 |
| Enjoying a walk in the Angra jardim |
Then we had to wait until the end of August!! We were very glad to meet them at the Lajes airport after an eventful journey (though it wasn't SATA, the often delayed airline that raised their anxiety level.) But they arrived, and it was a wonderful reunion.
Our week together was split between 2 islands. First, Terceira and then São Miguel. We were glad to show off our island and looked forward to exploring another island.
Angra
First, the Fortress of São Filippe/São João Baptista do Monte Brasil
This is the fort at the foot of Monte Brasil. Its walls were part of our daily view from the windows in our apartment. The fort was started in 1594 by the Spanish to protect their interests and was named Forteleza do São Filippe in honor of King Phillip II. Later in 1642, the Portuguese drove out the Spanish and renamed it Forteleza São João Baptista in honor of John IV of Portugal. (Thank you, Wikipedia!)
It has been an active military base for centuries and continues to be so today. We often would pass the gate as we would do a hike or walk up Monte Brasil. If we said Hi to the guard, he often would snap to attention and salute us. There are parts of Monte Brasil you can't go to because it is secure military property.
Below is a picture of the base from the road above.
I always wondered how we could visit the church that we could see from the road and just before Sam and Kat arrived learned that they give daily tours. It was a good thing to do on the day they arrived (after a morning nap). It was close and did not require a lot of time!
This is the crypt underneath the church.
It was a nice and cool on a relatively hot afternoon!!
A group picture at the doors of the church.
The inside of the chapel is simple. The tile roof is pretty impressive.
It is an active church with services each Sunday.
O'er the ramparts we could see .... the ocean! It was also a good view of Angra.
The same general place, but looking inland to São Mateus and the countryside.
There are actually several interesting places to walk to in Angra. Nearby to our apartment is an old fort that houses a pousada, (a hotel). They have done a good job preserving the look of the fort as you can't really see the hotel until you are inside!!
this is the view of the fort from the road by the port. It is quite a climb to get up to the fort on our morning walks in that direction.
Below is a view of the fort from Monte Brasil on the other side of the bay. You can see the colored buildings of the pousada. but you have to be higher than the fort to see those buildings. It is a fun fort to explore going up and down stairs and ramps to the various levels.
Dennis and Sam pose at the entrance.
Sam and Kat are on the ramparts looking towards Ribeirinha - away from Angra.
You can see the fort walls are like cliffs down to the water. The white building on the left is part of the pousada.
A very special couple!!
You can see the end of Monte Brasil in the background.
AH!! Sam and Dennis found Vasco da Gama! Look like friends from a LONG time ago!
We went to visit Fátima Silveira, a member of our branch. She wanted the temple work done for her father, who she adored and her mother. Janet was able to get the dates and information needed to request the ordinances to be done -- as well as her mother's parents and about 4 generations of family. (Janet had way too much fun and learned a lot about doing family history in the Azores!)
We asked Sam and Kat if they would be willing to do the temple work for her parents and her mother's parents before they came to Terceira, which they were very glad to do!! It was a special visit as they brought the completed temple ordinance cards and talked about their feelings about the temple and their experiences there as they were doing the ordinance work. She was delighted to meet Sam and Kat! She thinks Sam's smile is wonderful! I agree!
One thing Sam really wanted to see was a tourada -- the bull on a rope. There just happened to be one near Praia on Thursday. So Kat went with Janet to a baby shower at the church (a very rare event in the branch) and Dennis and Sam went off to see the bulls.
Again, you see the very traditional dress of the rope holders. They are getting the bulls ready to release.
They always have the rope on the bull BEFORE it gets out of the box.That is quite a task with a bull that just wants to get out and shaking his 'box'!!
They do all they can to keep everyone safe!!
Sam and Dennis had a great time!! The bull came close enough to give Sam an opportunity to tease him with his hat -- from a protected place!
