Travel

People say you cannot complete seeing a country, unless you have seen the capital. However, Lisbon, which is the capital of Portugal, has a charm of its own and is not like any other typical capital. While the contemporary culture is pretty evident in most parts of the city, Lisbon is also great on history and sights. Also, it is among the few cities in western Europe that faces the ocean, which clearly defines the looks and beauty of it. Right from the white limestone buildings to the great museums, this is a place for anyone looking for a lazy yet happening vacation. In this post, we will talk of some of the best tips for traveling to Lisbon.

• Lisbon is built on seven hills, just like Rome and Istanbul. It boasts of warm climate, with winters that are mind. The weather of Lisbon is largely influenced by the Gulf Stream. From May to October, the summer season is on and can be very dry, while rains aren’t rare in winter. If you are new to the city, keep an umbrella handy for the winters and autumn, when rains are sudden and unexpected.

• To get around, public transport network is the best possible choice. You can travel to all places easily and the metro and buses will connect to most places of tourism. Do note that metro announcements are made in Portuguese, which is the official language, but the signs are also found in English, so traveling in public transport isn’t a hard deal at all. Even if you have the money to spare, cars aren’t a great choice in Lisbon as the traffic jams are insane.
• Once here, don’t miss on taking Tram 28, which is one of the old but operational trams in Lisbon. You might want to check some of the Funiculars, and for a slice of architecture, you need to see Castelo de São Jorge, Museu do Teatro Roman and Aqueduto das Aguas Livre. Don’t miss Ponte Vasco da Gama¸which is the longest bridge in Europe with a length of 17.2 km. The two must-see museums include Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga and The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum.

• In terms of seeing the city, make sure that you talk small walks to get a better feel. The food in Lisbon is amazing, and the Portuguese dining rituals are great like the Mediterranean diet. Don’t rely on cab drivers to find places to eat, because they tend to take you to expensive places. The smaller restaurants in the city are way better and are managed by families, with special dishes every day. In many restaurants, you may be served special starters without ordering, but do touch them after considering that you will be charged later.

If you aren’t sure of how to check the places around or want to plan an extended stay, you can take help from one of the tour operators that can customize the package and travel for you. Check for options now!

If you love to rough it in the wild or you simply enjoy camping, you probably know the desirability of owning and using a knife for setting up a campsite and other camping-related activities. You can attribute the invention of the pocket knife to first-century Romans, who developed the first knife that featured a folding capability. They made the knife easy to carry for explorers and soldiers. However, as the use of sheathed knives became more popular, the use of the pocket knife fell by the wayside.

A Time-honoured Tradition

However, by the 1500s, the pocket knife began to regain its once-popular status. Both lawyers and farmers started to carry the small yet useful knife. The portable tool could be used for a variety of tasks, including eating on the go or clearing brush. Needless to say, men have been carrying pocket knives for hundreds of years. Therefore, it is one tradition that happens to be time-honoured, especially by campers, adventurers, and thrill-seekers.

How the Knife is Used

The knife can be used for various activities, like cutting ropes or making sparks for a fire. You can also use a Swiss army knife for cutting moleskin and cleaning your nails. The tasks of splitting wood and preparing kindling are also more easily facilitated with this kind of knife. Do you need to open packets of food? Then take out your handy pocket knife.

While the above activities do not sound exceptionally robust, they offer enough reasons as to why you should carry a lightweight knife, especially if you’re venturing into the backcountry or when you are on a camping trip. If you wish to plan for any eventuality, having this kind of knife in tow is one way to do so.

Other Ways You Can Use the Knife

After all, how many times have you been in a certain situation and said, “I sure wish I had a knife right now!” Besides the aforementioned activities, you can also use a pocket knife for opening boxes or for cutting tags and strings. If you wish to cut fruits or berries, you can use a pocket knife. You can even use this type of knife to defend yourself if push comes to shove. Whilst it may not be the most efficient weapon, it is certainly better than having no weapon at all.

On a camping trip, you may not need the knife for opening a letter. However, you can use it to sharpen a stick into a point. Then you can use the pointed stick to stab your prey – the prey, in this instance, being a frankfurter. Whilst selecting a knife is a personal undertaking, most users of the common pocket knife happen to love the Swiss army variety. This is one knife with which you can bond – one that feels good in the hand and makes you feel proud that you are carrying it.

The Most Popular Pocket Knife

With that being said, there are still three common designs employed in the manufacturing of pocket knives. They are made in the form of a pen knife, a multi-purpose knife, and a jack knife. The multiple purpose Swiss army knife is the most well-known pocket knife, as it features a number of amenities. These amenities include such tools as scissors, screwdrivers, and even tweezers. Naturally, this is the knife to take with you when you are backpacking or camping.

Visiting Costa Rica can be the journey of your lifetime. Maybe you have explored some of the finest island or beach destinations across the world, but when you are in Costa Rica you will fall in love with the unique culture, geography, nature and of course warm-hearted Ticos. Ticos are the natives of this area.

Bounded by the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, the Central American country boasts about its abundance of lush greenery and the animal world. Known for being one of the top most countries for protecting biodiversity, visiting Costa Rica will be something more than just ‘traveling’.

The solo traveler’s paradise, Costa Rica is one of the peace havens abstained from any defense securities. The people and surroundings are no nice and beautiful out there that you could hardly find insecure to walk by the lonely beaches at night. Thus, Costa Rica is listed for the safest destination in the planet, especially for the solo women travelers.

Let’s find out how you can make your Costa Rica trip memorable—

Explore the Water Sports

When it comes to Costa Rica, the first thing that will strike you is the oceans. The country is blessed with the touch of both the Pacific and the Atlantic kissing the shores from both sides of the mainland. You can also get the opportunity to explore the Caribbean Sea which is not far from here too. Hence, lots of water sports activities should be there in the list, until and unless you are scared of the deep sea waters. Surfing, kayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving, deep sea diving, etc are some of the refreshing activities you can enjoy at Costa Rica.

Sports fishing

If you love fishing, Costa Rica is the ultimate destination for you to enjoy the experience of sports fishing. Like Florida, Mexico, Guatemala and other destinations, Costa Rica holds a position of its own in sports fishing. Plenty of fishes from giant to small are available in the fertile waters. You can enjoy fishing tours here at Samara, Nosara, Quepos and other places. Apart from the offshore fishing, you can also hunt for the sweet water fishes while voyaging in the inland rivers across the country.

Learn Spanish

The first-timers in Costa Rica often attend the Spanish learning courses offered by several local schools out there. You will enjoy learning the foreign language in the once colonized land and can also volunteer Costa Rica to let the Ticos learn English.

If you want to stay in Costa Rica for quite some time and want to interact with the locals in their own language, learning Spanish can definitely be useful. Apart from that, learning a language is always helpful. Whether you are traveling to a foreign land, you will not have to carry the pocket dictionary or interact with the people in sign languages. You can also be benefited in the professional fields by knowing Spanish.

Learn Horseback riding

Horseback riding must be there on your list if you are in Costa Rica. If you don’t know the riding, learn how to ride a horse sportingly in Costa Rica.

Author’s Bio

Nat Amponsah is a professional tour operator, volunteer, and a passionate blogger in Costa Rica. Sharing travel information in Costa Rica along with the country’s latest updates are the main themes of his articles.