After Sunday’s visit to the more famous landmarks in the Belém area of Lisbon, we found lunch and then wandered through the nearby Jardim Botânico Tropical.
Much of these tropical gardens were originally installed for an exhibition in 1940, and the original intent was to showcase plants native to some of Portugal’s more tropical colonies, including Brazil, Goa and Macau.
But it seems that funding has been tight in recent years and the gardens now have a somewhat post-apocalyptic feeling, with lots of run-down buildings and walls surrounded by enormous palm trees, overgrown bamboo, and other strange plants.
Aside from the ladies working the entrance booth, we didn’t see any other staff and very few other visitors.
Fallen palm branches littered many areas, along with warning signs about them. Much like the “beware of falling ice” signs we’re more used to seeing, we pretty much ignored them and took our chances because the palm trees lined many paths and could not be avoided.
In one of the more lush areas of the gardens, I came across this nicely composed little scene.
Josie took this photo of me attempting to look natural while sitting in the slippery roots of this giant tree. Notice the long dangling vines to my left.
Another area filled with ominous, twisted cacti was closed to the public, but I took some photos through the gate.
A family of ducks passed by on one of the paths. There is a third duckling but it’s trailing behind, out of view.
Hanging out amongst various giant peacocks, roosters and ducks was a surprisingly relaxed cat, who visited with Josie on the steps to a greenhouse used by a nearby university to grow plants including coffee and teas.
Beneath an arch labeled Macau were some Asian-style gardens with small bridges over creeks. The area was quite overgrown and dark.
