My friend Jake has come up with the theme of Silence for this week’s Sunday Post challenge. Hush! I’m searching for the sound.
How rare is silence! At home, with the TV and radio turned off, still there’s that intermittent ping of the fridge, a gurgle from the central heating, or the steady breathing of my laptop. Walking down the street, my head buzzes with thoughts and words, never mind the rumbling of the traffic.
So where do you find silence? For me, the gentle Algarve countryside is peace and quiet itself. Bird song, or maybe the rustle of the eucalyptus, is all of the sound.
Even the Algarve villages can be a place of refuge and silence.
Empty beaches on the Ria Formosa, with sandbars that stretch for miles, have no lapping tide to disturb the stillness.
Wide, open spaces characterise the west coast, but peace there can often be disturbed by the crash of the waves.
Still, there’s always an empty cove to be found, at the right time of the day.
And as the day ends, sunlight, glinting on the water, carries no sound.
Cliff tops have always held appeal for me. High above the water, I revel in the silence.
Far from the Algarve, the North York moors owe their restorative powers to the stillness of their ridges and valleys.
And when the colours roll in…
…there’s no place like it. Even the bees hum quietly.
So where do you go to find your silence? It’s something to be treasured. Something that all of us need.
Jake has given so much pleasure in providing this opportunity to look at and experience our world. Many thanks to him. You will always be welcomed to Jakesprinter’s world. Please, just follow the link.














Loved them all! There’s nothing quite like the Yorkshire Moors!
Hear! hear!
WOW! I love your silent places. I wish I had your gift of telling a story or explaining a place. Your words had me seeing, hearing and feeling each place you took us. Nice post for the challenge.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
Thank you Francine. That’s so kind of you. Your photos and quotations do the same for me.
Really nice post Jo!
Thanks Andrew. Homesick yet, or are you back? Rough luck on Andy!
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Lovely scenes of the Algarve countryside, Johanna. In past years, I found silence and tranquil moments while hiking high in the forest overlooking Heidelberg, Germany’s old town. Such a beautiful spot!
The photos I’ve seen of Heidelberg make it look pretty special, Tricia. It has been noted for the future.
Beautiful place.
So many nice ones to choose from!
Beautiful silent places. As much as I try to find the quiet, I can still hear birds chirping. But that’s ok. I’ll keep looking.
Thanks for lovely photos and words to match.
Thanks Gem. Don’t mind the birds, but I’m not so fussy on the bees!
Great photos restlessjo, I wish to be there right now.:)
I’ll settle for the Algarve, for sure. It’s been bleak here lately! Thank you!
Gorgeous photos, Jo. They captures the isolation and the ruggedness of the place.
Thanks Naomi. Can’t wait to see what you’ve done on the theme!
These are beautiful photos and places of refuge and silence. Somehow natural sounds…ocean, birds, etc. are soothing to me and make me feel part of the environment. It’s the human dis tractors that invade my ability to appreciate silence.
I’m very bad at concentrating when it’s noisy, Lynne. I hate the burble of the TV, etc if I’m reading or writing. But you’re right- lapping waves are no distraction at all. (except if I want to paddle!)
Beautiful places to enjoy the silence! Great post! This is a wonderful theme, I’m working on mine…
Thank you! I’ll look forward to it! It’s always interesting to see different takes on the challenges.
Excellent work for this week theme my friend your work are very inspirational thanks for sharing .
Thanks Jake. I loved doing it, and thank you, too.
Beautiful photos and descriptions, Jo!
Thanks Robin! Still on your hols? Make them last!
No, we’re back again, and now I’m trying to fill the house with food and clean clothes while dealing with auto repair. Ah, yes–it was great while it lasted!
Aw, shame! Start planning the next one, when you’ve recovered. I’m off to Wroclaw with Dad next week and the amount of preparation and catch up that goes into leaving my beloved (who doesn’t cook) and son, is hard work. No gain without pain, huh?
