WELCOME TO Val's Alentejo -I write about my region of Alentejo. My art ,painting, my cottages, Family life, my animals -Travels And my love for Roses- and rural country life.

Monday 30 April 2012

"Romaria" pilgrimage 2

I have written at the bottom of the photos. We were all so lucky. The sun was out, a few drops of rain.
The riders and horses with carriages and charets..took 4 days to arrive .. I was told that it was one of the best "Romarias" for years.
The genteleman on the white horse is a Don.. I need to find out his name and his position in the equestrian circles. He looked so regal dressed in his Alentejo traditional dress.












The Guarda Civil horse guards were mounted ready to lead the procession to the church. Such magnificent horses.




The crowds were cheering and waving. Virgin maria surrounded with beautifu country flowers.
4 horses pulling the carriage with virgin maria.

Here they are all coming.

I was out with my camera to join the crowds on Saturday at 4.30 ,waiting with anticipation the arrival of the 500 participants in the 2012 "Romaria" of Viana do Alentejo.
I found a great place to take photos- and can tell you that the procession brought a tear to my eye. It was truly amazing, it took my breath away.
One could see that the riders and horses were tired from the 4 day journey.

My family were here the weekend. So i did not go to the blessing ceremony. just cant fit it all in.

I have uploaded the photos in no particular order.. I do hope that you enjoy looking at them. It was a wonderful day.
Finishing the evening off having a super dinner with my friend Manuela..

Happy Monday to all my dear blogging friends.

33 comments:

  1. Dear Val, Thank you for sharing this most amazing procession. So many different types of carriages, it is really interesting. The statue of the Virgin Mary is very pretty, and also intriguing. Is she holding a golden ship? That is what it looks like to me. I have never seen her represented in this way. What a fascinating country you live in! Happy week xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dearest Patricia,
    So glad that you liked the photos.
    As you can imagine these old religious ceremonies
    of most of Europe's catholic countries have their mystic origins. I have seen this procession a couple of times. I have never watched it on its arrival. This year i promised myself i would.
    Yes, i see the ship. I will have to speak to someone involved and find out exactly why she is holding it.
    The village people all have different views of this occassion.! Happy Monday Patricia.
    Hope that you are getting better.
    val

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Val:
    How very impressive all of this looks. What a feat to endure a four day journey, but the procession is truly something very special and you were so fortunate to be there. This is history in action!

    The horses are absolutely magnificent and we are not surprised that the event drew a very large crowd. We should have certainly wanted to be there if we had been in the vicinity.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you Jane and Lance,
    You would have enjoyed it emensley.. it was such a lovely sight to see.
    I am sure you have great traditions and festivities in Hungary.
    Its a long weekend here.. grandchildren in and out.
    Happy day
    best wishes
    val

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Val - I have been looking forward to seeing your photos of the Romaria pilgrimage, what a wonderful sight.
    It must take a huge amount of organisation to get everyone and the horses forming a procession over 4 days. Sleeping, stabling the horses, and food preparations for so many people.
    A fantastic spectacle, and something I would love to see.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Val,
    Thank you for sharing these lovely pictures with us that have captured the occasion. It's wonderful to see old traditions still be kept. The flowers on the carriage looked wonderful.
    Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a wonderful sight, I can understand the emotion you felt, absolutely stunning!
    Thea x

    ReplyDelete
  8. It was an amazing afternoon.
    glad you liked the photos. I tried my best.
    I was so in awe of it all.
    Thanks Thea..
    happy days

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you Sarah.
    glad that you liked the post and the photos.
    I enjoyed myself very much. it was a fantastic afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  10. So glad that you liked the photos Rosemary.
    It was one of those moments, that i wished i had a better camera. But i was able to take some good ones.
    It is a great affair. Each year, seems to get better and better. The younger members are coming in with new ideas .. it was sonderful.
    They dont stable the horses. They sleep out ..camp fire and singing , tents or some sleep in homes of friends they know from doing the Romaria for so many years.
    It really is very well organised.
    I appreciate your lovely comments ..
    will see you soon .. val

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dear Val, truly amazing photographs! The participants all look so pride, handsome and beautiful! No wonder it all brought tears into your eyes! I guess you also had wonderful moments with your family! Good for the heart and the soul! Thank you, Val! Christa

    ReplyDelete
  12. So beautiful and different from anything I have experienced! The horses are really beautiful, and I love the clothes and the uniforms!

    What a beautiful procession, Val!

