One of the reasons we wanted to visit Praia da Vitoria at this time was the week long Festa here - starting 29 July , ending 7 August. During this period, the town comes alive with many activities taking part simultaneously in various locations and the main basalt / white limestone cobbled street is decorated for the nightly processions. The streets are alive with people till the early hours of the morning.
The activities cover most sports, all kinds of music, folkdancing and marquees have been erected close to the marina where restaurants from mainland Portugal, give one the opportunity to try their specialities.
And of course playing with bulls - ever since the fabled Battle of Salga Bay 5 July 1581 when the island was invaded by the Spanish the islanders have been obsessed with bulls. The islanders are reputed to have driven the invaders into the sea with the aid of 1000 bulls and cattle.
31 July we watched groups of islanders dressed in traditional clothing, carrying old farm equipment and singing to the accompaniment of guitars etc walking and dancing down the mainstreet
Please click on the arrow to start the video clip
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