Parque da Cidade do Porto V2 / Riding Portugal

 ##### Hello everyone and welcome to my blog :-) There's a point in Porto City Park where the path begins to slope slightly and the air takes on a different scent. A more humid, denser scent. It's the lake announcing itself even before we see it. I've passed by here so many times that I could almost walk the path with my eyes closed, but I keep them wide open. The lake has this ability to recenter attention. Maybe it's the water. Maybe it's the birds. Maybe it's the fact that the park takes on a kind of parallel life there, as if it were a small republic governed by feathers and beaks. ##### PT Há um ponto no Parque da Cidade do Porto onde o caminho começa a inclinar-se ligeiramente e o ar ganha outro cheiro. Um cheiro mais húmido, mais denso. É o lago a anunciar-se antes mesmo de o vermos. Já passei tantas vezes por aqui que quase podia fazer o caminho de olhos fechados, mas continuo a abri-los bem. O lago tem essa capacidade de recentrar a atenção. Talvez seja a água. Talvez sejam as aves. Talvez seja o facto de ali o parque ganhar uma espécie de vida paralela, como se fosse uma pequena república governada por penas e bicos. ---     As we approached, the girls quickened their pace. The shore was populated by ducks gliding on the water with an elegance that doesn't match their clumsy gait on land at all. Geese observed everything with a suspicious air, like feathered nightclub bouncers. Seagulls remained strategically positioned, always ready to take advantage of any human carelessness. And further away, colorful roosters strolled with unexpected dignity, as if that were their ancestral territory. ##### PT Assim que nos aproximámos, as meninas aceleraram o passo. A margem estava povoada por patos que deslizavam na água com uma elegância que não combina nada com o seu andar desengonçado em terra firme. Gansos observavam tudo com ar desconfiado, como seguranças de discoteca em versão emplumada. Gaivotas mantinham-se estrategicamente posicionadas, sempre prontas para aproveitar qualquer descuido humano. E, mais afastados, galos coloridos passeavam com uma dignidade inesperada, como se aquele fosse o seu território ancestral. ---     The sound there is different from the rest of the park. There's the crowing, the flapping of wings, the splashing of water. And there are the people. Many people. Some leaning against the bank, others sitting on benches, others still standing with suspicious bags in their hands. It's curious because along the park there are several signs asking people not to feed the birds. Clear lettering, direct messages. And yet, there were crumbs flying through the air like improvised confetti. A child threw pieces of bread with joy, while th […]