Santa Maria arrives!

At 8am there she is , already tied up to the pier, Chris. Columbus' "Santa Maria"! Well, a replica. In fact she barely made it into harbor. Despite being invited here for the festival she was apparently first denied entrance because she didn't have all the appropriate documents they demand here!!

But at 8:30pm in the evening, she comes sailing over from the Marina to the pier in Vila Baleira for Chris. Columbus' landing on the beach. Torches in the sand mark a path for Columbus and his men to go up. Renessainse jugglers, dancers and musicians entertain while "Sta. Maria" majestically sails towards us, up the coast.
A Renaissanse-costumed court walks in prossesion down to the beach to recieve the sailors who are rowed ashore in small fishing boats. By then "Sta. Maria" fades away in the torch-smoke and dark. Colored lights and banners are strung up between the palms, fire-breathing jugglers light the path as the prosession slowly winds its way up to Columbus' house at the town square. Entertainment at the two outdoor stages follows. An early music choir, a group with wooden flutes, lutes and horns and a modern dance troupe. Three generations of Porto Santese, from babies in strollers to their grandparents, and a whole spectrum of tourists sit on the stone terraces of the lower amphitheater til well over midnight.

In the light of the waning moon "Babette´s" crew take their 20 minute strand-side stroll back to the harbor.