depicting all the major climate zones found near the sea. It contains 15,000 living examples of marine flora and fauna from 200 different species. The line to get into that exhibit was always a block or so long the entire time I was there.

After a few hours I bought some wine, bread, and cheese and took the metro back into Lisbon to the harbor. I sat along the seawall practicing some Portuguese with one of the  men who came to sit in a bench near mine. I had a lunch then walked and “trammed” my way back to my hotel. It had been my intention to visit a fado house that evening, but I was worn out from all that walking and rain, and the Duluth cold was still trying to get a foothold.

Fado is translated as destiny or fate and is the traditional song of Lisbon. It is song about sorrow, sometimes happiness, and the many things that affect our daily lives. For the visitor, fado is a curiosity, but for the singer it is a form of intimate expression, accompanied by intricate guitar melodies played by smartly-dressed men. Some think it originated from homesick Portuguese sailors who spent long periods away at sea in terrible conditions. There are many fado houses in Lisbon. Apparently finding the “real thing” is a challenge as many restaurants have commercialized it.

Next, Day 4 of the trip... last full day in Lisbon - getting lost in the Barrio Alto...