It’s a wrap …… for now. I’ll definitely be back. 2 great weeks, 3 islands – 6 more to explore! Next 3 will be Sao Jorge (absolutely must go back), Pico (wine & hiking) & Faial (small but mighty with outdoors activity). That’s an ongoing problem with the Bucket List – here I thought I could ✔️ the Azores but instead, I’ve just created / added more thing to the list instead.
We packed a lot in – up / down mountains, around every nook & cranny via more back roads than ever thought possible! We met passionate, proud and charming locals, learned so much about culture, geology, traditions, even religion – I thought I was well versed in the Catholic religion but they take it up quite a few notches higher! Tried many new foods. Landscapes & views I’ll be dreaming of for a very long time. An overall sense of ‘calmness’ i’m having a hard time putting into words.
The last 3 days were on Terceira Island. In my last post, I introduced you to the island where I think I was still in shock of the difference between Terceira and Sao Jorge! Luckily, it’s not all ‘city’ & tourists, we found many many more backroads and farmers’ fields to explore!
One of the reason Terceira might be more touristy (my own opinion here) is that there is an American airforce base on the island therefore it’s more known by the Americans. We didn’t see the airforce base but we did come across part of the military base while hiking on Mount Brazil. It was a different hike than we had done, more of a ‘Stanley park’ / city park feel to it and much more forested than our other hikes. There were old ruins of what used to be a gated fortress. Unfortunately not open for visitation but nice just to walk around. We got good views of the city of Angra do Heroismo & all it’s colours and churches – we counted 9 churches from one view point! Most people drive up the mountain and the trails were not as clearly marked so a few detours later, we had a slightly longer hike than anticipated but all good anyway.
Mount Cumes is a big attraction on Terceira, it’s a view point overlooking the agricultural flats of the island. We made our way up to the view point via back roads and small villages. Unfortunately, when we got to the top, it was cloudy and didn’t have much of a view however; we had learned that in the Azores, if you don’t like the weather, drive 10min away and it will have cleared or wait 10min and it will change. Sure enough, the dark skies blew over and we got our photo op! Well worth the short wait.
Once again, we hit the highest point of the island, this time Mount Santa Barbara. I think we hit the highest point on all 3 islands we visited. It really puts in perspective that you are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean! (sorry I didn’t get a great picture there as it was overcast).
We sill had to take in the ‘full experience’ of the running of the bulls and did so on Sunday when it seems to draw even bigger crowds. It’s a big to-do with street vendors, party atmosphere, locals of all ages, out staking a good viewing spot with their lawn chairs. We got a good spot high up on the church steps. I was surprised how many people were still in the square as the bull was coming out of the pen – turns out it’s what they do! and then they scramble when the bulls starts heading their way. Of course, it was JUST MEN – women are obviously much much smarter, LOL! We did see another guy get tossed around by the bull, luckily he was ok but I’m sure he was sore the next day. I did feel sorry for the poor stressed out bull but glad I took in the local experience – that one I can check off the list, ✔️
Another thing I wanted to do was go swimming in the a Poca (natural) or piscina (slightly modified) protected areas off the coast. We saw people swimming everyday, often a late afternoon thing (maybe afterwork) right off the town commercial docks but they also have many of those natural spots where people just make a day of going to hang out. We found the recommended spot but the sea was absolutely raging and there was no way we could swim there so instead we had a drink at a cafe across the street and watched the ocean crashing for a while. I actually walked down to the dock and got totally soaked by a big wave crashing. Also got a stern talking to in Portuguese from a local – no clue what he was saying but got the message loud & clear! I guess not one of my smartest moment! It wasn’t til after hanging out there for a while that we wondered a little bit down the road and found the actual swimming spot …… opportunity was gone, I’ll have to go back for a swim another time.
We had a couple more island specialties to try out – Dona Amelia cakes – small chewy 2-bites little spiced cakes we tired at lunch at the famous OForno bakery, known for their Dona Amelia cakes. Ok but not my thing, For our last dinner in the Azores, I really wanted some good fish – we found a little place in town that didn’t disappoint. I had the octopus salad to start with ……. mmmmmmm sooooooo good! and then some local fresh tuna – yummmmhy & they are not shy with the portions – wasn’t even able to finish but I’m sure the stray cats on the streets will have enjoyed our leftovers!
Other than the swimming hole, a few other things we didn’t get to experience. We struck out 3 times on visiting a cheese factory! Wasn’t from the lack of trying! We didn’t see whales or dolphins. All good reasons (maybe excuses) to go back 🙂
The trip back home was a little brutal – 3 flights, (2.5, 8 & 5 hours) and a total of 25.5hrs of travel to get back home / reality! It’s been a blast and again, more things to add to that bucket list of mine. …… bye for now, til my next adventure.
And for the record ….. I was the Monopoly Card winner for the overall trip 🙂
Checkmarks ✔️ 