ITINERARY

In the Footsteps of the Conquistadores
A journey from the Ritz in Lisbon to the Ritz in Madrid
including five World Heritage Sites in 16 days
May 29 – June 13, 2010

Arrive Lisbon around noon.You will be met by your U.T.S. Tour Manager and your adventure begins. Balance of day is at leisure. The highlight of the evening is a gala party where you will meet up with your fellow travellers and hear about the wonderful events ahead of you.
Hotel: Ritz Four Seasons for 2 nights.

We will start with a boat ride on the Tagus River and through the port. We will stop at the Monument to the Discoveries, erected in 1960 on the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator. Nearby is the Belem Tower which we may climb if we wish.

We will visit the Hieronymite Monastery (WH) where we will pause at the tombs of Vasco da Gama (1469-1524) and Luis da Camoes (1524-1580), the “Shakespeare of Portugal”
The country’s maritime past is housed in the nearby Museo de Marinha where right in the entrance hall three anchors of the Niña of Christopher Columbus can be seen.

There will be leisure time before ending the day with a dinner of Portuguese delicacies and Fado singing, sad and monotonous chants about the forces of destiny or human passion. The name of Fado is said to come from the latin ‘fatum’ meaning ‘destiny’

Leave Lisbon driving south parallel to the Atlantic Ocean to Santiago do Cacem, a small town clinging to the slopes of a hill crowned by a castle built long ago by the Knights Templars, a military and religious order established among the crusaders early in the 12th century. Nearby is a Roman road leading to the relics of the old city of Miróbriga.

After lunch we will continue our trip to the Sagres Peninsula where in the 15th century Prince Henry the Navigator founded the Sagres School.

Hotel: Pousada do Infante for 2 nights.

Full day tour of the Peninsula to Cape St. Vincent, the most south western point of Continental Europe. The Prince chose to live in this arid and always windswept setting and it became the base from which he was to inspire and instigate the great discoveries. There is an impressive view from the lighthouse of the seemingly infinite ocean.

A pleasant drive will take you past numerous holiday resorts to Faro, the capital of the Algarve which is famous for its peaches as well as almond, fig, and orange trees.

After lunch we will continue along the Spanish Coast of Light to Huelva where by the 16th century the Tinto River had become one of the principal anchorages of the Conquistadores.

Hotel: Parador de Mazagon for 2 nights.

The morning will be dedicated to Christopher Columbus. It was in the Monastery of la Rábida that he spent his last night before setting sail early in the morning on Friday August 3, 1492 from the nearby small harbour of Palos de la Frontera. An interesting small museum contains models of his three ships, navigation charts, and old books. We will also see the 14th century St. George’s Church where he and his crew of 90 men prayed before they left.

Moguer was another port from which expeditions ventured to the unknown. Alabaster tombs of the discoverers can be seen in front of the altar in the church.

We will return to our parador for lunch. In the afternoon we will drive through Doñana National Park (WH), a vast reserve for flora and fauna amidst the dunes and salt marshes where migratory birds of Europe and Africa find shelter.

Our next destination will be Aracena, an attractive town built in tiers on a hillside crowned by the remains of another Templars’ castle. The tower abutting the church is a former minaret. At an elevation of about 2,000 ft. the climate is very pleasant and the area produces the famous Serrano Ham, especially that of Jabugo, which is considered a great delicacy in Spain. Lunch will be at “Casas” decorated in the Andalusian style.

In the afternoon we will enter the Province of Extremadura, the nursery of the conquistadores, because nearly all of them were born within a radius of 100 miles in this austere landscape. We will soon reach Jerez de los Caballeros, where in 1475 Vasco Nunez de Balboa was born, who crossed Panama and in 1513 discovered the Pacific Ocean.

Hotel: We will spend the night at the Parador de Zafra where Hernan Cortes stayed before he left for the New World.

