Today is our outing to Carnaval in Loule - about a 40 minute bus trip from Albufeira.
The weather looks promising this morning - a bit warmer than the past few days and though there are lots of clouds there is also quite a lot of sun as well. So it looks like we will be going with hopes that the weather holds - at least it doesn't rain.
Well, the weather was not great but not terrible either - mostly overcast with a few short sunny breaks and a bit warmer than it has been - about 16 C. Most importantly, it didn't rain!
As usual, click on any of the photos to see a slightly larger version.
The parade was quite good but much less colourful and exciting than 2009. There also appeared to be fewer floats, bands and dancers and most were less inspiring than 2009. And there seemed to be less enthusiasm and energy among many of the participants this year and the crowd was much smaller and also relatively less enthusiastic - though there were still lots of costumes in the crowd.
The differences from 2009 could be a result of a struggling economy and less than optimum weather.
Our guide told us that there has been an increasing Brazilian influence on Carnaval in Portugal. The Portuguese celebration has traditionally been a relatively quiet, inexpensive local event with costumes etc.,made by the local families who participate. In contrast, in Brazil, it is much more extravagant and towns and cities spend most of the year and large amounts of money in preparation. The Brazilian influence in Portugal has led to larger more elaborate affairs including the introduction of more sparsely clad to nude young women.
I found myself taking few photos of the floats and many of people both in the parade and in the crowd.
Here are a few of those I like most - and since google limits me to 5 or 6 photos per post I will probably do a two or three postings in order to show a few more photos.
More to come - stay tuned.
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