52 Weeks, 52 Half Marathons - Stage 14
Lisbon Expo - Urban Experiments
Saturday, April 20, 6:44 AM
Breaking the inertia of waking up in the middle of the night to go out running, is on par with starting the first paragraph of a blog post. Running has to be the sport of least resistance. You get dressed, get out the door and start doing it, except, if you have to drive far enough to keep coming up with distinct routes. It is imperative for me to start my run just before sunrise, at the first signs of light. I want to avoid traffic, the heat, and be back home early to enjoy the weekend with my family. My second race of the day is coming back home, and catching everyone still asleep - extra weekend bragging.
This puzzle is slowly turning into a travelling salesman problem solving - bring it on.
The phone buzzed at 5:45 AM, fed the meowing cat and hopped in the car for a thirty-minute drive to the Lisbon Expo area.
The Expo Area is a region of Lisbon that was rebuilt for the Lisbon 1998 World’s Fair. What used to be an industrial area, filled with polluting industries, was completely renovated and brought a whole new life to the city. It is still expanding today.
There was no “Eiffel Tower” in the package, perhaps only the 17.2 km Vasco da Gama Bridge. Our version of the San Mateo-Hayward bridge. We have the Golden Gate, which is also an “old” Bay Bridge. I am curious of what the third crossing will resemble.
The Vasco da Gama bridge still stands as the longest in Europe ( 3 miles longer than San Mateo-Hayward). The Bay Area was home to me before, hence my comparisons.
The route starts, a little later than I would like, but perfectly on time for the sunrise show. Parking is quite easy by the Expo Marina area.
The Expo is in the eastern area of Lisbon, right by the river, perfectly positioned to greet Helios waking up.
I had planned for the first half of the run to be always by the river margin so that I could savour the gourmet sunrise.
The initial route is a flat-earther’s dream, no round hills in sight, a no-brainer navigation.
It’s similar to staring at the flight path on a transatlantic flight, at mach 0.9, the plane seems to standstill in the middle of the ocean, forever.
These long open straights can feel like tunnels too. I prefer the variety of climbing. I had a movie to watch and record.
The cherry today was right from the start, I knew I would have cake during at least 10k. This place is a must for watching the sunrise.
The pavement is generally well maintained, but it can be quite uneven sometimes. I risked a little bit more than I should, watching the movie instead of the road. I know the area and had planned it on Komoot, but unfortunately, I hit some blind alleys from sunshine distraction. There was a tempting path that goes from the tip of the Marina to the dock - it was closed. Well, there were some fisherman on the other side of the fence, and I could have easily crossed it too, but since I had no idea on how it was going to be on the other end, I felt that it would be prudent not to jump the fence, so that I could come back home safely to my wife.
At the end of the first mile, we get to the local Monterey Bay Aquarium - Oceanário de Lisboa. This is a must-visit spot in the Expo Area for people of all ages. It sits in the middle of the dock, Doca dos Olivais. The dock was once a marine airport where seaplanes departed for transatlantic flights - the ones that really took forever.
I encounter some early photographers with the gear in place for ray tracing the landscape.
No matter where the radar turns, there is always an interesting building to target our attention. Down at the end of the dock we can admire the artwork of a Portuguese Pritzker Prize winning duet, Álvaro Siza Vieira with the help of Eduardo Souto de Moura. The Portuguese Pavilion, Pavilhão de Portugal, is both a testament to the mastery of their work, and to the ingenuity of civil engineers.
I wish I could run on top of the concrete canopy that looks to be made of fabric. An astonishing feat in civil engineering.
My radar is overwhelmed with shooting targets, and the seaplane dock detoured me from the riverbank, where I wish to glide for the next half hour. I hurry back to the water.
On my left lays the UFO-looking pavilion, another work of art from the architect Regino Cruz, just as talented as his Pritzker fellows. It is a multipurpose arena, the largest in Lisbon. Once it held the World Indoor Championship in Athletics. I checked and the longest run on the event was the 3000 m, 7m 37s !
I am back by the water at km 2.5, with the Vasco da Gama tower right in front of me and the Vasco da Gama Bridge at the back. I wonder why the complete area is not called Vasco da Gama as well. We had many other famous ocean explorers, I fail to understand why Vasco da Gama took all the glory in the Expo. There is also a large shopping center named Centro Comercial Vasco da Gama, and of course, a street Vasco da Gama near by. The sect is complete with two of large buildings in Lisbon named after the mains ships of Vasco da Gama’s fleet: São Gabriel and São Rafael (led by his brother Paulo da Gama). Vasco da Gama was first to navigate the seas from Europe to India, establishing a faster route for commerce and the Portuguese expansion in the region.
I worship the sun as I run by the sailor’s trophies.
My timing was just perfect, I run by and under the bridge as the sun spectacle unfolds.
The Expo Area was a rare opportunity for many. In old Europe, it is hard to be gifted with so much land to freely carve a just large urban project. I think everyone involved has been doing a very good job since the beginning.
I am at km 5, the Earth is still flat, and the Sun has started its ascending circle in the sky. The landscape is mostly spiced by natural vegetation as we venture into toad land.