Via Almendralejo and Don Benito we will reach Medellin, birthplace of  Cortés who was born here in 1485. At the age of 35 he conquered Mexico and in 1536 discovered lower California. We will see the castle, the 17th century bridge over the Guadiana River, and the statue of the Conquistador in the main plaza. We will continue to Guadeloupe (WH), the patron of “All the Spains”, the symbol of the “Hispanidad”, the heart of the kingdom of the Conquistadores. We will visit the monastery, the cloisters, and the sacristy. Lunch will be in the Parador installed in the old hospital of St. John the Baptist.

After lunch we will drive to Trujillo where we will find the equestrian statue of Francisco Pizarro who was born here in 1475. He herded swine in his youth and after the conquest of Peru married an Inca princess. In 1542 Francisco de Orellana left from here to explore the legendary lands of the Amazon. After a refreshment in the Plaza Mayor we will continue to Cáceres (WH) whose historic atmosphere has no equal in all of Spain.

Hotel: Parador de Cáceres for 2 nights.

As our parador is situated right within the medieval walls of this city the sightseeing will be mainly a walking tour. But first we will take the bus to drive up two miles to the Mountain Virgin, a 17th century sanctuary built on a hill cloaked in olive trees. From the esplanade there is a fine view across the Extremadura Plain with old Cáceres in the foreground, clearly divided into quarters.

Then we will walk the narrow cobbled streets where we will pass beneath the Star Arch, visit St. Matthew’s, the Storks’ House, the Weather Vane House, the Golfines Palaces, and a lot more. Our special attention will be paid to the Montezuma Mansion. After lunch you will have time to walk around on your own.

Drive to Plasencia where we will visit the cathedral, which has its origin in the 13th century. It houses very well preserved choirstalls carved in 1520 depicting scenes of everyday life: fashion and hairdressing popular at the age of the discoveries.

After a refreshment on the Plaza de España, which is the bustling town centre, we will leave for the Monastery of Yuste. It was in this modest monastery that the great emperor Charles V, when he had grown weary of power and fighting Martin Luther and the Protestants, spent the last two years of his life, dying there on September 21, 1558.

We will have lunch at the “Parador Charles V” in Jarandilla de la Vera where we will spend the following 2 nights.

Afternoon free to enjoy the serene atmosphere which will make you understand why the man “in whose empire the sun never set” chose this quiet retreat at the end of his life.

Full day to explore the countryside of the seldom visited Sierra Gredos which includes the Almanzor (2,592 m or 8,502 ft.) in the Central Cordillera. Lunch at the “Almanzor” in Piedralaves.

Today’s drive will first take us to Alba de Tormes where the massive keep of the proud castle of the Dukes of Alba will greet us. The once famous medieval town boasts of possessing the mortal remains of St. Teresa of Avila who died in 1582 in the Carmelite convent she had founded.

After lunch at “La Villa” we will leave for Medina del Campo where we will see the castle in which Isabel the Catholic died in 1504.

Hotel: Overnight at the Parador de Tordesillas, set in a shady pine grove.

It was in Tordesillas in 1494 under the arbitration of Pope Alexander VI of the Spanish Borja family that Spain and Portugal signed the treaty dividing the New World between them. All lands west of a line of longitude 370 leagues (1110 nautical miles) of Cape Verde Islands was to be Spanish, all to the east was to be Portuguese – a decision which gave all of Latin America to Spain, except Brazil.

We will visit the Casa del Tratado and the Santa Clara Convent, where Juana the Mad, daughter of the Catholic Kings and mother of Charles V locked herself away on the death of her husband Philip the Fair in 1506. She was 28 and remained there for 44 years in her despair.

A short distance away is Valladolid where Christopher Columbus died on May 20, 1506 lonely and unnoticed. His remains were finally laid to rest at the end of the 19th century in the venerable cathedral of the Sevilla after a long Odyssey which took them from Spain to Santo Domingo, Havana and in 1898 back to Spain.

We will visit the house of Spain’s greatest poet Miguel de Cervantes, which still looks much like he knew it when he died on April 23, 1616 – the same day as Shakespeare. Lunch at the “Meson de Cervantes.”

On to El Escorial (WH) from where the New World was ruled by Philip II until his death in 1598. From here we will drive to Madrid.

