08.10 A good night's sleep is good for travellers and also for others. Today the pedals and steering wheel will be taken over by Roberth. Life is good here at our accommodation Quinta de Santana (http://qsantana.com). We must, prior to our upcoming departure, visit the front desk for registration/payment as well as eat breakfast.
08.51 Some cats have popped up outside the door to our patio. One lacks an ear and the other one has a weird facial shape and looks more like a hamster. They try in every way to get us to open the door so that they can be let in.
09.19 We raise our glasses and let the jaws work. What in the world is going on? Nothing more advanced than the fact that we eat breakfast in the comfortable breakfast room here at Quinta de Santana. We paid for the room before breakfast.
10.10 A few things have been done after breakfast. I have filled up with warm water in my thermos. There are plans to do what we did on the trip to Iceland in 2014, take leisurely coffee breaks during the trip. Now it is time for us to check out and travel further. Today we are going to see a lot. We will be travelling along the north coast of São Miguel, then continue to the east coast and the south coast before we return to Ponta Delgada tonight.
10.23 Robert think like this, which is the next destination? He calibrates the GPS in the car. Christer assists.
10.47 Initially we enjoyed the new wonderful road without curves and high-speed but soon turned to small roads along the coast and ignore the desperate tips from our GPS. It want us to take the quickest and nearest way. Today the car doesn't want to jump as it did for me yesterday. Roberth is more accustomed to driving an automatic car.
11.01 Our GPS has given up to correct us. The road becomes increasingly narrower. We have just passed the village of Lomba de Maia.
Some cats wanted to visit us.
Breakfast at Quinta de Santana.
Peter is leaving our room/apartment.
We are on the road again. We are going east.
We are happy to have found this beautiful spot.
A steep road down to the waves of the Atlantic.
11.10 The views out over the Atlantic ocean is breathtaking. We have parked near the villages of Lomba de São Pedro and Fenais da Ajuda. We are at Miradouro da Rocha, a vantage point by the sea. We are considering whether we should continue down a steep road, turn and drive on, or simply do something else.
11.21 It felt wrong to just turn back and leave such a beautiful place. It felt too challenging to continue to run the car down the steep path. Instead we walked down the road. We are looking out over the roaring sea. The roaring of the waves are accompanied by the splashing from running water and singing from the birds.
11.32 The road continued on downwards. A waterfall followed by a creek is filling up the sea. Christer and I are filling up with coffee. The hot water in my thermos has been mixed with instant coffee. It was tasty in Iceland and it is tasty now.
11.45 It´s not easy for a lazy guy like me to go up again. Now we and our Audi roll on.
11.57 We passed some people who were walking just before the village of Achadinha, one had a Kånken. Once again on our travels, we see this small backpack, originally from my homearea, on someone's back. However, there have been different backpacks every time and different people, or?
12.22 Yet another wonderful lookout, the Miradouro da Despe-te Que Suas offers scent of flowers, birdsong, and ocean views. It is adorable for our minds. Such lovely memories. Christer and I have been by a few stone tables and enjoyed the view and the weather. Robert stayed in the car and have aired his feet.
12.43 It is time to put these views behind us. Now we will carry on. It is an intensive programme today and we have not yet left the north coast.
12.58 We reached the town Nordeste and Roberth got a view of a "Snack Bar sign", and made a few spontaneous turns in the hope of finding a kiosk. It all ended up in the parking lot outside the emergency clinic at the city hospital before the eyes of a surprised elderly gentleman. The journey goes on.
13.04 We have left the island's north coast and we'll travel a bit along the eastern coast of São Miguel. What awaits us here?
Roberth and a waterfall.
The locals are slowing down our journey.
We are making another nice stop.
Christer at Miradouro da Despe-te Que Suas.
The perfect place to relax.
We are stopping in Povoação for a supermarket visit.
13.20 Our GPS is revived again. The next stop (lunch?), is about 17 kilometres away. It is everything except straight and flat here on the east coast. It is curve after curve, hill after hill.
13.54 We have stopped and bought a few things in the supermarket Sol Mar here in Povoação. Now we will continue our journey to the sound of Queen's "Too much love will kill you" on the car radio.
