Visiting a foreign port aboard a sailing vessel can be unique and seductive experience.  More than often it is the slow entrance from a river or bay that can build anticipation and excitement for the arrival into a new and foreign port city.  Usually that enthusiasm fades after a few days of exploring and getting the lay of the land. Sometimes the anticipation and conversation of new country is better then actually being there.  Grand, perfect visions are painted while staring out into the endless sea with your shipmates.  However, our current host city, Lisbon, has proved only to get better as the days go on and more of the city is stormed.
    "The people make the place" is a statement I have heard often in my travels and it has, for the most part, proved true.  Traveling to new country just to see the sights and not meet the people is kind of like watching a bad movie with no sound.  And what we have here in Lisbon is people of the kindest, unique, and genuine variety.  From the longshoreman who sit on our dock and drink beer on their breaks to a hysterical and maybe manic cabdriver who gave a group of us the funniest, most exciting cab ride ever, to los ninos pequenos (small children), 5 and 6 year olds school children who have came and visited our ship, and then to our friends like the interpreters "Pistola" and "Storm."  All these people have already shaped our stay in Lisbon into a memorable one in just five days.
    To add to the fantastic people, the city of Lisbon has some of the most intriguing, rustic beauty I have ever found in a city.  It is a perfect city to wander and get lost in, picking your way through narrow little streets lined by old, deteriorating buildings and finding a city park or square or small restaurant or "snack bar."  The snack bar in Lisbon is something of great treasure to me.  It is simply a small room, usually a bit dirty, that has just a few tables and a small counter.  What makes them great is what they sell and who is there.  Beer and espresso, small pastries and maybe a sandwich are the choices for the folk that just want to hang out.  With all the neighborhoods within the limits, you don't find yourself feeling lost in a big city.  A good restaurant is usually around a corner or at least a snack bar.  But the best way to pick the town apart is by making friends with a local and they will most likely insist on taking you out and showing some real gems of places with views to match. 
    Schooner Amistad has brought us to some great places so far and Lisbon will be a definite highlight.  Not a bad place to spend a few weeks aboard a Baltimore Clipper.

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