    Thank you for sharing the images. Portugal seems like a beautiful place I would like to visit!

    CIAO!

    ANNA
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. Dear Anna,
    It was such a lovely sight to see .. The horses and the riders.
    I know too, that Italy have fantastic traditional festivals and I would love to see them.
    We are lucky here in the old world. Traditions are maintained and our children and grandchildren learn about them all.
    Happy tuesday Anna
    baci val

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you Christa,
    So glad you enjoyed my photos. it was a wonderful experience. One i hope to repeat again.

    ReplyDelete
  15. HI Sandy,
    thank you for your comments.
    I too wished i was amongst the riders.
    It was lovely. Hope to see it again next year.

    ReplyDelete
  16. It must have been a wonderful sight, I'm not surprised that the riders were tired after a four day journey. What a splendid thing to be part of though.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Dear Val
    Very beautiful procession. It's nice to respect the traditions and customs of each country. Children learn now to continue their traditions. Thanks for the great celebration that you shared with us.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you Olympia,
    It was such a wonderful day.
    Its very good for the children to grow up with these traditions.
    Greece has nice traditions too
    Happy 1st May
    val

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks Rowan,
    It really was a wonderful day.
    thanks for your comments.
    Happy 1st may val

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hello Val, so nice to see you stop by. Glad I popped over to see your amazing photographs. What a journey, four days on horses!! Special indeed. Thank you for sharing with us.
    Much love,
    Marcia

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a wonderful celebration! I really enjoyed looking through all the pictures. The horses are so pretty. I appreciate knowing the history of other cultures. Thank you for sharing a little of it.
    ~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

    ReplyDelete
  22. Beautiful, Val! Thank you so much for sharing these photographs! It looks like it was a wonderful day. I'm glad you were able to be there, and to be with family and friends, too.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thank you Haworth,
    It was such a wonderful day and so exciting to see the arrival of the horses and riders, carriages and charets.
    My grandson Tom loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thank you for all your kind comments Haworth.
    Its been a busy week.
    I have had a lovely day today 1st of May.
    hope yours was a good one too.
    best wishes val

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thank you Sheri,
    I was elated to be able to watch the horses on their arrival. 4 days trek. But they all looked magnificent.
    it was a wonderful afternoon.
    wait again until next year.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thank you for stopping by Marcia,
    Am pleased that you liked the photos i took.
    Its a most beautiful sight to see.
    A very happy saturday afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Each country have their own religious ceremonies.
    Here too they carry the statues..all on different festive occasions.
    This month is a very special month here in Portugal.
    thank you Haworth..

    ReplyDelete
  28. These photos are beautiful Val. I have not heard of this journey. No doubt it is a very old tradition. I must read about it. I love the traditional costumes.
    Hope you are enjoying some nice weather. It's wet and cold here today!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thank you Betty,
    Glad that you liked my photos and the post.
    Its always interesting to know about other cultures
    Portugal has a rich culture.

    Its a cold wet April here. I have had to put the heating on again.

    ReplyDelete
  30. This looks really exciting Val! Good the sun was shinning : ) The sun has been shinning here too for almost three! days in a row! It's a blast! One gets in such a good mood : )
    Thank you for your comment at my blog. Please take a look at http://abouterleichda.tumblr.com/ and http://pinterest.com/demiek/ if you wish. Of course it's hardly the same thing, but it takes less time and energy and it is better for me right now than "real" blogging...
    Still I will try to pass by your lovely blog more often. I have missed some of you a lot : )

    Enjoy a lovely mornth of May dear friend

    ReplyDelete
  31. Thank you dear Demie,
    Your comments mean a lot. I was missing your lovely blogs.. but i will be over there now to see what its all about. I have a couple of friends on Pinterest.. i want to see what thats about too.
    best wishes.. val

    ReplyDelete
  32. Dear Val, Thank you for sharing and taking such beautiful photogrphs of this fabulous procession. I love seeing old customs uheld and ceremonies repeated. It brings people together even if only for a few days. I would have loved to have been there, to smell the horses and the excitement of the days. ox, Gina

    ReplyDelete
  33. Dear Gina,
    You would have loved it. Especially seeing the traditional Portuguese saddle's!! and some of the men and women dressed in "Marialva" style.
    It was so fantastic. I was even telling myself that i should get back up on one of our mare's and get prepared for next year..who knows.!
    thank you gina.
    Happy days
    val

    ReplyDelete

comments will be published after approval