Blog 4: mid April Easter in Tavira

With multiple friends and relatives sick with Covid and other more serious ailments, not to mention a horrendous war in the Ukraine destroying hundreds of thousands of innocent lives and a bone chilling storm raging across the western Canadian provinces, I have been questioning the relevancy of writing a travel blog from sunny Portugal.  But hopefully a minor diversion is also helpful at times. 

Sidewalk Amaryllis 

Fig tree avoids pickers

My time in Portugal has also made me appreciate how very fortunate I am. The simplicity of life here has given me pause and pleasure.  Walking to pick up freshly baked hot bread and the few groceries I can carry, also means I have time to notice when flowers are poking out of cracks or a lone fig tree leans out over the river. Time to appreciate the huge diversity of bird species all around in the air, the salt pans and singing from the trees and bushes.  And who knew two cars could snuggle up and share one parking spot. Or that a field of daisies could be so soothing.
Field of daisies

Snuggling cars in one spot
 

Last week Krys and Patricia went home to canada after a short visit North to Sinatra and Porto.  Madis returned to his tree nursery in Estonia  and John travelled to Porto for a week and is now enjoying Copenhagen and then his family in Ireland before returning to Tavira at the end of April. Sue has Mary visiting from Saskatoon and we will be enjoying Easter dinner with them. 

The last Supper on our roof deck
Heading North for a rest
         

  




Enjoying morning coffee with J, Sue and Mary




This week we have not only been enjoying the sunshine and mid 20s temperatures but Easter in Tavira has been very interesting. Last Sunday we noticed that the Roman bridge had been festooned with Palm leaves and a bunch of weedy looking plants covered the cobblestones. So time to consult the social calendar and we learned that the Palm Sunday procession was scheduled to begin at 6 pm. So J and I positioned ourselves in the square with a gelato each and waited in anticipation.  Soon a band, banners and about a dozen floats came down the hill and over the bridge, supported by hundreds of locals. Each float was bedecked with beautiful fresh flowers and carried by 8 strong and sweating Portuguese men, spares stood ready to lend a hand .  Each float told the life of Jesus as represented by various religious orders of Tavira and it took about an hour and a half to wind through the town.




 

The Good Friday procession took place around 9:30 pm. Thousands lined the streets and stood in front of the Roman era archway as drums beat and the procession started. I felt like we were participants in a period movie set as all the gas street lamps were turned off leaving only the moonlight, candles and flaming torches to light the way.  Robed participants swung smoking cages of incense that seeped through our masks and made it doubly hard to breathe at times. I felt certain that covid would not win the battle against incense. It was a solemn, respectful crowd from babies to old folks that slowly marked one of the most sacred days in Portugal, a procession from the Misericordia church through the ancient stone arch, over the Roman bridge and along the waterfront - one that has been repeating every Good Friday for centuries in Tavira.

Waiting with grandma

Procession begins
            


The Easter Sunday procession took place at 10 am today. It was a bit anti climatic  as it was short, without floats and far fewer participants.  Maybe folks were already gathering for their big Easter lunch of roast lamb?  Priests stopped on the bridge to pray in the hot sun. We followed for a bit but decided we would be better off finding a shaded cafe to rest our sinning souls. 






So another blog has helped remember our time in Tavira. I hope you are well as you read this and blessed by friends, family and good health. 🥰

















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