We often look forward, left and right, lively or on the bright side – but how about trying a new perspective?

The theme for this month’s CBBH Photo Challenge is LOOKING DOWN.   Tell me what you see.

Don’t forget that the CBBH Photo Challenge is a little different from some other challenges, in two ways.  First, it’s only once a month – giving you lots of time to consider your entry before the end of the calendar month.  Second, and most important, this is a BLOG HOP (after all, it is the CBBH – Conejo Blanco Blog Hop, meaning white rabbit in Spanish), so DON’T FORGET that in your post you need to add links to two blogs that you have visited and commented on during the past month.  That way, when we visit each other, we can HOP OVER to your links, connect with others and share a little blog love around!

SPOILER: SCROLL DOWN FOR DETAILS OF HOW TO GET MY $25 THANK YOU GIFT – FOR EACH ONE OF YOU!

I’ve just returned home after spending ten days in Portugal, split between the cities of Porto and Lisbon, so my photos for this month’s CBBH Challenge are all from this trip.   The first photo was taken from the top of the Torre Dos Clérigos in Porto.  The views across the city are spectacular and here you can see the famous Sandeman Port Cellars on the other side of the River Douro.

This was my view looking down from the iconic Dom Luis I bridge, spanning the River Douro.  Here you can see one of the rabelo boats – traditional Portugese cargo boats used for transporting goods and people along the river.  These boats do not not exist in any other place of the world and their history is closely linked to the production and trade of port wine.

During my stay, I was fortunate to take a train ride into the Douro Valley wine region.  The Douro river route is surely one of the great European journeys, as well as being one of the most scenic – a 200 kilometre ride or stately cruise from Porto all the way to the Spanish border.  This was my view looking down the river.  Gorgeous, isn’t it?

After riding to the top, I got the chance to capture the view looking down the 45 metre shaft of the Elevador de Santa Justa, the only remaining vertical, urban lift in the city of Lisbon.  At one time steam-powered, the lift connects the lower streets of the Baixa district with the higher Largo do Carmo.

The Christ the King statue is a Catholic monument and shrine looking down over the city of Lisbon. Inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Cristo-Rei was erected to symbolize gratitude that the Portuguese were spared the effects of World War II.  

On my journey to northern Portugal, I was invited to stay with fellow expat blogger, Sue, of The Hidden Spain at her home in Alange, Extremadura.  Sue posts wonderful photos every day on her Twitter account, not only of the spectacular view from her home, but also of Mr. Moon looking down on us all.  My camera is nowhere near as good as Sue’s, and all of my  previous attempts to capture this kind of image have failed.  However, she let me use her camera!  Just look at those craters on the moon!  Thanks Sue xx

My Featured Blog Links for this month:

*** Sandra Danby is a writer and journalist living in a secret valley in the heart of the Spanish countryside.  Her blog, Notes on a Spanish Valley,  paints a vivid picture with tales of her daily feast of nature, wildlife and food, surrounded by wild land, olive groves and forests of encima oak trees grazed by Iberian black pigs.  I love Sandra’s recipes including Spanish “bruschetta” for tea and sweet, home-grown stewed plums for breakfast.

Another great feature of each of the posts on Notes on a Spanish Valley is the “5 to remember” – five useful Spanish words associated with the post.  It’s always good to learn new Spanish words.  Why not hop over and say HOLA?!

*** I make no excuse for once again featuring Kiva, a non-profit organization close to my heart, with a mission to connect people through lending, to alleviate poverty.  Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world. Learn more about how it works.

Kiva gives you the chance to make small loans to borrowers working to start businesses and improve their lives. I’m already a Kiva lender and as a way of saying thank you for your support of my blog, I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER YOU A $25 FREE TRIAL.

To redeem your Free Trial all you have to do is CLICK THIS LINK and choose who to lend your money to – BUT HURRY – THERE IS A LIMITED NUMBER OF FREE TRIALS.  IT WON’T COST YOU A PENNY – I PROMISE!   Kiva will notify me if any of my readers take up a Free Trial, but I’d love you to still let me know in the Comment section, below.

TOGETHER, LET’S TRY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE THIS MONTH!

So that´s the CBBH Photo Challenge for November, everyone!

Remember, all you have to do is post your entry by the end of the month, tag your entry ‘CBBH Photo Challenge’,  link back to this blog and, most importantly, don´t forget to add links to any two blogs that you´ve commented on during the past month, so that we can all HOP OVER and have a look.  Make sure you FOLLOW THIS BLOG so you don´t miss next month’s exciting challenge!

For more information on how the CBBH Photo Challenge works click here.

I hope everyone taking part enjoys the exposure the CBBH Photo Challenge offers to featured blogs and, who knows, you may end up finding a new favourite!  I´m looking forward to seeing your interpretations.

[CBBH logo Image credit: (cc) Mostly Dans]