After the unexpectedly boisterous streets of Lisbon during Ramadan, I was looking forward to a couple of quiet nights in Amarante, a “sleepy village” according to Lonely Planet, about an hour east of Porto. It’s also known as the village of love, hence its name. We arrived by bus in time for the end of the Saturday market, which my stepdad was excited about going to. Alas, the market only had a small fresh food section, with the rest looking like a combination of a dollar store and flea market, full of used books, old trinkets, cheap plastic items and clothing. But, it was sure bustling! It seemed like everyone and their car was there. So much for sleepy.

We found our apartment in amongst the historical houses, narrow streets, and churches. Portugal was a very Catholic country, evidenced in the ridiculous number of remaining churches. And in case you forgot about this history for a second, the bells ringing at all times will surely remind you. Our apartment was surrounded by them, which went off on the hour, but about a minute after each other, to ensure they each were heard. In between these hourly occurrences, bells would go off seemingly constantly, at various patterns. A bit of research revealed both the funeral and wedding that one of the churches held while we were there required special bell patterns.

While inconsistent, this noise was preferable to the pounding EDM type music that floated across the water from the carnival during the otherwise peaceful river walk. Luckily, this died down by sunset, to be replaced by what we were convinced was the sound of a teenager learning how to play the drums, much to the chagrin and patience of his parents. As it turned out, it was multiple teenagers learning how to play the drums, at the youth cultural centre across the river, which was actually pretty cool. Plus, they stopped practicing at 10pm sharp.

If you thought that a wedding, funeral, market, carnival and band practice were all that this sleepy village could manage in the course of our 48 hours there, you’d be wrong. Apparently, one of the Porto football teams (whichever one the people of Amarante support) won the championship, resulting in various cheers, honking, screaming, and fireworks. Which was pretty fun, and much more appealing than the carnival EDM music for sure.

To get away from the exhausting sleepiness of the village, we went for a (5 hour) Sunday stroll along an old railway bed, that has been paved for cyclists and pedestrians and winds its way through gorgeous wine country. Sunday definitely felt quieter, that is, until 10:30pm, when a new round of fireworks went off about 100 metres from us, lasting for at least 10 minutes. I could see them from my room, which was nice. I have no idea what they were about though. Maybe celebrating love, or love of noise?

Overall, Amarante was a gorgeous town and I really enjoyed it, but if you want sleepy, maybe try during the week, or another town.