Life in Góis March 2010
Life in Góis February 2010
Life in Góis January 2010
Life in Góis Dec 2009
Life in Góis Nov 2009
Life in Góis October 2009
Life in Góis Sept 2009
Life in Góis August 2009
Life in Góis July 2009
Life in Góis June 2009
Life in Góis May 2009
Life in Góis April 2009
Life in Góis March 2009
Life in Góis February 2009
Life in Góis January 2009
Life in Góis Dec 2008
Life in Góis Nov 2008
Life in Góis October 2008
Life in Góis Sept 2008
Life in Góis August 2008
Life in Góis July 2008
Life in Góis June 2008
Life in Góis May 2008

12th March
For several days now we have been enjoying brilliant sunshine and blue skies throughout the day, with starry skies and heavy frosts at night. The rivers are still running full from all the rains we had earlier, and little streams have appeared almost out of nowhere, tumbling down the hillsides, giving a joyful sense of vitality to the land. The oranges too have benefitted from the rain, and this year’s harvest is full of sweetness and juice. Almond blossom is now starting to appear on the trees, and the mimosa is in the  peak of its glory, turning the hillsides golden once more. It is a late spring this year, and all the more welcome for being here at last. It is with a strong sense of relief and gratitude that we spot the first bees and butterflies darting amongst the flowers – last winter they never really seemed to go away, but this year we felt their absence. This is now the time for discovering the small things of spring – little wayside flowers, violets and gentians and tiny wild crocuses, the first buds on the trees, the little greenfinches and coal-tits swinging in the branches. A few days ago we went up to the Sanctuary of Monte Alto near Arganil, one of the highest points in the locality, and a site of Mary worship with a spring and several chapels (and almost certainly an ancient site pre-dating Christianity). From the top of the mount you can see for miles around - over the town of Arganil and the little villages, over the valley of the Alva to the Serra de Açor. Up there in the freshness of the new spring day, close to the sky and bathed in sunshine, with the birds and butterflies active at our heads and our feet  - all felt alive and very well indeed.

2nd March
There are many advantages to living in a small town such as Góis, one of these being that, generally speaking, everyone knows where everything is, without the need for long explanations or directions, or even an address. So we came slightly unstuck today when trying to make a bank transfer, and the bank at the UK end insisted on being provided with the full address of our bank here. Apparently ‘Caixa Geral – Góis’ was not sufficient. There was no alternative but to go out into the street and hunt for the name plaque, and then memorise ‘Rua Comandante Henrique Bebiano B Neves’ – not quite as snappy as ‘High Street’ but a lot more imposing. The street names here often commemorate worthy citizens and their achievements, and it can all get very long-winded indeed - add to this the tendency to occasionally change street names and you can see why people choose to not bother using them unless absolutely necessary. It made us appreciate our own address – Praça da República - for being short, and memorable, and relatively easy to spell and pronounce for Anglophones… Which reminds me - it is our first anniversary of opening our office in Góis, and we have seen a full year turn past our window, and welcomed hundreds of people through our doors. I think I can say that we now feel an established part of the scenery here, and hopefully everyone knows where to find us!