Month: July 2014

Are these not the most beautiful woods you have ever seen? It’s a small park, just a couple of acres or so, in the west of Sao Jorge. The island roads and hedgerows are all lined with purple hydrangeas interlaced with some bright red flowers. You really cannot believe the beauty of this island as your eyes feast on miles and miles of flowers all of which are tended continuously on the roadside.

It certainly is and Terceira is full of it. Even the childrens shops are full of toys with bull fighting in mind. They say a bull fight, normally a street run, takes place every day somewhere on the island. People definitely get charged down and we have seen videos in shop windows which make you wonder how even spectators walked away from their collisions with the charging heavy weights. In Angra da Heroismo there is a dedicated stadium for the bull fighting with matadores flown in from Spain.  

More views of the cathedral and it’s treasures. The three photographs capture the disasters that have impacted the cathedral.

The weather has been overcast, grey and cold so it felt like it was time to get the next weather window and leave. That weather window is here so we provisioned the boat. Now, the day before departure, the sun is shining and all is perfect so nobody wants to go. It’s a battle of self-discipline to tear oneself away from each island let alone the whole archipelago. On the eve of our departure we are not so sure we want to go. One more day….?    

We passed this guy lying on the steps and there was absolutely no motion whatsoever. Having walked on we thought it amusing that he was lying in the sun and sleeping it off in such discomfort that we wondered back and took a photo. We walked away again and after about a 100 yards up the street we had a brainwave ‘what if he’s dead?’. I mean he looks fairly dead.  Did you see any sign of life? It didn’t look like a sleeping position either. But if by chance he’s sleeping and we wake him we can’t explain ourselves

Another dark gloomy day. A 90m tall ship with 600k nm and 166 ports visited this vessel does the sea. Rhode Island to Lisbon 31 days. Sails with just under 200 crew. Longest journey just over 4,000nm. Weight 1836 tonnes. Managing the numerous sheets must take some time to learn.

Angra do Heroismo on the island of Terceira. We have yet to see the sun shine on this island so it’s a bit dark and gloomy. With a population of around 55,000 it is also the most populated place we have been for a while and it takes a few hours to adjust. This may be our last island on the Azores as there is a weather window opening up that looks good for a crossing to northern Spain.

  Fajas are the small villages on the rocky outcrops of lava found around the island. People live in some fairly inaccessible places with access via quad bike. Some areas can be reached in a small hire car whereas others involve a 5 to 10km hike. With regard to buses on the island there is one that goes south at 0725 in the morning and it returns at about 1700 that evening. Really, one a day? Yep that’s it on a week day. It’s main purpose is to take ladies to the fish factory and back.   We met Adriana