Festival

Have been busy preparing for my trip, getting the pub stocked up for the relief etc.

A phone call from Portugal on Friday confirms that the village Festival starts on the 10th of August and will last for 4 days. A fairground is constructed at one end of the village with dodgems, stalls and rides for the kids and a temporary arena is constructed at the other end of the village where a series of musical performances ranging from Portuguese Fado to pop bands are staged. The entire promenade is lined with market stalls and temporary food stalls. I don't know what will happen this year as the stall holders normally drive iron stakes to hold the canvasses into the road surface but I can't see the local authorities being too happy about driving metal stakes into the brand new surface of the promenade. We shall see.

The highlight of the festival for me is at 6pm on Sunday when following a service in the church the icons of all the saints are carried through the village accompanied by a marching band. The icon of Santa Luzia is carried to the pier where a fishing boat is moored festooned in flowers and other decorations and a blessing is performed presumably to ensure the safety and success of the fishing fleet throughout the coming year.

During the festival the village is extremely busy and it is almost impossible to eat in any of the restaurants without either a reservation or a very long wait. Many visitors arrive from Lisbon and other parts of Portugal and it will be interesting to see how many foreigners are about this year.

Santa Luzia