14.32 Our Audi is parked in the town Furnas, famous for its sulphur springs. We have walked through the town and among other things have seen a house that is on its side and also taken photos of the church. Right now, we are inside at the restaurant Tony's (http://www.restaurantetonys.com) for a late lunch. We are far from alone here. The restaurant is packed with people, tourists of course.
14.55 Here is it just us at our table. Around the other tables in the restaurant are the majority of other people.
15.42 It was appropriate portions for the three of us. Now we just have to get the bill. In the meanwhile, I'll write down the fact that Winnie Mandela is dead.
16.02 We are back in the car again. Now it's off on new adventures. The next item on the agenda is to find the hot sulphur springs here in town.
16.19 It was not easy to find somewhere to park the car but now we are finally at the hot sulphur springs Poça da Dona Beija. The admission was 4 euros. Here we'll dip our bodies in the springs that are available here. It smells of sulphur from the springs. We went inside and got a plastic basket to keep the belongings in. Here there are also showers and dressing rooms.
16.58 We got a nice spring feeling. It was nice to have a dip in the warm water even though we got some yellow stains on parts of the bodies. We wonder how much sulphur scent we've got on us. How will we smell during the rest of the day?
Furnas
Igreja De Nossa Senhora da Alegria, Furnas.
Our lunch restaurant Tony´s.
Poça da Dona Beija, time for a hot spring visit.
Roberth and some other visitors.
Beautiful view of Furnas.
17.25 This intense day has reached the next phase. There are more planned before we park up for good for today. We shall now first leave Furnas behind us.
17.35 A short drive up a very steep hill, has taken us to a viewing point, the Miradouro da Lomba dos Milho. Here we notice bright sunshine, barking dogs, and a beautiful view, both over Furnas town and the surrounding countryside. Here are also some mobile and/or radio towers. It was our GPS, which was stubborn and brought us up a narrow road up here. We have to say thank you. Well navigated!
18.05 We have driven along the south coast of São Miguel for a while but have now swung right to see the last sight on this long trip.
18.28 The lake Lagoa do Fogo is covered in mist below us. We are according to our GPS 905 metres above sea level
18.35 We have rolled down to the viewing point, Miradouro da Lagoa da Fogo. Here we take a closer look at the lake, which translated into English is called "Fire Lake".
18.55 From the Lagoa do Fogo we will bring us down to sea level again by travelling to the north. We shall then find the highway to today's destination Ponta Delgada.
19.47 The car is now parked in the parking lot outside Aparthotel Barracuda (http://www.hotel-barracuda.com) in the eastern outskirts of Ponta Delgada. We are booked in room 207. I'm sitting on a chair on our balcony. I hear and see the ocean roll in. Behind the hotel is a wonderful wide beach.
20.12 We have made a valiant attempt to shower away the sulphur from our bodies. We are, successful or not, now in need of dinner and later, some evening beer.
20.39 Things go bad, damn bad, to find an open restaurant or even a small shop. On the other side of the street from the hotel there are two small bars and a closed restaurant. Our long walk only gave us a beautiful church and a closed fish restaurant.
20.50 There will be a simple solution this evening. Dinner will be cheeseburgers with bacon and salad. We will share a bottle of red wine. We are at a small place, which I believe is called BB, opposite the hotel.
Green countryside south of Furnas.
Exploring the central parts of São Miguel island.
Lagoa do Fogo.
The beach behind our hotel.
Aparthotel Barracuda, our home for one night.
A simple but tasty meal at Bar Bruno.
20.55 The place is called BB, Bar Bruno. It says so on the t-shirt of the waitress. She served the wine JP Azeitão. In the doorway right next to us, is a smoker, not that nice.
22.01 What looked like a defeat turned to be quite OK. The burgers were yummy, the wine OK and the liqueur Beirão afterwards was prima. For a bottle of wine, three cheeseburger and three Beirão liquor we only paid 22,50 euro.
22.30 The evening of this rich day ends with a pleasant moment on our balcony. It is a comfortable temperature. Perhaps it is time to start wear shorts? In the morning awaits a new flight and a new island to experience here in the Azores.
22.45 A balcony chair has been placed to keep the balcony door open. In through the open door streams fresh air and the gentle sounds of the sea.
22.58 Boa noite, good night! It is blockage in our sink and a smell of garbage in our room. We will fall asleep from it all. Tomorrow is a new day.
