The Flower Festival, Festa da Flor
Some people collect stamps, some play with trains; inhabitants of Madeira grow flowers. It's like a national hobby, and why not? They just put some seeds in the soil and sun and regular rains will take care of the rest. They organize a colorful festival, which includes street market, flower carpets, exhibitions, parades with beautifully decorated floats and many other events.
Madeira has always been an important port on the road between Europe, Africa and America. Merchants from all over the world have imported here, among other things, also plants that have perfectly adapted to the subtropical climate.
The result is that nowadays the island is shining with colors, you can see blooming exotic flora everywhere. No wonder they celebrate spring with the Flower Festival, which attracts more and more tourists every year.
It all began in 1954 when the Festival of Roses took place in Funchal, the capital of the island, and somebody had a good idea to invite also "amateurs" to show off. As I said, the flowers growing is like a national hobby and so everybody brought his best one.
The display was a huge success. The organizers awarded plenty of prizes and since then the festival has been devoted to all the plants. Gradually, they added the street decoration and floral carpets, exhibition and competition for the most interesting or beautiful plant, street market, performances of traditional music and dancing groups, building the Wall of Hope ...
Even though a few years ago I spent in Madeira two weeks, its stunning beauty once again surprised me.
Thanks to the blooming jacaranda whose flowers look like grapes, the main avenue Arriaga turned into a violet tunnel. The pavements were already covered with sweet-smelling carpets. Those who made them have used many varieties of flowers, even orchids. They placed the speakers on the surrounding pillars, so while watching the carpets we listened to the romantic waltzes. This is a nice Portuguese habit.
People in the stalls sold the bouquets, seeds, seedlings and plants in pots. Nice, strange and bizarre ones. Irises, hydrangeas, shampoo ginger (similar to a brush), telopeas (resembling a chrysanthemum) and proteas. The last one was given the name of a Greek God called Proteus and it seems so noble that it deserves it. It is a huge flower - a white-pink sphere on the wooden stem, wrapped in leaves, looking like carved out of the wood.
I wanted to buy something, but last time I brought home a gorgeous agapanthus who got a thermal shock and died soon. After this failure, I knew it was not worth investing in this sector. Such a pity, I would have spent a lot of money here! I could only admire the color combinations and the stunning scents.
The island is also famous for the exotic fruits, which were sold in the market too. The vendor was like a gifted choreographer. He put a small piece of a sliced fruit to the back of the hand of everybody around him, as soon as they licked it, he put a flesh on their palm, then on the other one, on the forearm, and before they even realized what was happening, they were leaving with a full shopping bag.
In the next stand, they mixed a poncha, divine drink of fruit juice, lemon, rum and honey. They offered a mint, passion fruit and lemon flavour; after having a glass of the last one suddenly I liked the whole event even more :)
The artists and artisans were together in one big stall. It was again confirmed I had an excellent taste. The beautiful cloth from a typical lace that caught my eye cost the earth… so I pretended I had a different table size at home, put it back on the shelf and bought a hydrangea brooch.
The whole city was decorated. On the promenade, there were two horses with a carriage of proteas, one of them had a back covered with a body-cloth of yellow orchids. The Municipal Square was embellished with pansies. The shops took part in the festivities too; they competed for the best-decorated shop window.
The locals displayed their treasures in the pavilions on the seafront, at the Praça do Povo square. Needless to describe, it must be seen. Many flower pots were already proudly labeled with the prize awarded them by a panel of experts. Probably the most original plants were the carnivorous "tubes". I liked very much the orchids - gigantic and miniature, purple, white, green, yellow, ash pink. Also roses, gerberas, carnations. Moreover, the model of Madeira, created from flowers and fruits that grow there. Although the show was crowded, people were polite and nice - in Portugal, I always feel comfortable...
The weather was constantly menacing, the mass of the black clouds was sitting on top of the mountain like a falco, ready to attack. Luckily, occasionally a soft drizzle occurred, but otherwise it was sunny all day long. Perfect time for a summer dress and sitting in the garden restaurant. Those in Funchal are fabulous and cozy, I would have loved to eat there five times a day (but my wallet didn’t allow me and nor did my weight). J
The most beautiful one ,,O Dragoeiro” was situated near my hotel. While I was sitting there with a steamy glass of white wine, the tropical trees whispered over my head. The hibiscus proudly showed its red flowers, the banana plant was adorned with the ripening fruits and the orchids surrounded me on all sides ... I felt cheerful and contented. Madeira is a romantic island, this attribute suits it the best.
