Sunday 3^rd February – Vilamoura (Carnaval de Loulé)

37:04.567N 8:07.191W

Today we went to Loulé, to see the first day of their carnival celebrations; the Loulé Carnival is the oldest in Portugal (initiated in 1906) and the largest in this area.

There were more floats than at Quarteira; all the floats were in pristine condition and very colourful.

The weather was overcast and windy when we arrived but the rain held off for the start of the parade.  Unfortunately after about half an hour, it started drizzling and the umbrellas went up; after that the rain increased and soon was bucketing down. 

Sadly the colours started to run on some of the float decorations, which was a shame, and after an hour or so, the carnival was cancelled for the rest of the day.

The parade is on for the next two days.  We hope that the weather is better for them tomorrow.  Despite the weather deteriorating, we were still very pleased to see the procession and all the floats in their splendour before the onset of wet stuff.

We arrived back in Vilamoura about 6pm and had a quiet night in.  There has been some rain this evening but it is forecast to improve tomorrow.