It has been said that Terceira is the “island of festivals.” Indeed, especially in the summer, one can go from festival to festival every week in some corner of the island. Raymond and I were happy to share in our village’s annual festival this past week in honor of the local parish, Saint Beatrice.

On one particular night there was a fado concert (traditional Portuguese folk music) in the church yard at the center of the village. It was fun so see so many locals out after dark, partaking of beer and bifanas (simple pork steak sandwiches). The music was fantastic!

Of course, the highlight of the festival was the bull running! We had attended the tourada in other villages, but it was amazing to see the crowds and beer/food vendors come to our sleepy village. To review, the bulls are on long ropes held by a cadre of brave men and let out in 15-minute intervals to run around in the center of the village. Brave bull ‘fighters’ then attract their attention with red banners and umbrellas, taunting the bulls as they run circles around them. The bulls are then returned to their carriers to run in another festival.

Bull #4 noticed us at the end of the first day of the tourada, just as the sun was setting and we were heading down the hill to our house. Such a beautiful golden hour!