I had a local specialty - a black scabbardfish, a fish similar to eel. They cook it with passion fruit juice, serve with bananas, potatoes and vegetables, and it is yummy! As a dessert, I opted for a passion fruit custard.
In the former pleasure and harbour district Zona Velha, there are also some very good restaurants.
The authorities gave the buildings at a disposal to the artists and nowadays almost every door has been painted with a different motive, some of them have even their own postcard. A great idea on how to make the previously dirty streets attractive. It's like having dinner in the gallery...
The artists settled also in the shops and offer local arts and crafts or funny gadget, such as the figures of football player Ronaldo, who comes from Madeira. I bought the ring with a violet orchid that will remind me of this beautiful island of flowers...
On Saturday, the children's march took place, ending in the square Praça do Município. The children carried flowers, which they used to build the so-called "Muro da Esperança”, the Wall of Hope. They entangled the stems in the wire structure, creating a green mural that symbolized faith in a more peaceful world.
Nevertheless, that was not all. The men prepared the cages on the stage and stood around them. The ceremony culminates in the launching of the pigeons, again the symbols of peace. The crowded square expected the eleven o'clock. Finally, we heart the anthem of the European Union and the people got what they were waiting for: the men opened the cages on command and everything flew away. Hundreds of pigeons circled a few times around the square, around the Town hall and then they disappeared in the distance. In the meantime, the men checked if all that was supposed to leave left the place and found one dunderhead that somehow did not want to get lost. Eventually, they swept it away - it had a solo flight and the loudest applause. The star of the show :)
Then everyone took a picture of Muro da Esperança or with the floral fairies, posing by the fountain. While children were singing on stage, girls in traditional costumes with typical (funny) funnel-shaped caps dismantled their bouquets and added the flowers to the green mural...
I went to try another local drink - Pé de cabra, the Goat leg. It is a blend of a black beer, Madeira red wine and cocoa, they stir it until a whitish foam is formed and finally add a few pieces of lemon peel. That's the secret of taste, the barman told me. To tell the truth, the taste was interesting, I drank it all, but I will not repeat this experience. For God's sake, who and in what state, had the idea to mix a good beer and wine?!
The streets were full of musicians and dancers. I watched the concert of accordionists and then the girls singing and dancing with tambourines. First they tapped the heel with the instrument, then the tip of the stretched leg, which they lifted up so high we could see the big black panties they had under their skirts...
But since 1979 the main event is the Sunday Flower Parade, which is made up of over a thousand performers. It was supposed to start at four, but the promenade Avenida Sá Carneiro was already full at three, which was not surprising. The Portuguese are the world champions in the waiting - see my article about the Trays' Festival in Tomar. Many women had flowers on their clothes, hair or hats.
First, children selling water appeared. Afterwards, the hostess advertising a sunscreen sprayed us. It was quite useful, because when the merciful wind from the sea didn’t blow, the heat was unsupportable.
Then the first float finally appeared on the horizon. The parade was actually something like a carnival. The carriages were decorated by the massive cascades of the flowers and accompanied by the color-matching groups - dancers and no dancers, girls young and old (obviously, there was a lack of guys willing to participate). They all had beautiful hats, caps or headbands decorated with real flowers.
The colors were everywhere, light, dark, fascinating, dazzling. They played mostly Portuguese songs I did not know, but their rhythm was contagious. Modern music, classical one, rock and roll, they all elevated mood. Everybody enjoyed them. It was a great show, I was half-deaf from the noise but I loved it!
When the last carriage arrived, I realized surprisingly, it took two and a half hours. Three little girls in white and blue enthusiastically waved and gave us airy kisses as to say bye...
The performers parked off on the parking lot on the seafront and I went to "refresh" myself with poncha to the Pub N 2, which should be the best on the island. The preparation took a few minutes, and while waiting, I realized that all the weight that I had lost over the day, I got back at the evening in the form of poncha. It's a bloody sweet caloric atom bomb, they probably have to add a lot of honey because the passion fruit juice is really acidic. However, I am not complaining... Next time, maybe I should attend the "Prepare your own poncha" course because at the airport I bought a bottle of the liquid, which had nothing in common with a fresh one...
The next day the new carpets replaced those old and dry, after all, the festival takes two weeks and everything has to look good.
Around 5 pm they began to dismantle the cars and give away the flowers, I got a long white protea and then went back to the hotel to pack. Because of a light rain, the jacaranda flowers fell off and covered the pavement; it was like walking across the violet carpet…
17 - 18 Days
