08.40 We had a sleep in here in our house in Vila Nova. What shall this day bring? We have plans to visit various attractions in the interior of Terceira, the island we are on.
09.25 The day has, so far, not given that much. But we have a vacation, why should that much have to happen?
10.04 We have enjoyed breakfast here in Casa da Ajuda. It consisted to some extent of the various groceries we got from our host Paul and partly of such that we had purchased. The rainy weather is gone for the moment and the sun is shining.
11.09 Now it is time to leave our villa. We are going to familiarize ourselves with the area around where we stay. It will be a walk down to the sea.
11.27 We have turned from the main road, walked past a fishing port and reached a place for swimming. To swim is not something we should do today. The sea froths and rolls beneath us. It is an aggressive sea with high waves. It could have been a nice and warm day today, but it is just windy.
11.44 Roberth and I have stepped over a plastic tape and wandered down to the beach. Christer is standing in a shelter and is making a video clip. Roberth is off and perpetuates the roaring sea. Behind me rises a wall of earth, clay and certainly something more. Birds live in the cavities. The beach is rocky and unfortunately, in addition, covered with rubbish, debris and scrap.
11.53 The two visitors to the beach have reunited with Christer. He has informed us that it might have been less smart to step over the tape. It was put up by the police and had police written on it. There had been two uniformed gentlemen in a vehicle and they looked around. This is why Christer refused to follow us. Are the police looking for us now? The band was probably put there for security reasons. There are some bad waves hitting the shore.
Casa da Ajuda and our car.
A small fishing harbour in our village.
Powerful waves this morning.
Roberth is taking photos close to the sea.
Between doors.
Roberth by the black lake (Lagoa do Negro).
12.07 On the way home we suddenly met strong winds, rain and hail. It feels good to be indoors again to get dry.
12.28 After making sandwiches with cheese or ham, we will now head out on a new excursion. In addition, I have filled the thermos with hot water.
13.17 Christer has, safe and without problems, estimated and navigated to the small lake of Lagoa do Negro. It is once again my turn to be the driver. I think that the lake resembles a pond in the forest. Roberth has kept track of cows and police as well as warned at the sight of any of them. Are the police looking for us since we stepped over the tape? In the vicinity of the lake is the Gruta do Natal, a cave that unfortunately is not open until later in the afternoon.
13.45 The journey in our Ford continued to the west. I gave up the attempt to bring us up to a vantage point on the Santa Bárbara Mountain. I highly doubt my ability to bring us up the minor steep path. Instead we will enjoy the chirping of birds and the new views at a parking place. Roberth seems to have found a small cave.
13.55 After having met yet another police car, we turned off the road. We are in a larger open space, perhaps a parking lot. We have consumed instant coffee and sandwiches. Christer got three sandwiches with ham and no cheese, he can say cheese. This stop has brought back memories from childhood breaks on long car trips.
14.25 After the tasty homemade lunch, we have explored the forest nearby. Roberth and Christer saw a sign pointing towards a path to some water. They wandered off in the hope of a waterfall, but I cancelled my excursion and have returned to the car.
14.42 The comrades have returned, I have not missed that much. It was no impressive waterfall, just the forest and a small river. On the other side of the road from where we parked is Lagoa das Patas, The Duck Lake. It is a recreation area and there were plenty of different birds there. It is time to proceed.
From this spot we could see a large part of southwest Terceira.
Roberth found a small cave.
The perspective of the caveman.
Treeplants.
A walk in the woods.
Two men and a bird.
14.50 We have continued a little further to the east on our island and have parked at Algar do Carvão. Now we are going to explore more.
14.59 The Algar do Carvão (Cavern of Coal) is an ancient lava tube or volcanic vent located in the central part of the island of Terceira in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. It lies within the civil parish of Porto Judeu in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo. Source Wikipedia. It is where we now have paid entrance fee and entered. We are about to we walk down towards the underworld.
15.10 It is dimly lit down here and the steps are tricky but now we have reached the bottom where there is a small pond with water. There are drops around us from the side of the mountain. We are in a mighty stone hall.
