São Miguel: Fantasy-Reality

Sao Miguel is the most famous island in the Azores. It is the one with the mall, the movie theater, and all the vistas that appear when you Google “Azores”.

Driving around the island is very difficult! Not because of the road conditions, but because every time you round a bend in the road, your partner will exclaim how you much stop the car to get a picture of the lookout.

Each mundane road that loops and twists through the mountains will expose you to amazing views that the locals take for granted.

The island was evidently created by a series of volcanic eruptions and the craters that were once filled with fire are now filled with cool fresh water. These lakes litter the islands surface and create a fantasy land appearance that is easily accessed via a series of hikes.

While our favorite island in the Azores is certainly Terceira, Sao Miguel is certainly an island that should be visited! The views here are amazing, but to get a good feel for the kindness of the people of the Azores, it is best to visit the other islands.

Cozinhar Portuguesa

We have finished the major refit work on the boat, it is time to “treat yo self” with a delicious meal at a fancy restaurant.

We ordered Fillet and they let us come back into the kitchen to watch as our delicious meat was placed into the wood fired oven.

It sat over hot embers for a short time (we like our steaks “injured” instead of cooked).

The wood fire gave the food (and the whole room) a delicious odors. I wonder if the chef selects the type of wood used based on the flavor profile they are seeking?

Portuguese food loves garlic, and every piece of meat needs an egg! The amazing thing is the each order of fillet came with three steaks, each cooked to perfection.

The prices in the Azores greatly reduced when compared to Europe and the United States. This meal was at a fancy restaurant (Roberto’s Taberna), yet the entire meal was only € 17.50 per person and the bottle of wine we had was $17. All in all, the meal was amazing and the prices were very reasonable for what you are getting. If you ever find yourself in Terceira, make reservations for Roberto’s Taberna in Angra do Heroismo. You have to call and put your order in the day before so they can have your food ready, and it will be delicious!

Head Refit: Woodglue

Woodworking in a shower requires the use of some very strong waterproof woodglue! This is why I use Titebond III. 

I used this woodglue to build my first wooden dinghy (Tooth II) and while the dinghy itself was far from a success, the parts that I glued were. The transom of the dinghy was made out of edge glued Douglas Fir that was glued together with this very woodglue. While most of the boat leaked, that transom was watertight and solid as a rock!

 

I have had the misfortune of needing to separate pieces of wood that I erroneously glued, and I can tell you, the glue line did not fail, but instead one of the pieces of wood tore out of the plank! This glue is waterproof and permanent! But, while it is still wet, you can wipe up drips with paper towel and water. The glue is also not toxic to your skin and has no respiratory warnings (unlike other waterproof woodglue).  

If you ever need to glue something out of wood that will live above or below the waterline, this is the woodglue to use! 

Hydrofoil Glass Bottom Boat

In a boat yard, you will see all kinds of creations. This is not a spaceship, it is a hydrofoil glass bottom boat. 

The bow has a glass bottom which comes out of the water when the boat picks up speed and rises up on the foils at the bow.  

The stern is like a normal boat, driven by a massive outboard motor.  

The black orb on the bow of the boat is not tinted glass or anything, it is merely black paint (I was a little disappointed when I found that out). This does make it very useful for getting places quickly while protecting the glass bottom, simply take it out of the water! Zip on over there, then slow down and submerge the viewing scope to the bottom of the sea. 

Deckwork Begins

The head has been consuming my life for the past few months. I feel like a prisoner in an old timey movie where I’m locked in the dungeon with only a tiny window way up high that lets in light.  

The tiny window was the hatch in the head and my life was down in the bilge. It was miserable and took much longer than I anticipated. The important lesson learned is how long boat projects take when you have to worry about materials curing! As soon as I finished the fiberglass work and began working with wood, everything just came together in a few days. 

The head is now done but the boat is far from finished. Our next job is to repaint the deck! 

Maddie, with her sprained ankle was able to sit around the deck and run the sander to take off the surface layer of paint. Most of the deck paint was holding up well, but there were a few areas, mainly at the fore peak, which were flaking off completely. The idea is to take the deck down to well attached substrates, be it well adhered paint or bare fiberglass. Once we are at that point, we will paint the whole deck and make it look like new!