Tuesday 3rd of April
08.18 The sea and the waves roar on outside our room. Now we are going to prepare ourselves for a change of islands later today. Roberth removed the balcony chair and also closed the door during the night. At home he lives in a quiet village and is not accustomed to the various sounds during the night's sleep.
09.30 Today's breakfast was by a nice window table with sea views. During the meal we got the news that the Swedish performer and celebrity, Lill-Babs has died. We saw this on the internet. There was no one of the staff that told us.
10.08 We have left our room and checked out. Aeroporto has been written on our GPS in the car. We are hoping to pass a petrol station on the way to the airport. The car should be returned filled up with fuel.
10.31 It went fine to find to the petrol station Repsol and also to a diesel pump. To open the filler cap, however, we had to consult an instructional video on YouTube. Diesel costs 1,23 euro/litre or US$1,51 here.
10.43 We have now returned the car to Sixt. It went almost without problems. Roberth had, however, first brought the key with him and also forgot his phone inside the car. All was solved. The only thing we wonder is if the man we left the car to really work for Sixt. We hope it is so.
11.31 While waiting for the check-in, we´ve had a coffee break at Coffee and Food. It was a great atmosphere behind the counter with staff who joked teasingly with each other.
12.25 Now enters a state of boredom. The baggage is checked-in, we have got the boarding cards, the carry on luggage is tagged and we have passed security control. According to my boarding card, I have been placed at NSS. What in the world is that? I hope it is inside the planet.
13.37 Today is a day of waiting. In about a 30 minutes, we will have boarded and become aware what NSS is.
Breakfast close to the sea at Aparthotel Barracuda.
Coffee break at the airport.
We are flying with SATA today.
We are soon landing at Terceira.
On the road towards Angra do Heroísmo.
We are checking the air pressure.
14.03 There are several bids on which gate is ours. This doesn't bother us. They are very close to each other.
14.19 There was free seating on the plane. Perhaps NSS mean, No Special Seating? That is my guess. We are sitting at the back on a row with five seats. We are flying with a for us new company, SATA Air Azores. It is the airline that takes people between the various islands here in the Azores.
14.50 It was a short flight between the islands. Now it will take some time before we get out. But it is a small airplane.
15.12 Terceira is the name of the island and Lajes Field is the name of the airport. It is an American airbase that is now used for regular flights. Christer has left us to examine the range of restaurants. We need to eat some form of lunch before it is time to pick up our next rented car.
15.28 Christer found Restaurante O Pescador. At least I think that it is called so. Here, we have ordered an Azorean burger each. It should be a 200 gram burger with cheese and pineapple. In addition, we get strips and a soda.
15.36 Bad news. Something is missing and we cannot get the Azorean burger that we ordered. They will add an extra burger. I'm happy as long as we get food.
16.10 I didn't notice something special with my hamburger. There was cheese and pineapple. But it was two separate burgers. Maybe the large hamburgers had run out.
16.34 After a moment of paperwork with the car rentals at Ilha Verde, we have rented a Ford Fiesta. It is the same brand and colour as the car we rented on Iceland in 2014. The cars are very similar to each other.
16.51 A bulb started to blink orange after a moment of driving on the highway. Pretty soon it changed to a solid light. Now we have left the main road. We will Google about what might be wrong.
16.59 It might be low tire pressure. We will head for a petrol station. I google about what the correct pressure should be.
A view towards the pool at Hotel Terceira Mar.
Hotel Terceira Mar, Angra do Heroísmo.
Resting for a while in the hotel lobby.
Tennis players outside the hotel.
Walking into town.
Rua de São João, Angra do Heroísmo.
17.11 We have found a petrol station. We are almost back at the airport again. Now we just have to learn how the heck we fill up with air. It is not a classic air pump. Instead, it is a long hose with a nozzle. It is stuck in a larger device with a display.
17.23 After a little hassle we got a hold on it. Now Roberth has filled up with air in all the tires, except the spare tire. The car seems satisfied with it but another error message in Portuguese turned up when Robert pressed the start button.
17.26 OK, now the car refuses to start. What the hell is going on?
17.29 Suddenly the car decided to start. We have taken the decision to return to the airport and the rental company. We need to get things in order.
17.34 Christer who rented the car and the driver Roberth went inside and have been informed. Apparently the sensor in the car is malfunctioning sometimes. We just have to honk and drive. Maybe we should let off some of all that extra air, we filled in with?
