After three years ‘with no land in sight’, due to the interregnum imposed on the 15th century market by covid-19, Tristão Vaz Teixeira and João Gonçalves Zarco ‘returned’ to disembark in Machico in front of a crowd.
More than half an hour before this symbolic moment began, countless people were already preparing to receive the Portuguese navigators’ ship on the Machico promenade. Occupying places on the walls, on the pier and even on the beach, little by little this bay was filled with hundreds of spectators, eager to see this historical dramatization return, which is one of the highlights of the second day of the 16th-century Market, which enlivens this municipality until tomorrow, June 5th.
“Dad, are you here yet?”, asked two children anxiously, who, along with the other visitors, had their eyes set on the sea to remember the beginning of the history of the island of Madeira.
“Já la vem”, began to be heard among the visitors as soon as the Santa Maria ship began to appear on the horizon, when the clock was already showing 16:35.
To the sound of bells, rockets and typically mid-range sounds, the ship approached the pier, disembarking in the old-fashioned way.
On the pier, the animation continues with performances and extras dressed up.
