PORTUGAL: First Port of Entry: Lisbon, Portugal

Portugal was a great seafaring nation where courageous explorers "discovered" many lands unknown to Europeans. 

So what better place to start our adventure than in Lisbon, Portugal?

 

Belem Tower was built in the early 1500's on the Tagus River, which is Lisbon's entry point to the Atlantic Ocean. 

It was considered the first place Portuguese sailors saw when they returned to Portugal, and the last place they saw before they started their seafaring journey. It is considered the ceremonial gateway to Lisbon.

Without getting scholarly on you, think back to your grade school history class and you may remember the names Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan. These were great Portuguese explorers that opened up the world to Europeans.

The Monument to the Discoveries is a short walk upriver from Belem Tower and honours the courage of the early Portuguese navigators and explorers. 

It represents the prow of the caravel, a small ship constructed by the Portuguese to explore the Atlantic Ocean. 

Leading the ship is Prince Henry the Navigator and behind him are many other great Portuguese discoverers, including Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand  Magellan. 

Being a closet feminist, I scoured the faces looking for women. I found one. She is Queen Filipa de Lencastre, Prince Henry The Navigator's mother. I like to think that Queen Filipa, mother of 5, can be considered the mother of European exploration.

And so we begin our journey, over 500 years after the great Portuguese explorers set sail on their quest to find new lands and great riches.