17.47 We have now passed where we turned off an hour ago. New ground is broken, for a while. We have arrived at Angra do Heroismo, the main town on Terceira.
18.14 We have checked in at the nice Terceira Mar Hotel (http://www.bensaude.pt/terceiramarhotel) and in room 407 here in Angra do Heroísmo. It is nice to be here after the flight and the hassle with the car.
18.45 We have just made ourselves ready to see more of our new town. We have the evening and tomorrow morning for us to do it.
19.19 We have done some shopping in the store Meu Super Alto das Covas. We bought thing for the evening and also for the car trip tomorrow.
Roberth and Vasco da Gama.
Igreja da Misericórdia.
Lots of faces are looking at us.
Vasco da Gama´s new friends.
Late evening in Angra do Heroísmo.
Tasca das Tias. Here we´ll enjoy a dinner.
19.41 A cluster of mobile and radio towers is visible a short distance away. In front of us, is a small square with a statue of Vasco da Gama. Behind us we have the light blue church, Igreja da Misericórdia. The whole of this part of the city is UNESCO listed as a world heritage site.
20.08 Azorean wine, filet mignon, rump roast and tuna is ordered. It has become time for dinner. We are at the restaurant Tasca das Tias.
21.07 We ended the good meal with Beirão, the wonderful Portuguese liqueur. Now we will go back home in the dusk evening.
21.50 We returned to the room and realized that we been provided with gifts from someone here at the hotel. There is a little chocolate and something reminiscent of cheesecake. This is class!
23.22 It has been a pleasant evening. Now we'll wrestle with the pillows. Tomorrow we have time to see a little more of the city before we check out and continue our journey.
Wednesday 4th of April
08.22 The darkness of the night has been driven away by the welcoming light. It is once again time to prepare ourselves for a new day here in the Azores.
09.43 After yet another tasteful start of the day in the form of breakfast, it is time to leave the room, to see more of the town and then with the help of the car also see more of our island, Terceira.
10.22 Now we have sporadic plans on what we do all the hours before the next check-in in the afternoon. It will be a calm day.
11.15 We have checked out from Hotel Terceira Mar. The majority of the baggage is loaded in our Ford Fiesta. Before departure, with Christer as a driver today, we're going to see more of the town and resupply a bit more.
11.33 On the other side of the street is a shaggy, beige dog. It barks and howls now and then. Christer and I are sitting on a staircase in front of a church, a church that has just been visited by Roberth as well as a few more. The church is the Igreja do Santissimo Salvador do See. It is the city's cathedral. The dog is happy. His owners have picked him up.
12.07 After a walk down to the statue of Vasco da Gama, we are now back on the steps of the cathedral. The questions we now ask ourselves is, should we buy more before the departure?, what should we buy? and where should we buy it? We are going to rent a house in a village and it feels unsafe to be completely without groceries there.
There are more clouds today.
We have placed our bags in our Ford Fiesta.
Painted house in Angra do Heroísmo.
The cathedral Igreja do Santíssimo Salvador da Sé.
The town hall (Câmara Municipal Angra do Heroísmo).
Rua da Sé, Angra do Heroísmo.
12.16 We have walked around in search of some form of cafe. The walk took us to the market Mercado Duque de Bragança but we didn't find anything of interest.
12.39 We have finally found what we were looking for. We enjoy coffee and pastries at the Alto Sé Café. This was not bad. We are seated outdoors and take it easy for a while.
13.14 We stopped and shopped again at the store Meu Super Alto das Covas, just like yesterday. We have among other things bought some food which we will cook this evening. Now we are once again sitting in our rented car. It has become time to leave the parking lot here at the Hotel Terceira Mar.
13.20 We are on the way along the south coast of Terceira with Christer as our driver.
13.41 All of a sudden it was a meeting in the middle of a village. There is nothing unusual in itself. It's more odd is that it was a herd of cows that we met.
13.56 "Walking trade" is posted along the way. It is only +16˚ C. We have gone to the western part of Terceira and has just left the village Serreta with his church. Now we are going into a forest, a nature reserve, Mata de Serreta.
14.08 The car is parked and we have gone down to yet another Miradouro, a lookout point. The view from here is amazing. The weather could have been better. It is really windy today.
