May Day in Alte

by Trevor & Joan Wilson
(Aberdeen)

We have been visiting the Algarve twice a year since 1988 and in that time we have had so many wonderful times.

If I had to pick just one it would have to be the May Day celebrations in Alte.

Wandering around the streets watching as the final preparations were carried out for the parade, then moving to a vantage point at the parapet in front of the Church to look down on the parade as it passed below us.

When the parade had gone by, everybody joined in and we all walked up to the area beyond the fountain where we watched some great entertainers and I tried out my limited Portuguese with a family of locals and sampling caracois (snails)and bread with them.

The saddest part of the day was having to leave early so that we could drive back down to the coast in daylight, because the roads were very poor back then.

Unfortunately that was long before digital cameras so as yet I am unable to add any photographs of the occasion.