15.29 We are back on ground level again. It is time to catch our breath before we go on to the next attraction.
15.54 It was a shorter car journey before our next stop. We do not intend to step out of the car. It rains and hails heavy right now. Large grains of hail patters against the car's windows. In addition to this there is someone playing music at, to say the least, high-volume. We are at the sulphur springs of Furnas do Enxofre.
16.24 In the wet after the rain, mud and slippery, we walked down along a trail here in the area. The smoke coming out of the ground here and there has a touch of sulphur. Here the underworld meets the daylight. We have seen similar places on Iceland and are not that impressed. We are far from close to the action. We can only see smoke and feel the smell in the distance.
16.35 We are once again in the car. We are on our way to further destinations.
16.55 We decided to see some new parts of the island and have done a small detour before we head for home. Right now it is a stop, a halt on an uphill gradient, in Posto Santo. In front of us a farmer is leading his cows. They'll probably go to a house where the cows live. We have unsuccessfully been looking for a café for some afternoon coffee.
Welcome to Algar do Carvão.
Starting the walk into Algar do Carvão.
The opening to the world above.
Panic in the cave.
Christer at Furnas do Enxofre.
Once again the road is blocked by cows, this time in Posto Santo.
17.12 We took it easy and avoided problems with the cows and the
farmer. Some fellow drivers didn´t have as much patience. It was not appreciated by the farmer.
17.45 We are at home in Vila Nova again. Before the final drive we will relax a bit at the village café again, we believe is called Pastelaria João Meneses.
18.42 We finished the pastries and coffee. Once again there were some elderly gentlemen at the café, however, not as many as yesterday. We later shopped some groceries for the evening at the store Akiperto. I just realised, now when we are home, that I have finished my driving for this journey. Tomorrow it is Christer's turn to sit behind the wheel.
20.50 The time has come to cook our own dinner together. There will be pasta, Azorean meatballs and shrimps. Sometimes the dinners are just an improvisation based on what can be bought in the store. This also happened in the Seychelles where we stayed next to a small shop with limited selection.
21.30 A good cooperation between the three of us brought something that actually might qualify as food.
22.08 It was really tasty. The frozen Azorean meatballs we purchased the other day were pure delicacies. It is fun and a tradition to sometimes cook our own food on our trips.
22.35 Christer and I will, as the good comrades and friends we are, assist Roberth to finish his whisky.
23.13 The three from the Travel Team have retreated, each to his own bed and own bedroom. Tomorrow is the last day here in the Azores.
Somewhere south of Biscoitos.
Returning to the village café.
Christer is entering the small shop in Vila Nova.
Dinner preparations.
Friday 6th of April
08.18 A strong wind is blowing through our village, Vila Nova. It is chilly weather today, our last day here in the Azores. In about an hour, we will put ourselves in motion, from the Casa da Ajuda.
09.43 After we woke up, Christer and I have eaten breakfast, made sandwiches for the upcoming lunch and loaded and started the dishwasher. We chose the eco drive, eco-friendly. Roberth continues to wrestle with his pillow. He takes a powerful sleep in this Friday. Yesterday evening's whisky might be a part of the explanation.
10.39 Roberth has finally woken up and we are ready for departure. We are waiting for our host Paul who will arrive at 11.00 so that we can return the keys. Klas Östergren and Kjell Espmark no longer want to be active in the Swedish Academy. Apparently it's a conflict based on the events surrounding the so-called culture profile, the spouse of Academy member Katarina Frostensson. The dishwasher continues to wash the dishes here in our villa. I thought that the eco drive would be fast, it was the opposite.
11.15 Paul came at the appointed time and fetched the keys. We went out to our car for the last day of travel. Our driver Christer just stopped in the outskirts of Vila Nova. Roberth will check if he really has packed down the razor, he has. We are off again!
