Maddie’s Foot

Surprise! Maddie went to the Museum in Angra and was fixated on the ceiling in the old church. Then she stepped down without realizing that the step existed and twisted her ankle! 

She was in excruciating pain and got picked up by the EMS on the island. They reached the location very quickly and took wonderful care of her. 

After a trip to the local hospital, an X-Ray, and an exam from a traumatologist/orthopedist, she was diagnosed with a sprained ankle.  

Sprained ankles are not conducive to boat living on the hard. Climbing the ladder is not feasible so Maddie went to live on a friends couch for a week while her ankle healed. 

American Style

Ever been at a grocery store and seen “Italian Seasoning” or “Asian Spice” and wondered what an “American” item might be in a foreign country? 

Wonder no more!  

At a local grocery store in the Azores they sell “American Style” cookies! To be honest, they were delicious.  

What are they? Really thick chocolate chip cookies! They were delicious and greatly appreciated. 

Stairs to the Bottom of a Cliff

The Azores were created by volcanic activity, rising from the floor of the ocean in a mountain of fire!  

Humans don’t exactly thrive on cliffs, so they carved stairs into the sides of these cliffs. What are these stairs leading to? An excellent fishing spot! 

The tall cliffs of these islands mean that the waters edge can lead right up to very deep water. Fish will frequently run along the edge of the land in the very deep water and are easily hooked by landslide fishermen. Yes, right up against the shore you can experience water that is well over 100 feet deep! Deep water fishing at the bottom of a staircase. 

That is the splendor of the stairs in the Azores. They could lead to an abandon fort, a great fishing hole, or a beautiful lookout.

Split Rock

Off the south coast of Terceira, exists a small pair of islets affectionately dubbed “Split Rock” for obvious reasons. The real name of the islands is Goat island, but Split Rock sells better to the tourists.

When we sailed into Angra do Heroísmo, we saw Split Rock in the distance, but we never got a view as magnificent as this!  

On the south side of the island are these incredible lava formations which create a natural swimming pool. At high tide, the waves feed fresh water and nutrients to these small pools, and at low tide, these pools warm up. 

Even more amazing are the incredible worlds of life inside the pools. Plants, fish, and all sorts of life that has washed into these pools live out their lives isolated from the ocean across the rock.  

It is very interesting to look at the fish in these pools. They live out their entire lives in these pools completely unaware of the universe of the ocean right next to them. So close yet so removed from the world beyond them. It makes me think about our lives. Incredible adventure might exist just beyond what we think of as our “world” and yet completely out of mind. We do not know about it and we do not see it, yet we could just reach out and enter this amazing realm. 

Just the same applies with our boat in the harbor. We exist and live out our time in a protected pool just across from the ocean beyond the breakwater. When we finally leave the Azores for Porto, Portugal, we will slip out of our “pool” and out into the great ocean beyond. We will be the fish that leave the pool while the other fish who remain will wonder what ever came of us. The only difference between the fish and us is we have the power of the internet.  

We are able to keep in touch with the fish who remain in the pool and let the know about the wonders that exist beyond the stone wall. 

Terciera, a Magical Wonderland

Just like siblings have nicknames for each other, the islands have nicknames as well. Flores is the garden island with its lush forests and mystical waterfalls; Sao Jorge has great cheese; Sao Miguel has mind blowing lakes, and Terceira is the “party island”.  

While they do have many parties (pretty much all the time!), Terceira does have its own beauty. 

The botanical gardens in the heart of the town are breathtaking. Now that spring has arrived, the flowers are beginning to bloom and the whole area is changing in wonderful ways. 

The constant showers (even on cloudless days) produce rainbows all the time. It seems that every time you look off into the distance, there will be a rainbow in the sky! 

This tiny island out in the middle of the Atlantic is a world unto itself. Created in the raging fires of a volcano, it has blossomed into an oasis of tranquility and beauty on your transatlantic passage.