Our exploration of the island included a hike along the coast near Agualva! We had done the hike about a year ago with Elders Hobson and Pickrell and at that time, it was a very windy day and the waves were astonishing. This time, it was a beautiful, sunny day. And while the waves weren't wild, we noticed so much more of the beauty of the area. It was a completely different hike, but equally as enjoyable!!
First, the steep descent down a ribeira -- a ravine dug out by a stream.
These yellow flowers were the current season bloom. They were all over.
It was very lush and green and we enjoyed the descent!
The ravine opened up into a 'valley' bordered by large cliffs on one side and the ocean on the other. We saw the yam farm again.
Here also was a house with an entrance way that begged for a picture.
I think Sam is glad he doesn't have to live here. He would have to duck every time he came home!!
It really is a beautiful coastline.
It is hard to capture the beauty in pictures. You should come here sometime!!
Doing a selfie!!!
Leaving the coast line (though you really never stop seeing the ocean!!) we walked through the grassy places, with the cows contentedly eating in the neighboring field.
I often wondered if the cows really appreciated the beautiful place where they lived. Especially those whose pastures went right to the edge of a cliff with the ocean below. Maybe they don't look past the stone walls.
We also did our obligatory visit to the Gruta do Natal and the Algar do Carvão
The Gruta do Natal is a series of lava tubes that you can walk through. It got its name because they opened the caves for public viewing on December 25, 1969 and there is a traditional Catholic Mass in the lava tubes every Christmas (Natal).
Dennis and I weren't going to go through. We had been there before and didn't feel the need to go again. But we wanted Sam and Kat to see it! Dennis had been there the week before so they just let him go in for free. And then they just added my admittance as well, just to be nice. The Gruta was VERY busy that day with several bus loads of tourists so they weren't out very much money (it was only €3 each)
You have to wear helmets because there are some low lying ceilings and volcanic rock is like glass and you could get a nice cut on the head if you weren't careful. And you wouldn't want to trip and fall either as the walls and floor were also very rough!!
Then, we went to the Algar do Carvão.
The stairway down to the center of the volcano is exposed to the light from the volcano opening above and with the dripping water, the algae find it a good place to grow!!
Our turn for a picture in the 'Cathedral'. It was still just as beautiful and we always enjoyed taking our guests and visiting it again!
São Miguel
Kat had found through Airbnb a beautiful home in Várzea, a small village very near the caldeira (volcano crater). You can see the big house in the photo below -- that is our place!! It had been the local doctor's home who was very generous with the residents there. In the upper right corner, you see the high edge of the caldeira. That is our goal for the next day!!
And the hills were very beckoning!! Dennis and I enjoyed our morning walks seeking for paths that took us up!! The picture above of Várzea is from one of those walks.
To the left, is the abandoned windmill at the top of a hill. We had a very good view of the village and the ocean on the other side.
On Monday, once we were settled into the house, we went to a beach nearby!! One fun and fascinating feature of a volcanic island is the natural pools that are made by the volcanic rocks on the coast. Some islands, like Terceira, have made concrete platforms and walkways to the various natural pools. Here on São Miguel, they just provide ladders to get into the water.
The one below was a particularly exciting one. There are ropes stretched across the water and when you get in the water you grab a rope and hold on. Then the big waves come in and toss you around. Dennis (of course) is the one furthest out. Sam is the closest but he is on his way out to enjoy it with Dennis. Dennis said that actually the further out was not nearly so forceful as closer in when the waves approached the rocky edge. Kat and I enjoyed watching them and taking pictures!! This particular pool has some natural hot springs that feed into it, so the water is not quite so cold, especially when the waves are not so big.
Victoriously leaving the pool!!
When we got there, there was a group of young adults enjoying the scene but no one was in the water. When Dennis got in, they got brave enough to try it.
The next day, Tuesday, our only full day on São Miguel, was devoted to exploring the Sete Cidades area. We left our home around 10 a.m. and within 10 minutes we were approaching the rim. We saw a sign with the symbol for a view point on the road to the right. So, yes, let's go there!!
