The Azores

We explored a bit of the western part of the island (Sao Miguel) and stopped to try the tea and some desserts at a place that Derick found in the town of Sete Cidades. We checked out part of the northern coast at sundown and headed back to Ponta Delgada for dinner. While shopping in the main square we did solve a little mystery that had been developing over the course of the past couple of days. We kept passing these packs of men walking on the main roads at all different points of the island. We guessed that they were pilgrims because they were all wearing checkered shawls with colorful scarves and carrying a walking stick. In Furnas they had walked into town while we were there and went directly to the church where they sang a couple of songs before entering. We made a note to ask someone to fill us in on the back story. It was clearly a pilgrimage but judging from the grim and serious faces of these men, we weren’t sure if they were walking voluntarily or as part of a punishment. Plus, there were hundreds of them. We’d pass a group of 30 or 40 in one town and then drive by another group even larger in the next. The locals seemed to be supportive of what they were doing but they weren’t greeted with any celebration. It all seemed very solemn. And we were really curious and left with many questions. Tonight we got some answers in one of the souvenir shops. There was actually a book there that was written about what we now know are the Romeiros of Sao Miguel. This is a local pilgrimage tradition that dates back to 1522 when the island suffered a great deal of damage in an earthquake. The men of the island decided to walk across the island as a way to atone for the sins of the people of Sao Miguel and to ask for protection from natural disasters. This tradition has continued every year since that time. For a week in February the men of the island walk from dawn to dusk and without any food. They walk in a clockwise direction around the entire island and visit over 100 churches along the way. The men range in age from 10 to 50. Each night they stay in the homes of host families where they receive a meal and a place to rest up for the next day’s journey. We considered ourselves lucky to be on the island during this week to be able to witness this 500 year tradition.Read more