Category: Ports of Call (Page 25 of 39)

Sete Cidades was our first big excursion and we almost bailed because the weather looked awful. However, if there’s one thing we’ve learned here in the islands it’s that if the weather is bad where you are, just go to another part of the island. We hopped the local bus, and 90 minutes later we descended into the sunny village of Sete Cidades.

We walked around the blue lake and discovered Laranjada, a local fizzy non-alcoholic drink that is totally refreshing. We then managed to catch a cab with another couple heading up to one of the view points for only 10 euro. The couple was going further, so Trip was kind enough to pick up their cab fare since we had rather poached their cab (and cabs are very hard to come by in this remote part of the island).

From the King’s Viewpoint, it’s a 7 kilometer hike around part of the crater’s rim and then back down into the village. The viewpoints were absolutely breathtaking – open ocean to your left and the crater interior to your right. Of course the obligatory Azorean cows and hydrangea were everywhere you looked.

The bus ride home was a bit of a nightmare as way too many people boarded and it was the last bus of the day. We were hot and sticky and so hungry we could chew our arms off by the time we got back to the city, so we went straight to dinner at Calcada do Cais, where Meghan and I had the best steaks of our lives. We went for coffee and dessert at a local cafe, and as we were finishing, we heard bagpipes (not Azorean), and the next thing we knew the square was filled with strange musicians, stranger flame throwers, and the wildest looking people on stilts dressed in white, smeared in fake blood, adorned in animal bones. I’ve since been told very emphatically ’these are NOT our people’, so it obviously was not a local tradition, but it was fun nonetheless.

Petronella had arrived the day before, so we already had old friends to visit. It was a bit of a search to find the farmers market (currently in the underground car park while renovations are made upstairs), but the selection of produce was great. We wandered into town and had a fabulous brunch/lunch at Louvre Michaelense, an old milliner’s shop that was turned into a cafe. Impossible to get into for dinner without a reservation, but if you arrive early you can get a table for lunch.

Meghan (friend from Boston) flew in the next day and we strolled around town before doing lunch at the rustic and totally local A Tasca where I finally tried bacalhau (Portuguese specialty of salt cod) and was enthralled. To ease her in and manage jet lag we did early drinks and apps on board Kalyra.

Helena, Meghan and I went up to tour a local pineapple plantation the next day while Trip was installing the new boat parts that Meghan had brought. The plantation is where you can learn all about the growth cycle (two years!) and sample the wares. Our favorite was the pineapple liquor, and the pineapple preserves. The pineapple caipirinha wasn’t too bad either.

Aside from needing to recover from all of the jollifications, as described by Linda, we needed to get some boat work done.

Trip went up the backstay to mount our USA flag, I varnished most of the exterior woodwork, we did laundry, and went grocery shopping. It’s not the scorching heat that the US or mainland Europe has been experiencing, but it is hot and humid, so we decided to go investigate the local natural pools in Velas. There are no beaches on the island, (volcanic), so think of your community pool being a slab of concrete poured with some ladders into where volcanic lava flows formed natural pools at the edge of the ocean. Based on their structure, some water would get in and warm up where all the young kids would play. The more adventurous could swim over the natural ’lip’ and further out into the ocean. Not a bad way to live!

Linda invited us Sunday afternoon to Faja da Almas, where the village was hosting a sopa. A sopa is a meal, in this case a bread soup and fish that had been caught locally that morning along with locally made wine, is a gift back to the community. The locals provide the food, prepare it, all are welcome, and it’s a lovely way to build community. The food is placed along long tables, and people step aside to make room for you willingly to take a place at the table. We met a couple, Fatima and Pedro, who live in California, but have Azorean roots and come back every year for several months. This particular faja has no car access (ATV at best), so most families have homes in town, and come to this area for the summer months. You have to haul in everything by foot, so things are done very simply, but it was absolutely lovely.

On our way back from Topo, the eastern most point of the island, we got blocked (only one road in and out of Santo Antao).

It was quite simple, but everyone was dressed in their Sunday best, a local brass band played, and thousands and thousands of hydrangea blossoms were stewn on the road to mark the route.

We also made a stop at the Cascata do Cruzal, a beautiful waterfall with the remnants of an old mill at the base. Most of the waterfalls on the island are quite steep, and right at the ocean’s edge, so it was fun to be able to walk a path down alongside this one.

