Life in Gois The blog January

January 23th

Life in Góis

January 30th
Today the sun has made a very welcome appearance - we were beginning to think it had deserted us. The recent rain has swelled the river Ceira, causing it to race over the rocks and weirs in a manner quite different to its summertime meanderings. The roads are also awash with oranges, beaten down by the wind and rain, so it is literally a case of 'driving over oranges' (not lemons though!) whenever we go out. The acacia trees are poised to burst into bloom, as soon as they get some consistent sunshine - I always feel their exuberant yellow blossom is the first true sign of spring. But for now, the winter reds and whites of the camellia blossoms are the predominant colours around the village, standing out against the glossy green of their foliage. Mostly they seem to have bravely stood up to the rain - when they drop, they fall in their entirety, covering the ground with their exotic blooms.

January 23th
Despite the inclement weather of the last few days, Richard and Anna continue to be out and about in the villages and towns around the region, making valuations and photographing properties for sale. We are hugely impressed by the amount of support that has been forthcoming from the local population - for every house that we seek out, another two are brought to us, making our task at this early stage of building our company much easier than it might have been. Our aim of being the first fully operational legal and licensed Property Agents in Góis is coming ever closer, as we are also seeing our office premises take shape, to the great interest of everyone in the town.
The work that we have been carrying out over the last year, investigating and documenting the local history of the area, continues as we have come across some buildings of significant historical interest, posing more questions about life in this part of Central Portugal. It is exciting to uncover the details of these buildings – each with a suggestion that a story lies behind them waiting to be told...

January 15th
Belated New Year’s greetings to everyone! The last few weeks has seen us in a turmoil of activity as we prepare to open our new office, at the same time as we are busy finding properties and making contracts for sale. Hence the lack of recent blog entries, for which I apologise – but ‘Life in Góis’ does go on...
In common with most of Portugal, last weekend brought the rare spectacle of snow covering the hills and villages around Góis. I happen to believe that a light dusting of snow enhances any landscape, and this was no exception – the countryside looked magical. As the sun gained strength the snow quickly melted away, so we never managed to build that snowman - although in some regions like Bragança they had several inches fall, for the first time in 20 years. We have also had some spring-like days with the temperature climbing into the mid-teens, when doors and windows have been flung open and throughout the village colourful rugs and covers have appeared on the line to air. But I have to confess – today we woke to the rain beating down and a squally wind blowing. It is January after all, and we have to expect some winter to make sure that we don’t take all that lovely sunshine totally for granted!

Unlocking the history of the Góis region

Updated 14 June, 2010