Life in Góis March 2010

Life in Góis April 2010

April 6th
Easter greetings to everybody! We are finally enjoying some proper sunshine and warmth which fortuitously arrived on the morning of Easter Sunday and appears to be staying with us. The Easter holiday always brings many visitors to Góis – camper vans start arriving and there is a definite increase in cars with UK number plates – but most noticeable are the Portuguese families returning to their villages of origin, in some cases doubling the population. It is always lovely to see houses opened up and children out on the streets as families gather to celebrate and relax together. Our family likes to head for the seaside on high days and holidays, and being such wonderful weather the call was irresistible. Once we reached the level coastal plain we were forced to make several stops to admire the wonderful antics of the storks, who are now nesting in earnest, taking advantage of any high place and turning electricity pylons into apartment blocks. I think storks are extremely graceful birds, especially in flight, and they seemed to be taking to the air for the sheer pleasure of it, wheeling in great circles in the sky – or perhaps it was all part of the courtship display. Standing so close to them we could hear their call - a strange hollow ‘tock-tock’ sound. Apparently storks mate for life, and come back to the same place to nest every year – returning to their village of origin, as you might say!

Unlocking the history of the Góis region

Updated 14 June, 2010