Last year, the area was prepared to host a visit from the Pope. It is called Parque Tejo and the area is now prepared to host other events. During the Pope’s visit an estimated 1.5 million young people from all over the world were present in this park in the same day. An impressive sight and hard to imagine as I run by.
The trail keeps going forever along the river line. They built a brand new wooden bridge and pathway that is magnificent for an early morning run. I learned from my younger daughter that the area is home to many toads. I think I could hear a few.
I plan on coming back and following the river line from here for 21 km to the north. I am not sure yet if it is possible. Today we still have to cover some other neighborhoods in the area, as we are in an “Architectural Experiments” expedition. I make another mistake in by route and end up under a number of overpasses without my passage to the other side of the river. I dumb mistake, because I did not check my own plan from the night before that had determined that the crossing back had to be done through the same bridge.
It was my third blind alley of the day, for some reason I always drag after making a wrong turn. Even though I ended up under several bridges it did provide me with a nice framing for capturing two bridges in one shot. In my head, by now I should have added an extra km to the route.
Almost halfway, at km 10, we are back to the urban sprawl. These buildings kept growing like mushrooms. The proximity to the bridge gives off some vibes from the airport run. There is quite some noise from the cars outside, but not has harsh as the Rolls Royce jet engines. The avenues were kept wide enough and generally I thing that they have hit the right balance.
Local stock market shares of concrete companies were a great asset to hold on to for a while. Portuguese construction loves concrete and every neighborhood needs a church. It’s not the Sagrada Familia by any measure, but I am sure it was built in the time Gaudi blinked his eyes - Church of Our Lady of the Navigators.
My expedition will now travel back in time as I leave the Expo area pointing my ship to another urban experiment, Portela. I have to navigate my first real climb of the day. The next 5km will be mostly climbing. We need to cross over the two main entryways into Lisbon from the north, the railway and highway.
I have adjusted my sails to Bairro da Portela, an urban development similar to the Expo, much smaller in size and scope, but still of reasonable size. I am facing the head-winds of the climb, and I am not as fresh as in my previous runs.
This neighborhood was built in the late 1960’s, early 70’s.
As I dock in bairro da Portela I see a smaller and older version of the Expo area. Roads setup on a grid, buildings nicely spaced, and even though aged, clearly make a statement that tells that they once were the new kids on the block. Just like in the Expo there are nice green areas around, a shopping center shaped like a large cylinder (it must have been a great novelty back then) and a church that does not go un-noticed.
The church was planned by a notable architect back then and was characterized has having “modern daring lines” - how the tables have turned. The theme back then seemed to be grids and circles.
I had not this in my mind when I traced the route, but I was now on my way to a 3rd urban experience. I have a brief assistance of tailwinds that take be down to the entrance of Bairro da Encarnação.
This neighborhood was built around 1940’s.
Unlike Portela and Expo, land back then was not as scarce as today. Most houses in the area are single family homes, the streets are quite narrow and follow the terrain instead of a grid. The plots are small. In place of the shopping center, there is a local market. The green areas are large and provide a nice entry point to the neighborhood. I cheat my way through the “bairro” as I don’t go all the way to the top.
I had to save my energy for the last climb of the day. I fly down the stairs out of Bairo da Encarnação, landing on main avenue that goes all the way to the Lisbon airport.
I now enter the 4th neighborhood of the day - Olivais. There is a large park, that from the records that I searched was initially planned in 1955. The initial roads and parks arrangements were made in the late 50’s early 60’s. It’s a good sized park if you want to loop around a sweaty 5k. There is a narrow bike lane that navigates through waves of green. It’s roughly 1 km uphill at ~6%, heavy on my 16km leg ballast.
I love the name of the park, Vale do Silêncio, Valley of Silence. I am not sure it is always appropriate given the close proximity to the airport. I make it to the top of the green wave at km 17.5. I am now ready to surf down to the starting line. I aim my compass at the river that can be seen from the top of the avenues. The plan is to arrive by the “Vasco da Gama ship” high-rise buildings.
I major landmark as we get to the core of the Expo at km 20, is the train station Gare do Oriente.
While undoubtedly beautiful, it is, in my opinion a flawed design. The gorgeous canopy fails to protect passengers from the sun, rain and cold wind. The platforms underneath the line, a concrete maze, are perfect freezing wind tunnels. Santiago Calatrava put form far over function. Still, the station looks very cool.
I am back to flat land, surrounded by interesting architectural designs, the Vodafone building being among my favorites.
The way back is along Alameda dos Oceanos, Avenue of the Oceans, a lovely mix of pedestrian and light traffic avenue with interesting buildings left and right.
There’s so much to see and do in the Expo area, even while running. It’s a beautiful day, not too warm, the blue sky contrasts with the green foliage, and the other colors of the street - it is beyond perfect.
I am more tired than usual, I should be flying through the last km, but I dragged myself to the finish line like a sailing ship with no wind.
It’s time to lie back and enjoy the view. After all, that is what I came here for.
Enjoy your runs!
-APF