It was back to Casa Lane Thornton to rest a bit, and then down to Calheta’s local festival. After a kebab wrap to line my stomach, we sampled the local wine (of course,) and wandered around the waterfront looking at Azorean specialties on display and listening to a local band perform an Abba medley (not Trip’s favorite, but I loved it). Andy and Linda were kind enough to have us stay over that night, and it was a bit of a lie-in to recover the next morning.

With a pitstop to enjoy a local museum about Azorean geology, flora, fauna, and culture, we headed down to Faja do Ouvidor. Linda quite sneakily led us to the first set of natural pools, which were beautiful. Then she asked if we minded a short hike to more. A series of steps and bits of concrete poured here and there, led to 20 minutes of meandering down to a much more remote, much bigger and even more beautiful series of rock pools. We should have brought swimsuits!

It was hard to beat that view, and with that we headed back to Velas.

But first, we stopped at an old cheese factory that had been converted into an artist’s studio, and it was still set up for a festival that had happened earlier in the year. Pieter Adriaans works on the first floor, and his pieces are on display on the second. Little did we know that Linda is a talented quilter, and that her work, some of which is all about her life in the Azores, was also on display!

After a day of hopping around the island, we decided to get some boat chores done, like laundry, recycling, grocery shopping. We also had a chance for a quick catch up with Allan and Shiera from Gemeaux, fellow OCC members we had met a few years ago in Maine. They too had made the Atlantic crossing this summer, and it was interesting to compare stories over a glass of wine. Allan was also kind enough to lend us spare batteries so that Trip was able to use the grinder and finish the new windlass handle for managing the anchor.

The view of Morro Grande (Portuguese for Big hill, they like to be obvious in their names) from the anchorage was intimidating, but Andy assured us that it was an afternoon walk (hmmmmn Andy is a former mountaineer), so off we went. The first part was familiar, winding our way through town along the waterfront up to a little chapel that marks the start of the trail.

The trail, a switchback like everything else here, was pretty straightforward, and allowed for lots of stops with breathtaking views down on Velas and out to sea.

It was hard to believe that in just 90 minutes, you could be casually hiking around the crater’s ridge of an extinct (dormant?) volcano!

And then it was back downhill to showers and a well-earned dinner with Linda and Andy.

Monday morning, or shall I say afternoon (we needed a sleep in after all the excitement the night before), we wandered back around Velas, this time in broad daylight. We made our way up the waterfront promenade, and enjoyed the daytime view of what had been packed with festival goers the night before. We got ourselves oriented, stocked up on groceries, and settled in.

Linda had offered to take us for an island tour on Tuesday. Aside from her local knowledge of the island, it was a pleasure to have someone else behind the wheel with the steep switchbacks down to the fajas!

First off was the tower remnants of a church caught in the eruption of 1808. You can see where the rest of the building was ripped away and it’s remarkable that anything was left standing.

Then it was on to the 1707 church of Santa Barbara. The exquisite detail of the interior (every square inch from the floors to the ceiling was covered in carvings, decorative tile work and paintings) had mostly been untouched despite earthquakes.

Then we stopped at Casa Lane Thornton, on the hills above Calheta, with the most breathtaking views of Pico island, including Mt Pico itself. Andy gave us a tour of the gardens, including substantial grape vines and figs, amongst a plethora of other fruit. And when you wind up with a small vineyard at your new house, of course you take up making wine and liqueur! We got to sample some of Andy’s grappa, rum, and aguardente, which he was kind enough to pass along a bottle our way.

After lunch, the four of us headed over to Faja dos Vimes, home of the only coffee plantation in Europe. Everything is done by hand here, which makes for a very small production capacity. I paid more for a bag of coffee than I ever will again in my life, but how fun to support a small, local, island business.

The tour of the island was absolutely amazing, and we even made our way to the northern side of the island to peer down at the different fajas. I think my favorite view, though, was of a field filled with cows, bordered by hundreds and hundreds of hydrangeas. Not native to the islands, hydrangeas were brought over to create fast growing hedges to the pastures and fields on all of the Azorean islands. Those same hydrangeas are now absolutely breathtaking in their abundance…

It was a slow motor sail to Velas in Sao Jorge. What a trip. We got an early start, but soon started seeing other boats behind us. We were soon overtaken by a Dutch research boat that tags and monitors whales. We were hoping to spot some whales since the researchers were so close, but no luck.

Instead we were treated to hour after hour of studying Azorean topography by water. So much of the island is uninhabitable based on geologic development (volcanoes and earthquakes), that what we saw was obvious. Big bowls left after eruptions (caulderas) left room for a good size village to take shape. Fajas, the remnants of lava flows ending at the sea’s edge, also made for good, albeit smaller, villages. The switchbacks carved into the mountainside to reach these fajas looked remarkably daunting.

