oceans

Of all the cities that we think of in the Mediterranean, Lisbon is the one we should probably cross off that list, because its not on the Meditrranean. Sitting just north of the Mediterranean, Lisbon looks out across the Atlantic towards the Americas. The seat of Portuguese exploration, explorers like Vasco de Gama left its shores in search of riches and treasures. What did he find? Well India, which arguably is a treasure itself, but that’s for another post! The Belem Tower is considered a monument to the Age of Discovery.

More recently, Lisbon has been a place of unity among EU members. In 2009, the European Union signed the Treaty of Lisbon. Like many European cities, Lisbon is made up of various barrios, each with their unique character and charm.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

IF YOU GO: With the austerity measures in place, Portugal and Lisbon need tourist income now more than before. Don’t be afraid to check out the barrios, there are plenty of trendy shops and restaurants near apartments in Lisbon which are worth checking out. From ancient art to arguably Europe’s greatest collection of modern art, there are plenty of museums and activities to keep you busy.

Photo Credit: Flickr user pedrosimoes7 under a creative commons license.

Fun fact for today, the word for penguin is similar in many different languages: penguin (english), pingüino (Spanish), penguin (French), pinguino (Italian), pinguin (German). Standing near the beach of Argentina’s Punto Tumbo, it was a cacophony of languages, but it all boiled down to one word- penguins!

Punto Tumbo is just south of the famed Valdez Peninsula in Argentina. You probably saw it on the BBC’s Planet Earth video. Between September and April, an enormous number of Magellanic penguins come to lay and hatch their eggs. Magellanic penguins mate for life and it’s the male that returns to the same burrow, year after year to prepare it for his mate. Punto Tumbo is the largest colony of this species of penguins in the Atlantic. The penguins live along the South American coast, from southern Brazil to Patagonia, migrating depending on the season. Although during breeding season it seems like there are hundreds of thousands of penguins, the species is classified as threatened. Oil spills and climate change have drastically decreased their survival rate, and orphaned penguins are often rescued by zoological institutes around the world. The breeding grounds at Punto Tumbo are a protected reserve, however as the temperature of the ocean changes the penguins have been forced to go further to sea for food, decreasing the rate of survival.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

IF YOU GO: Punto Tumbo and Peninsula Valdez are easily accessible from Puerto Madryn. You can take any number of tours from the city, but we chose to use independent transportation (a rental car) so we could set our own schedule and time frame of the sites. Penninsula Valdez is too much for a day trip from Puerto Madryn, be prepared to spend the night.

Photo: Lisbon

Photo: Penguins on Parade

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