14.32 We continue to explore the forest. Various activities are going on a bit away from our car. It is park workers that refreshes the area.
14.51 The car is clean and that is good, said Christer. We have left the forest and are currently seeking protection inside the car from the rain, which quickly surprised us.
Peter is drinking coffee at Alto Sé Café.
Cows are trying to stop our car trip.
We have found a viewing point.
Roberth is enjoying nature.
Views towards the west coast of Terceira.
Grazing near the Atlantic.
15.01 It is time to cover kilometres again. We will travel on through the rain and wind. Now we will cover the north coast before the next home will pop up.
15.38 We have passed through villages and towns such as Altares, Biscoitos and Quatro Ribeiras. We have now stopped in the front of the church in Vila Nova. We have arrived. However, we are a little early. It is time to do some other things in the meantime.
15.56 We walked, in mixed weather, strong wind, rain and sun, downhill into the village of Vila Nova. Here we went into a café. Once again it is time for coffee and pastries. The question is what the name of the cafe is. On the receipt it says Pastelaria da Vila Nova. On the wall behind the counter it says, Pastelaria João Meneses. The first is perhaps what it is called among the common and the other is the official name, who knows?
16.07 At the café, it is very quiet, silent. Some of the village men have gathered to watch TV. No one says anything. The rain is falling. Roberth think that the scene is taken from a play by Swedish Lars Norén.
16.26 The time has come to return to the church and parked the car. We have to drive the last bit.
16.46 Dogs barked at us during our walk back. Was it perhaps that they simply cheerfully welcomed us? Christer has finished today's driving.
16.52 We have arrived at Casa da Ajuda, the villa we are going to rent here in Vila Nova. Christer is at a big gate. As soon as he has been given the green light the car and we shall pass through the gate.
16.56 Christer is back. He rang the bell, but nothing happened. We are certainly a little early. We will keep on waiting.
17.03 We have, in order to not block the road, driven the car a few hundred metres. We are waiting a while before we return.
The nature reserve Mata da Serreta.
Typical Azores forest.
We have stopped outside the church in Vila Nova.
A dog is welcoming us to the village.
Vila Nova, Terceira.
Christer and Roberth will make an order.
17.13 We are back by Casa da Ajuda. Christer has called both on the interior bell but also to the host. No reaction and no response.
17.19 The owner/landlord has called Christer's mobile. He will come and let us in, in about ten minutes.
17.45 A man just appeared. He has made contact with Christer.
18.22 The man, who introduced himself as Paul Gregory, has let us in. Furthermore, he has shown where we will be staying. Here are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, TV-rooms and living room. This will be our home for two nights. Will we be able to use everything? In addition, Paul has informed us about the different restaurants, both near and a short distance away.
18.40 Our car has effectively cleaned by an intense shower of rain, practically!
19.21 We have moved in and made some plans. Now we shall go and buy the last to the dinner in the evening and certainly something more.
19.37 There has been a drastic change in plans for our dinner. We will not cook this evening. Instead we save it for tomorrow and go to a restaurant after the visit in the store called Akiperto.
19.59 It went smooth to shop, including something for tomorrow's excursion. Now we are at the restaurant, Valadão Casa da Galinha. We had barely sat down as the older waitress asked how many pieces we should have? We asked to get the menus.
The older men in Vila Nova are watching the foreign coffee drinkers.
Casa da Ajuda.
Car wash for free just after arrival.
The kitchen in Casa Ajuda.
The beautiful flowers are dry this time of year.
Roberth is writing in his teacher blog.
20.17 After Roberth had ordered, eight pieces fried chicken with fries, Chriter was about too order. The waitress snatched the menu from him and left. Previously Roberth assisted with the bringing of the wine, it was a little high up for our lady. Can it be that Roberth ordered enough for all three of us?
20.42 We have been served eight large pieces of fried chicken and French fries. It was probably good that we didn't order eight pieces each. This restaurant has, in principle, only one dish, fried chicken. That is why she asked how many pieces instead of what we wanted to eat.
21.40 The tasty meal ended with Beirão liqueur for Roberth and me. I also had coffee. Now we are back in the house for a some evening duties.
23.37 After relaxation and in evening beer, we are now going to bed, each man to his room and his bed. This house is pure luxury. Unfortunately, the weather has made it cold indoors. We have no wood to make a fire in the fireplace.
