The Romeiros of Sao Miguel

The sound of men singing echoed between the houses just about dawn on Saturday. A return from a night long celebration perhaps or maybe some soldiers returning to the barracks at the top of the street?  No, this was too melodic and harmonious.

The same song was heard later that day as we waited for a bus, Looking up we saw a large group of men and youths climbing the church steps. They each carried a staff, capped with a brass cross, scarf around the neck, shawl on the shoulders and a bag on the back. As they entered the church, the staff was left at the door and the singing quietened.

The Romeiros, the pilgrims of Sao Miguel island. Each year at the end of February, they gather in groups, many are returned emigrees from around the World. For seven days, dawn till dusk, they walk the roads and tracks of the island, visiting in turn each of the churches and chapels. The island is encircled in a clockwise procession whist the Ave Maria is sung.  Each evening they are given shelter and a meal in a family home. Their bag of food for the next day's march is replenished. Some have made the pilgrimage for many years, for others it is a one time event. All have the same deep faith to follow this age old tradition. The pilgrimages started in the 16th century to seek through prayer, deliverence from the volcanic eruptions of the islands which were then thought to be the retribution of God. 

 

The King of Fruits

The pineapple played an important role in the history of Ponta Delgada in the Azores. Images of the fruit appear in the mosaic pavements in the eastern part of the city where it is still cultivated.

 

Orange farming was a staple industry of the Azores in the 19th century and the fruit was exported in large quantities. When the citrus groves became decimated by concave gum disease, plantation owners sought an alternative crop.

The pineapple had been introduced to the islands in the 17th century, brought from central America by Portuguese navigators. They were grown for the landed gentry as a curiosity but gradually farmers  perfected methods of cultivation.

The first commercial greenhouse was built in 1864 and was able to support 800 plants. By the early 20th century, 4300 greenhouses had been built and the pineapple was Sao Miguel Island's main export crop.

The Azores are too far north for outdoor cultivation and the greenhouses of whitewashed glass are used to re-create the natural conditions for growing the fruit. 

First the soil is prepared to create a "hot bed" using a mixture of firewood, earth, sawdust and ground incense. Natural decomposition produces the heat inside the greenhouses that the plants need to grow. Four months after planting, the smoking process begins. Wood chips and leaves are burned each evening producing a thick smoke. The following morning the houses are ventilated and this process continues for 8 to 10 days. The result of this cycle is that the plants all flower simultaneously. Growing a Sao Miguel pineapple takes between 18 and 24 months.





A number of the remaining plantations now depend upon tourism to support their business. Visitors are offered free tours and have the opportunity to buy pinapples and related products from the gift shops. There are still hundreds of greenhouses on the island, mostly in the south which has the warmer climate.

 

The Stubborn Turret of the Azores

One feature of the countryside of Sao Miguel Island in the Azores is the dry stone walls of black basalt. This volcanic rock is seen throughout the island and is the most common building material. The lanes high above Ponta Delgada are lined with these walls, sometimes as high as four metres. Occasionally these are broken by an arched doorway or a window giving evidence of a former building. They are only softened by the profusion of spring flowers such as lilies, nasturtiums or hydrangeas which line the roads. 

Emerging into the village of Fajã de Baixo we came across the strangely named "Stubborn Turret" or "O Torreão das Teimosas". Derelict atop a small hill, this tower is little known except for the image carved into its walls by local artist, Vhils. "Sweet hug blessed by the moon" the face and arms of a woman, was created as part of Walk and Talk, a public art festival.
The tower was built in the nineteenth century from the period of Portuguese romanticism for lawyer and politician Henrique Ferreira da Paula Medeiros as a place of leisure and retreat. The tower is part of the Quinta do Torreão, all of which is now in ruins. The entrance from the road is flanked by two derelict buildings one of which had been a house. The top of the tower would have afforded views over the surrounding countryside and out over the nearby Atlantic. Although an empty shell, one can still trace the flights of stairs that rose through three floors.  The outer staircase is now degraded to a grassy ramp leading to the second floor.