Allure of Rurality - Gaia Biological Park - Gaia City

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog :-)

I hope the week is going well. Some more busy days here, but today I come here to finish telling you about the tour of the Gaia Biological Park. As I mentioned, this route is not just made of animals and the exhibits are scattered throughout the route, interspersing one thing with another.
The Belmiro mill (water mill) was once one of the largest grinding producers, which unfortunately, due to industrialization, ended up closing. It was then recovered to show today how farmers and millers lived in the past.

Inside we found several agricultural tools that were used in this activity, as well as the ovens and even the decoration of the house and its utensils. The room reminded me of the house my grandmother had in the village. All in iron with a wool quilt. Totally nostalgic :-) On the floor right in front was an iron chamber pot that made the little ones laugh when we explained that there were no flush toilets. At my grandmother's house the toilet was a rock with a wooden seat and a lid. I remember my mother holding my hand for fear that I would fall in there, it was so deep.

We then followed the route and found another house but this time the exhibition was different... Owls. Each one more beautiful than the other and in the quietest place in the entire park. We look very carefully and every now and then we see an eye opening as if peeking. We were careful to turn off the flashes on the machines so as not to disturb your rest. The surrounding flora creates a magical environment.

The stone bridge gave rise to games and running back and forth.
The kids were eager to get to the horses and donkeys. The burritos were all happy eating their straw but the horses were nowhere to be seen. We still managed to make them happy as there were a few cows at the bottom of the land eating too. However, they were very big cows and they asked us to take a closer look. We advanced along a path on the side, always being very careful as the fence was electrified. I don't remember seeing any wild animals around here, but given their size, safety is never too much. There is also a butterfly garden here and we sat for a while to see if we could observe and photograph some. As closing time approached we had to continue on our way and it wasn't this time that we saw them.

I had already heard that on a specific day in summer the park opens its doors for the night of the fireflies. That night, no one can turn on flashlights, not even their cell phone display. The lights are all off and our vision is getting used to the darkness. Then the descent towards the river begins and the lights begin to appear. We haven't had the opportunity to experience this yet but it must be brutal. However, for the first time I saw the fireflies' maternity ward.
We ended our visit after the hour and the security guard was a little upset as it had already been forty minutes, but in our defense we were not the last.

I hope you enjoyed.
See you around.
Wishing you much peace and health

Those who pass by us do not go alone. They leave a bit of themselves, taking a piece of us."
Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince.

Text & Photography by @Onyfest