Bike and Cart Festival in Gois in August 2010

 Since September 2007 i have never yet been able to attend the Bike Festival and also the Cart Festival held each year in August.

Below is a report about last years event and also some pictures of the cart Festival..

On Sunday it was the 2nd annual go-kart races of Vale Moreiro/Manjão, and like last year, it attracted many entrants and even more spectators. Our company having sponsored an entrant and provided the official t-shirts for the event, Richard was keen to be out with his camera catching those wonderful moments of triumph and disaster – I was happy to simply observe proceedings from the comfort of my hammock on the veranda, just catching the odd flash of a go-kart speeding past…And how happy I am now that we are back to having our nights disturbed only by the barking of the village dogs – the thunderous rumbling of practicing go-karters at 3am being over for another year!

The Cart Festival is held at Vale Moreiro/Manjão this village is only 1km outside of Gois. This year the Cart Festival is held on the 8th August.

The Bike Festival is held on the weekend of the 19th to the 22nd of August.

The Bike Festival is held on the weekend of the 19th to the 22nd of August.
My friend Richards  is the official photographer. I have left a link at the bottom of the page for the event website and photos.

Here is a report about last years Bike Festival.
Today I breathed a huge sigh of relief on waking, knowing that the Motorbike Festival was over for another year. I try to put myself in the position of a bike enthusiast – I imagine the conviviality of being with like-minded enthusiasts, the sense of freedom from the usual restrictions of having to wear helmets, the sheer joyful anarchy of being able to tear up and down the street on a great thrumming metal machine…yes, I can just about imagine it, but it still makes me jump when the engines are revved, and I cannot really get into the whole big noisy machine thing. Having said all that, it is rather wonderful to see the little town of Góis filled with happy smiling people (I like the people more than their bikes) and to feel that party atmosphere in the air on such a large scale. The music I can take or leave, (with the exception of the Bob Marley tribute band, where I was singing along with the best of them) but the sheer fact of having a huge stage with a proper lighting and sound system is pretty exciting, I will admit. Then there is the sight of so many of the local community doing their bit for the Moto Club, all voluntarily, and the knowledge of how the money raised benefits the local community, as well as the benefits for the local traders…so perhaps it is not so bad after all, and it IS only for one weekend in the year - therefore I have decided not to be curmudgeonly about it. But it is still nice to see the motorbikes leave and to have our town back to normal.
© Richard Land

http://www.goisproperty.com/Online-Business-Gois/Eventos/Gois_Moto_Clube.html#

Car hire at Porto airport and Faro

After travelling to Portugal now about twenty times i have hire quite a few cars.

At Porto airport you gets picked up and taken to the place where all the hire companies are situated. On two of my trips i found after turning up to pick up my car only to find that i was not getting a car. The reason being was that i only had a personal Debit card. What i needed was a credit card, i only have a company credit card and it's not for personal use. On each of these two occasions i had to walk around all the hire companies until i got a car.

I tried to use my company card but because it was not in the name of the hirer i was refused again.

One company i did find helpful was called Economycarhire now these people use a company called Rentauto to supply the hire car. At the Porto airport you get met by the company reps and taken to the hire company office. At the office unlike the other companies you are expected and the papers are ready for your arrival. Nice comfy chairs to sit in unlike the standing in line at the other companies. The service is by far the best i have met on all my trips to Portugal. At Faro airport on the two flights into there i have made i got the same excellent service. 

If i had a credit card i would never have had the problems i have had or i would never have found a company who provides such excellent service. My reason for a Debit card was simple  if it gets lost or it's stolen then all i could loose was the amount of money i had on the card.

www.economycarhire.com

I had to extend the Promissory Contract for my house.

In November 2009 i went over to Gois to sign and pay the deposit for my house in Vale Boa.

The deposit was transferred ready for the signing at the office of My friends Richard and Patricia who run an estate agency called Goisproperty. There is a link below. I was due to arrive at the office at 10am on the Saturday morning but i was still asleep. I was woken by a load knock on the door by Patricia to get me to the office  for the signing. What a time to be late for what must be the most important day of my life. The signing of the Promissory Contract. Well i arrived and duly signed and i was now legally bound to complete the purchase and the Promissory Contract was for a period of Eight months. Here in the UK i have a house to sell in Gwladys St Liverpool and this is to fund my move, well as time is going by it was became clear that i may have to extend the Promissory Contract. I called the agent Richard and explained my position and he agreed it would be wise to get the Contract extended. This we did and i now have till December 2010 when i must pay the balance.


For me it was a worrying time but i had good agents and all went ahead and i now have nothing to worry me apart from selling my house. But that's another story.

I must add that i was introduced to Richard and Patricia by my friends Diana and Terry back in September 2007. At the time Richard and Patricia where like many just expats but working to open there own business.

I found that over a period of time that a number of estate agents have links to my Facebook page and one day i saw a property with one agent called Goisproperty. At this time i didn't know that it was my friends Richard and Patricia. The property i saw was the one i now have a deposit on in Vale Boa. When i enquired about the property it was a surprise to find that i was friends who where  the agents. Before i decided  to purchase the property i viewed it a number of times before i committed myself, i even took my son to see the house. I had to be sure that i was making the right choice.

To transfer my money i used a company recommended to me by others who had used them and they had money transferred without any problems. I have placed a link as they did a good job for me and they may be able to help others as well.

  The Foremost Currency Group 

  http://www.goisproperty.com