Annual celebration in Campanario...videos and photos...daylight fireworks...Four days until departure....

We took these two videos around 1:00 pm on Saturday as the cloud rolled in and the sound of the fireworks reverberated through the hills.

It was fun to see the results of the shooting fireworks in the hills of Campanario as the town prepared to celebrate the religious holiday, Festa do Santíssimo Sagramento.

Driving in Campanario at different times during this past week, we've noticed areas where street lamps were decorated and colorful banners draped across the roads near the church.

Busy preparations surrounded the church in Campanario as workers rushed to get the decorations in place for Saturday's religious festivities.

The closer we drove to the local Catholic church, it was obvious some type of celebration was on the horizon. I had little luck finding out information about the celebration online, finally sending Gina an email for an answer.

She responded in her most endearing broken English that last night was the annual "Festa do Santíssimo Sagramento," (feast of the blessed bleeding) also known as "Festa do Senhor Jesus" (feast of the Lord Jesus).

Workers decorated archways over the road consisting of evergreen branches.

With the lack of parking in the area around the church, it was evident that the only way to partake in the festivities would be to have someone drop us off or walk the very long distance from our house to the church with trips through a long tunnel each way, not an ideal spot for walking.

Instead, we opted to watch from our veranda as much as we'd be able to hear and see. We found this website that list all the religious celebrations in Madeira, of which there are many throughout the year.

These roads leading to the were decorated with lights and garland.

As we wind down our time in Madeira, we find ourselves comfortable staying in except for an occasional trip to the supermarket or the little grocer. As of today, we'll have consumed the last of the meat in the freezer leaving us with a choice of dining out or having one last favorite meal over the next three nights.

With no opportunity to cook for the upcoming 77 days of travel, we've decided to make our favorite dinner, the usual gluten and starch free, low carb pizza one last time, cooking it fresh over the next three nights as opposed to cooking it all at once and reheating it.

Local citizens mulling around the area chatting and smoking amid the workers preparing for the big event.

With a quick trip to the supermarket tomorrow for a few remaining ingredients to be added to the several ingredients we already have on hand, we'll be set for meals until we leave early Thursday morning.

Had we gone to the feast, there would have been few, if any, items I could have had when starch, flour and sugar are commonly used in many popular Portuguese dishes.

As we drove away from the church we spotted these flowers.

In these past three years, I haven't made one exception in my diet, not a single bite. I'm not about to start faltering now when its my good health that has made our travels possible.

Today, a warm sunny day, will draw me outdoors for another walk up the steep hill. With a slight touch of melancholy as I huff and puff my way up the hill, I'll accept that we'll soon say goodbye to this beautiful island of Madeira, Portugal as we make our way to our next adventure.
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Photo from one year ago today, July 27, 2013:

Lisa and Lucca, owners of the 300 year old stone house in Boveglio, Tuscany, Italy, stapled cloth netting to cover a few of the windows to reduce the number of flies entering the house. It was hot and we couldn't keep the windows shut for another day. The wind blew the fabric from the three windows they'd covered and only a few days later, we had biting flies in the house again. I resorted to wearing my BugsAway long pants and long sleeve shirt to keep from getting bit when I couldn't find any insect repellent at any of the stores. For details from that date, please click here.