And we enjoyed the flowers in bloom along the road, mostly hydrangeas.
Then it came. Just a break in the bushes. The full caldeira spread out beneath us. It was breathtaking and absolutely beautiful. I had never seen anything like it!! It is so hard to capture it in a photo!!
Proof all four of us were there!!
When we finally got to the official viewpoint, basically on the other side of the caldeira, it wasn't nearly as perfectly composed as the wide spot in the dirt road!! And there were TONS of people. But still impressive and beautiful.
Leaving the view area, we found a trail that led to other various smaller lakes. It was a hike with an up and over high cone hills and finally down to the lakes. It was a great hike with vistas from the hill tops and beauty up close and personal down below!!
One of the vista scenes!!
One of the lakes along the hike
The plants on the side of Sam are an interesting type that we learned about on Angra. They are like a sponge and can soak up to 15x their weight in water. It basically serves as a water storage for the island. When the weather is dry, the plants release the water. We found the plants on the natural rock walls along the trail, just dripping like it was raining (and it was not!)
On the way back. I was glad we didn't have to climb up the high and bare hill tops where it was quite windy.
Instead we walked through a lush canyon. Here we are almost out and ready for the final walk to the car. The side slopes are lined with the water storing plants.
We then went to the actual village, Sete Cidades. Sete means 7 in Portuguese, and I didn't know exactly why because I saw only one city!! Wikipedia says that Sete Cidades was a historical/mythical area from the 8th century and this area just inherited the name.
.
Sam's great desire was to kayak in a volcanic caldeira!! We arrived around 4 p.m. and the kayaks rental closed at 5! So, Sam got his wish with an hour's exploration of the lake!! Kat and I enjoyed a stroll along the lake
The far out view!!
Sam has now kayaked in a volcano and a fjord! Where will the next place be??
Wednesday dawned and we had until 6:00 pm when we turned in the rental car at the airport to return to Terceira.
First order of business: go to Mosteiros and go swimming. There were natural pools and a beach with crashing waves and we wanted to do both!
Exploring around the rocks, looking for a good place!!
The waves would come and crash on a small rock opening. It was pretty tame -- just my speed. We did get one really good one that knocked us off our feet! And the small rock barrier that the waves crashed over in the opening kept us from being washed out to sea with the back wash!
Then on to the sandy ocean beach! The view from the sandy beach was quite amazing. The waves don't look that wild, but they were strong.
Janet thought about trying the waves, but decided it was just a little too rough. You don't realize the power of a wave until you get close to it and try to go through it! Sam and Dennis got past the crashing breakers and enjoyed riding the waves. The day before we had seen some surf boarders. I think this was just too early in the day (11am) for them to be out.
Enjoying the warmth of the black sand!
Then time to go home, clean up, pack up, eat lunch and start our drive back to Ponta Delgada and the airport. It was astonishing how much black sand we took home with us. It really stuck to us!
We decided to drive around the coast of the island to Ribeira Grande and then use the via rapida across the island to Porta Delgada. We had plenty of time and might as well see more of the island.
First, though, we had to retrace our steps on the dirt road with the amazing view. We wanted to see the caldeira one more time!!!
Driving along the coastal road on the north side of São Miguel.
It was similar to Terceira, but the fields weren't as cleanly defined with rock walls. We still saw plenty of cows and it was all beautiful.
You really don't need to search to find photogenic places on São Miguel!!
It was a great trip to share with Sam and Kat. They were very accommodating to our desires. And we did learn how to have a take-your-time-and-enjoy-the-moment vacation!
The inevitable always happens. Time goes and suddenly it is time to go. Here we are at the Ponta Delgada airport, eating our brown bag dinner while waiting for our flight to Terceira.
And the next day -- it was time for Sam and Kat to return to the States.
Thank you, Sam and Kat, for coming.
We love you!!
No comments:
Post a Comment