Portugal sounds like……
Dogs barking. Every farm house has a guard dog — or two or three. And their primary purpose in life is to bark madly at every walker who passes by.
2) Goat and cow bells. Most goats and cows have bells dangling around their necks. I am scarcely ever beyond the call of these bells. The sound is strangely soothing, especially at twilight. The herd below was especially musical!
3) Roosters crowing. Before dawn. In the morning. In the afternoon. Whenever they please!! Even in the towns, there are chicken and roosters everywhere. These guys were directly below my rather spiffy hotel room balcony.
4) Birds singing. I recorded this choir along the banks of the Sao Teotonio Stream today.
5) Cuckoos. Who knew that they sound exactly like the clocks? Or vice versa I guess. Somehow I thought the clock was a mechanical approximation — but it’s an exact replica. There are times when it sounds as though the forest is festooned in clocks.
And finally, church bells. Every village or town has a church/igreja. Every igreja has a bell. And each of them chime on the hour without fail.
Sao Teotónio igreja
Speaking of sounds, I’ve been hiking along the Rio Mira for the past two days; and I’ve had the Song of the Mira stuck in my head. This isn’t Cape Breton, but the peacefulness of the riverside is similar.
Out on the Mira, on warm afternoons
Old men go fishing, with black line and spoons
And if they catch nothing, they never complain
I wish I was with them again
Can you imagine a piece of the universe
More fit for princes and kings?
I’ll trade you ten of your cities for Marion Bridge
And the pleasure it brings.
(Except I always thought the lyrics were
Can you imagine a piece of the universe. Forfeit for princes and kings.
Somehow I think my version works better? (with apologies to Allister MacGillivray)……)
