Os meninos do rio, ‘the boys of the river’, are one of Europe’s most staggering sights. These young men spend their days leaping from Porto's Dom Luis I bridge into the Douro river below. Some do it for money, others for the sheer hell of it.

It is a drop of about ten metres, into a river that is crowded with boat traffic. The meninos work together to judge the right moment for a leap, using their understanding of the currents and the shipping to tip each other off. All the same, it is a hazardous game, akin to trampolining in the middle lane of a motorway. Occasionally, someone dies.

The police take a dim view of the river boys, but rarely attempt to stop their daredevilry. The boys like to throw shapes as they drop, aerial poses with names such as ‘the bell’(sininho), ‘the bullfighter’ (toureiro) and ‘the kitten’(gatinho)

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