Our client and friend, Inês, offered us to share her experience about sailing in Lisbon. It’s a great way to get to know the city and enjoy the Tagus River by sunset. Check it out:
Sunset, Sailing, Friends and Fun
The Dock of Belém, Lisbon, on a late afternoon of a beautiful summer Saturday, friends and a sailboat just for us, with skippers, beer, champagne and fresh cherries waiting for us. We’re gonna go sailing in Lisbon!
Yes, I know it sounds like a scene from a movie or who is a multimillionaire, but is not the case, I assure you!
It was just what I did last weekend and (yet) with a smile, here I share this fantastic experience that SeaBookings has given us and that is accessible to all (to have an idea, rather than going out to dinner I went sailing in Lisbon).
Once we embarked on Blangai, Gonçalo and Filipe, our skippers, kindly explained in detail how our tour would be (we could even decide what route would be!). The also explained all the specifics of the vessel and some sailing techniques and all the security measures. “Above all, we want you to have fun!”, they told us and so we did.
We set sail in the direction of Santa Apolonia, while Gonçalo enthusiastically explained some technical sailing stuff.
We crossed the bridge of the 25th of April and dazzled with that architectural colossus. On the right side we contemplate the margin of Almada, Cristo Rei, the beauty of Gingal Pier. On the left the hills of Lisbon show up and we realize the urban history of the city with this point of view.
We passed Cais do Sodre and the renewed Ribeira da Naus and remember the courage Portuguese sailors had over 500 years ago when they conquered the oceans from that place! Sailing in Lisbon, without engine, without fuel, just with the mastery of natural resources: the tides, the wind and the stars.
We arrived at Terreiro do Paço and looked at this square from a magnificent viewpoint. This image represents the city of the Tagus, which so many times seen in the history books, now there live and in color!
I see the São Jorge Castle, the Cathedral, the typical neighborhoods of old Lisbon, the Pantheon. Even with the views and thoughts back in history, I quickly return to the twenty-first century, with my friends who give me a glass of champagne to do a toast (some with beer, others with champagne!). We do three “cheers”: to life, to friendship and to this spectacular evening!
The day was particularly special for sailing in Lisbon, as in Santa Apolónia the largest free nautical festival in Europe took place: the Tall Ships Races, the traditions of the great sailing ships. And we visited this event from the best point of view: there were 50 tall ships from around the world and crew members of various nationalities, right there next to us!
We then turned around. The skippers warned us as the boat turned while we playfully let ourselves slip, laughing and splashing water with our legs. Our concern was not to spill the drinks!
We started to sail down the river while the sun began to set, a true “Kodak” moment (I confess that I lost count of the number of photos we took I am not “photo-addicted” but it was impossible to not capture the moments and unique landscapes we enjoyed during that ride).
In zen-mode, I closed my eyes and felt the warm breeze, the boat and the freshness of the river. It gave me the feeling of complete relaxation. I do not know how much time had passed, but it had the effect of 25 massages, 5 yoga classes 5 and at least 3 meditation sessions.
After this “time for myself,” I went back to friends and the toasts! We passed the Monument to the Discoveries and arrived at the Belém Tower. This tower is UNESCO World -Heritage and voted one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. It was a privilege to watch this monument from the river and we realized its defense function of the Tagus estuary.
The tour was already over and it was time to return to the dock. The tide and the wind changed and even the engine could not move us. No, no one came into stress because we knew we were in total safety. Gonçalo and Filipe quickly opened the front of the sail. In the end, for us it was even better because we experienced to “sail the bowline” (follow in the opposite direction of the wind).
We enjoyed the final part of the ride to the fullest, in between champagne and fresh cherries the crew kindly offered us. I’m sure that you now think: “I want that too”.
The best of it all is that this experience was not only for me, you can do it too! Join a group of friends and contact SeaBookings! I will definitely repeat! It’s even much more accessible than we think and is at a distance of a click through SeaBookings! Let’s go? 🙂
Inês
Many thanks to Inês for translating this unforgettable experience of sailing in Lisbon into words. As Inês said, we’re happy to organize the same for you. Just grab a group of friends and tell us when and where and we’ll arrange a unique and unforgettable experience just for you, according to your budget! Happy sailing!