Hotel: The Ritz for 2 nights.

We will visit the Museo de America  to see the outstanding Pre-Columbian department filled with treasures from Peru and Mexico brought back to Spain by the Conquistadores. Lunch at the “Museo de Jamon” where we will taste Spain’s famous hams.

Return to the Ritz. Afternoon free. This evening bid farewell to fellow tour members at a festive party.

Today you will transfer to the airport for your flight to New York with connecting flights to your home cities.

SUMMARY:

On May 20, it will be 501 years that Christopher Columbus died. To Commemorate the deeds of the most consequential discoverer a new a tour has been designed. It is especially made for travellers who always had an interest in the age of discoveries. We Americans, looking at our own history, stand in awe of the great men who were driven by a truly indomitable spirit to discover against incredible odds a new world that was to become our home.

Our itinerary will take us to all the places that have played a role in the discovery of America. Most of the towns and villages we get to see are off the beaten track and very seldom visited. It is quite amazing that most of the Conquistadores were born within a radius of 100 miles. It seems that the arid and windswept province of Extremadura has driven these poor but brave men away from their herds to conquer new lands. Many cities in the Americas are named with pride after the humble birthplaces of the Conquistadores. We will also visit towns where the Catholic Kings stayed and where the emperor Charles V spent the last two years of his life after he had grown weary of power, travelling, and fighting the Protestants.

And last but not least we start and end up “Ritzy.”

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Standing at the most south western point of continental Europe.
• Driving along the Algarve and Coast of Light.
• Visiting the humble church where Columbus and his crew of 90 men prayed before they set sail the next morning for the unknown.
• Guadeloupe, the patron of “All the Spains”, the symbol of “the Hispanidad”, the heart of the Kingdom of the Conquistadores.
• Pausing at the equestrian statues of Cortés, the conqueror of Mexico, and Pizarro, the swine herd who married an Inca princess.
• Spending two nights in Cáceres whose historic atmosphere has no equal in all of Spain.
• It was in Tordesillas in 1494 that Spain and Portugal signed the treaty dividing the New World between them.
• Visiting the house of Cervantes in which he died on April 23, 1616 – the same day as Shakespeare.
• El Escorial, the palace-monastery of Philip II from where the New World was ruled.
• Seeing the outstanding treasures from Peru and Mexico brought back to Spain by the Conquistadores.
• Having lunch at the Museo del Jamon where you will be surrounded by hundreds of Spain’s famous hams – a sight being more enjoyable than all the paintings in the Museo del Prado.

WORLD HERITAGE SITES:

• Lisbon: Hieronymite Monastery and Belem Tower: tomb of Vasco da Gama
• Mazagon: Doñana National Park. Fauna and flora amidst sand dunes and salt marshes with lots of migratory birds.
• Guadeloupe: Deep ochre coloured stone monastery from the 13th century on, patron of “All the Spains”, symbol of Hispanidad.
• Cáceres: Gothic and Renaissance seigniorial mansions forming a walled town that has no equal in all of Spain.
• The great palace-monastery of Philip II from which the New World was ruled from 1556 until 1598.

LIST OF HOTELS:

• May 30 - 31 Lisbon: Ritz
• Jun 01 - 02 Sagres: Pousada do Infante
  
• Jun 03 - 04 Mazagón: Parador Cristobal Colon
  
• Jun 05 Zafra: Parador Hernan Cortés
  
• Jun 06 - 07 Cáceres: Parador de Cáceres
  
• Jun 08 - 09 Jarandilla de la Vera : Parador
  
• Jun 10 Tordesillas : Parador de Tordesillas
  
• Jun 11-12 Madrid : Ritz

LUNCH STOPS:

• Santiago de Cacém : Pousado de Santiago
  
• Faro : Cidade Velha
  
• Aracena: Casas
  
• Guadeloupe : Parador de Guadeloupe
  
• Cáceres : El Figon de Eustaquio
  
• Piedralaves : Almanzor
  
• Alba de Tormes : La Villa
  
• Valladolid : Meson Cervantes
  
• Madrid : Museo de Jamon