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The beach at Burgau is my favorite…very beautiful. Thanks for sharing:)
I have a photo of the full beach with just my footsteps on it. Alas, I am also in shot. If I was skillful I’d photo edit me out, but that’s learning for another day.
You have picked some excellent photos to convey the theme Jo, they really give a sense of tranquility. The very best silence that I ever heard (?) was some years ago when I was perched atop a rock in the middle of a Saudi desert. There was just nothing to be heard, no birds, no wind…just nothing except my own breathing. It was so beautiful and yet so strange.
Sounds magical, David. You spent time in Oman too, didn’t you? It looks beautiful too from photos I’ve seen.
I know what you mean about the chaos of everyday life which make finding a place to be “silent” golden. You have some very nice places to go for peace, but for me I like your selection of the beach at Burgau. Cheers.
That’s 2 votes for Burgau, so far. Glad you could stop by. Hope the new job’s going well.
gorgeous images Jo – I love those rugged pictures…exactly the place I could search for silence
Thanks Jo. I love them too, though on a damp, dreary day like today they wouldn’t be much fun.
Very pretty, dreamy pictures. Nice post Jo!
Dreaming- that’s what I’m good at! Thanks Meg.
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Beautiful places to find silence. My sister used to live on the Yorkshire Moors. So beautiful there.
Whereabouts, Ad?
She lived in Ilkley, and we used to take her golden labrador for walks on the Moors.
Gorgeous! (but not today- it’s pouring again)
Your places of solitude are just beyond words. Every image takes the viewer to a journey of peace , wonder and beauty that touches the soul. I can gaze at the sea forever…Thank you.
It’s always on my doorstep. I’d be lost without it too. Many thanks.
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I can “hear” the silence in these photos! Well done! As a big city girl, I always love to escape to the woods every weekend, so just love this post!
Thanks Zoe. It’s seriously wet in our woods at present, but I’m trying to keep my spirits up.
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OMG … These are incredibly gorgeous. I want to be there! So beautiful …
I have to say I would like the sunnier option of the two right now. Another non stop rainy day in north east England! I’m still smiling, but only just. All the nice comments do help, though.
Well … then here’s another. I LOVE YOUR BLOG … It’s awesome!!
Bless you. How very kind. I shall dance off into the sunlight this morning.
What a gorgeous place Jo! Your photos capture the serenity perfectly! Love them all.
The Algarve ones are for daydreaming and the Yorkshire ones, the “sound” of reality. (rain drumming on the windowpanes, Madhu) Thanks, hon.
Beautiful photos Jo, I don’t know anything about the Algarve so thank you.
It’s a lovely place, Gilly. As you can see, not just a tourist trap, but that’s there, should you want it. (I know you don’t)
I spent the summer of 1966 in Lisbon, but now I’m sorry I never made it to the Algarve.
Your thoughts on silence remind me of the opening sentences of Emerson’s essay “Nature”:
“To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me.”
Steve Schwartzman
http://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com
Great quote Steve. Wracking my brains to think where I was in the summer of 66. It has a nice ring to it.
Thanks for visiting.
True silence comes to me when I am visiting my family in the country, I can stand on their driveway and really see the magnificence of the night sky and all the glittering stars, no street lights, no traffic and no loud music. It is heavenly
Aaah, sounds lovely. No, maybe that’s not the best way of putting it!
Thanks for visiting Sam. I had to return to the post to remember what was in here- so much has happened in these few short weeks.
You’re welcome, I am still catching up on reading the blogs I follow, sometimes all I can do is ooh and aah at photos but hopefully life will slow down a little soon
I love this post. It is hard to find silence. Hot yoga is one place I enjoy to get away. Hiking in the mountains provides solitude and peace, but I love all the sounds of nature. I like to put my ears below the water when I am lying on my back swimming or in a bath and get a moment of silence. Love the question and the post!
Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed.
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Thanks Imogen. I love your sound of silence.