We didn’t reach Velas and drop anchor till 7:30 that night, and I just assumed the local festivities from the weekend would be over. Instead, local OCC port commander Linda Lane Thornton met us at the dock with her husband Andy, and we headed off to the party. Wow, do the Portuguese know how to party. Many, many, many beers and a kebab later, the band started up at midnight. One Vision, a Queen tribute band worthy of Eurovision, played until 2 am. At 1:30 fireworks were set off directly overhead. What a night! What an introduction to the island – so much for things being quieter than Terceira! We staggered back to the dinghy and passed out on board at 2:30 am, music still playing the distance. Welcome to Velas!

We were clearing out with the marina office, and the manager asked if of course we were going to the tourada that night? Bulls and bullfights have a long history in the Azores, and it is said there’s a bullfight every day somewhere on the island from May to October. We had to check it out.

We wandered up some steep steps to the old fisherman’s neighborhood above the marina. There, on a random Saturday night, a few hundred locals had gathered, and the homes lining the streets barricaded their doors for protection. When the cannon fired, a bull would be released into the street, with a long rope around its neck. Pastores are the men responsible for the other end of the rope, making sure the bull strays no further than intended, and then guiding him back to his corral.

We stayed for three bull runs. What did I learn? I don’t have to run faster than the bull, just the other old and young men (yes, mostly men) strolling around in the streets to prove their manliness. Our last bull showed his dissatisfaction with the crowd by ripping up an old fire hydrant. I think it was time to go!

Crew member Greg left for home, and we connected with John and Helena Almberg (friends we had met a few years ago) from s/v Petronella who made the crossing of the Atlantic at the same time as us. We opted to rent a car for the day and see more of what the island had.

Did I mention that the island is one giant series of volcanoes? The view from Serra do Cume, our first stop, was that of a massive cauldera which formed the earliest part of the island over 3 million years ago. The land is now all farmland, and forms a ’patchwork’ of cropland and grazing areas for cattle, sheep, goats and bulls.

After the heights, we drove down to Praia Vittoria, the other harbor on the island. Aside from Angra do Heroismo, our base, most towns on the island can be walked around in less than 20 minutes. We moved on.

Biscoitos was our stop for lunch. Little did we know there was only one restaurant on this side of the island, and Helena sweet talked them into finding a table for us without reservations. Terceira is known for their beef, and we proceeded to eat what felt like an entire cow! Carpaccio and bone marrow to start (an entire cow’s leg), steak, specialty pot roast, and tongue for lunch. The wine was from neighboring island Pico (Terceira is not known for their red wine). Delicious!

After lunch we back tracked and drove down to the lava pools. As the lava poured down to the sea, it eventually cooled and has been worn away by wind and waves. The result is a public swimming area that has lifeguards, but is pretty much swim at your own risk. Aside from cold water, the presence of Portuguese man-o-wars easily made me decide to skip the dip!

All of the islands in the Azores were formed millions of years ago from volcanic eruptions, and it’s obvious from the moment you see the island of Terceira. We anchored at the base of Monte Brasil, in the cove of Angra do Heroismo. The town itself is a UNESCO world heritage site (for its preservation of traditional Portuguese architecture), and the waters are even given a special Unesco designation for their purity (such an amazing shade of blue) year after year.

After clearing in and taking long hot showers (heaven), we found lunch at what would be our favorite restaurant – Tasca das Tias (Aunties’ Tavern). We had crusty bread with local Azorean butter, cured and smoked meats, local cheese, fried potato skins with aioli, local wine, and cold beer.

Maybe we were crazy, but we decided to test our poor weakened legs and climb Monte Brasil the next day. My shins paid for it, but the views of the cauldera (blown out depression from post volcanic explosion), shoreline, and ocean were magnificent. The mountain even has a resident population of feral cats and roosters!

The must see activities of the island are of course volcano related. We hired a cab the next day and started at the Natal – the lava chambers. After donning a helmet (critical attire as I whacked myself several times), we descended into hollowed out tubes that had been formed by cooling lava.

Then we headed out for a short walk around active sulfur springs. It’s amazing that there is any vegetation at all, as less than an inch below anything growing is igneous rock.

Then it was on to the highlight of the tour – the Algar al Carvao. Adventurers over 100 years ago discovered a fully preserved hollowed out magma chamber. They explored for decades and then were able to make it accessible to the public. Days later, Trip and I found a small museum in town dedicated to the opening of the chamber and all things volcanic on the island.