Porto Part I: The Call of the Ocean

I need the sea because it teaches me - Pablo Neruda

It is hard to resist the call of the ocean… but once you acquiesce to the harmony of fluttering heart beats that form the tides, it becomes even harder to leave.

My family visited Porto, Portugal mainly to wander its hilly historic city center, to taste (and learn about) their world renowned port wine and dine on freshly caught sardines. It is a destination often beat out by its sibling, Lisbon. I didn't mind reading that before we left because it's like exploring a less treaded path, which we found well worth our travels. And on a later post, I hope to show you that.

But for now, it's the expansive and eloquent Atlantic Ocean that lies on Porto's western edge that's made me keep drifting back to this little town days after our return. In the short time we were there, we were fortunate enough to experience the water from outside our windows, under shimmering sunlight but more often under clouds of varying hues, and even then it was beautiful to behold. It felt very much like a sort of homecoming...

***