Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Preparations.(I)

More than a week ago we posted bunch of messages in Couchsurfing.org forums: cities and countries that we'll be passing. (in Brno our post began long discussion about enviromental issues, CS values etc...:)

And right now (thanks to fellow couchsurfers) we can expect couch in Nis, Serbia (Nenad, we are coming!!), Plovdiv and Kardjali in Bulgaria, maybe in Istambul.

And of course – visiting dear EVS friends Karolina, Misha and Klarka (Warsaw, Krakow and Brno) – is a must.

The exact start date and whole itinerary is not quite clear yet: Inga is changing her passport at the moment, it should be done until the 6th of January (the latest). But Andrew will be in Lithuania next Tuesday (21st) , so we will start working on exact dates...Hitchiking in winter is a bit more complicated – you need to plan everything more carefully, if you do not wish to freeze your ass outside during the night.

Sleeping bags, warm clothes, gloves, hats, coats – everything is being bought/prepared at the moment.

So, that would be for today. Don't get cold, (Vilnius is freezing – around -16 at the moment; +10 in Tbilisi)and wait for new updates!!

Inga and Andrew

Friday, December 3, 2010

Penguins: "Sun Is Killing Us!"

As is documented, there is a great amount of change happening in the climate and it will have profound effects on the creatures that live in the polar regions of the planet.
In the case of penguins, it will mean mass dying off and endangerment of the species.
Some of the main problems are destruction of their habitat, since the ice in the polar regions is getting smaller and thinner every year, the penguins have to swim further for food, causing them to be more susceptible to being eaten by sea lions and whales, and also malnutrition, since they must expend more energy into finding food.
Also, since it is getting warmer in these areas, the penguins are more likely to get sunburned and overheated from the increased sun. This is also a massive problem for chicks, as they do not have many feathers or fat to be able to protect them. They will also spend more time in the water trying to stay cool, thus making them more likely to be targeted by predators and spending more energy then is normal for them.
Heat and hunger stress also make it much more difficult for them to reproduce since they are spending more of their time dealing with the much more important, basic, survival issues.

For more info, go to: http://www.penguins-world.com/penguins-and-global-warming.html

Penguin luuuuuuv!




This is such a hilarious video! And it's narrated by the wonderful David Attenborough.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Open letter for potential hosts

Dear all,

We are writing to you to ask for your hospitality and rides on our journey from Vilnius, Lithuania to Tbilisi, Georgia.
We are traveling to bring awareness to the plight of penguins and the effects of climate change to their habitat.
Anything you could provide for us, Rides, Hot tea or coffee, Homemade food, Cold beers, Warm places to sleep and caucasian hospitality would be much appreciated and we would love to share our experiences with you!

So, on behalf of the penguins and ourselves, we hope to see you soon!

Andrew and Inga

The Route

The route of our arduous journey will take us from Vilnius, Lithuania, through Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey, to our final destination, Tbilisi, Georgia. The break-down of our route and distances is as follows:

Vilnius-Klaipeda 309km
Klaipeda-Kaunas 215km
Kaunas-Warsaw 617km
Warsaw-Krakow 293km
Krakow-Brno 350km
Brno-Bratislava 129km
Bratislava-Budapest 201km
Budapest-Novi Sad 294km
Novi Sad-Nis 324km
Nis-Sofia 316km
Sofia-Istanbul 580km
Istanbul-Trabazon 1071km
Trabazon-Sarpi 163km
Sarpi-Tbilisi 400km
For a grand total of 5262 kilometers!
Keep coming back often for more updates as we finalize our plans!


Inga and Andrew, the Thumbs 4 Penguins team




Mission statement for Thumbs for Penguins


January, the coldest time of the year in the Northern hemisphere. An intercontinental expedition of 2 representatives, from the USA and EU, are hitchhiking through frozen Europe just with one purpose: to encourage people to pay attention to global warming and save penguins from extinction.
"We've decided to devote ourselves to this exhausting journey for the sake of penguins, our little non-flying brothers. They are on the verge of ruin because of human-caused pollution and global warming. Instead of traveling comfortably in an airplane, we will go whole distance without using extra petrol or diesel. I think all of us still remember that brave little penguin who got lost in the ocean and swam 5000 km from the strait of Magellan to Peru's Paracas national reserve (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6647485.stm), And if he did it - we can too!",- the team, Andrew Perdue (USA) and Inga Popovaite (EU) addressing the people, before starting their epic journey from Museum of Sea in Klaipeda, Western Lithuania, to the Zoo in Tbilisi, Georgia (this Zoo symbolizing liberty and independence of all the non-flying birds, as there are no penguins in confinement)

Follow the epic journey of two brave penguinologists starting 5th of January 2011 right here.


*In a memory of Gustav, the traveling donkey