11.44 Christer has parked near where I parked yesterday. We have returned to the glade on the other side of the road from Lagoa das Patas, Duck Lake. It is around +9°C outdoors, nothing to go out to, or? It is warm and comfortable in our car.
12.10 We have left the car and gone to some tables and benches under a roof. It looks like a small pavilion. We study various graffiti from those who has been here before us. We do not have the weather with us today either. It is as mentioned cold and also rain.
12.37 We have explored the area around our pavilion. The weather remains moody to say the least. Just now the rain was pouring down. We will soon be seated by a table. We are about to have a simple lunch. It consists of a mix from our house, some sandwiches, juice, cheese, and other things.
We are back to Lagoa das Patas.
Roberth is appreciating the warm sun.
Water and vegetation.
The place for our simple lunch.
The chapel at Lagoa das Patas.
It´s time to head back to the airport.
13.07 Yet another home-cooked lunch is completed. We shared what we couldn´t finish with the ducks and sparrows.
13.28 Christer and I are at a chapel. The lake we are at is called Lagoa da Falca according to the sign near here but Lagoa das Patas according to the map we navigate by. Does it have two names? We now hear someone shouting from the lake.
13.38 The shouting was from a man who fed the birds here at the lake. Now we will continue our journey.
13.51 Out of pure improvisation and to make the time go, we have stopped the car. A house behind a wall seems deserted. It feels like a hacienda in a Western movie.
14.18 The petrol station Galp, which arranged with the air the other day, have arranged with petrol for us. The car should be returned full with petrol. A man offered to help us refuel.
14.30 The Fiesta fiesta is over. We are back at Lajes airport and the car has been returned. We are about to wait. Peter Englund has also asked to withdraw from the Swedish Academy.
15.26 It is again time to eat something at O Pescador or whatever the restaurant here at the airport is called. My friends have chosen among today´s specials. Christer ordered the last dish of one kind. I have once again ordered an Azorean burger. It was cheaper today.
16.14 It was not the burger I had expected. I guess the cashier misunderstood me. Now we enjoy coffee on Make me Nuts Cafeteria and Cool Food. What about the luggage? It is checked in. We have just now seen some exciting movie clips of meetings between bulls and people. It looked like some got hurt. Calm down, the bulls are fine. It is worse with the various foolish people. The films were shown on a TV in the souvenir shop here.
16.57 We are seated next to the gate. We will just rest here before we board.
17.21 Less happy news. Our flight to Ponta Delgada is delayed, at least for 20 minutes. Robert just answered his phone. The caller, someone from Härnösand, didn't want to talk.
Temporary disabled at Lajes airport.
Peter is examining the coffee sugar.
Once again we are flying with SATA.
Vila Nova Hotel, Ponta Delgada.
The sun and the lamps light up our hotel room.
The sun is going down in Ponta Delgada.
18.02 We may be delayed, but on board the flight with SATA from Lajes, Terceira to Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel. Now we will actually begin the long journey home. We will reach rest and sleep at home in Sweden in about two days.
18.42 The short island leap is over. We have taken our first step on the road back to Sweden. We are back at the airport in Ponta Delgada.
19.02 The luggage is moved from the baggage carousel to the trunk of a taxi. We are on our way to our third hotel in the same city and on the same trip. It has to my knowledge never before happened on our trips.
19.30 Things change. We have today moved from the village of Vila Nova, Terceira, to Vila Nova Hotel (http://www.vilanovahotel.com) in Ponta Delgada. Our last room number is 420. At check-in, we announced that we wouldn't be able to eat breakfast in the morning. We were offered to buy a breakfast packet. We said thanks but no thanks to the offer. We checked in, in time before the whole lobby was filled with German tourists. We have just checked in to tomorrow's flights.
20.06 The time has come. We are going out for the last Azorean dinner. What is waiting around the corner?
20.36 It went fine to get a table at the meat restaurant, O Churrasco. We hope it will go just as well to order our dinners. We thought about going here during the Easter weekend, but it was a long queue.
20.50 Roberth and I have ordered cottage cheese and Christer choose vegetable soup as starters. We have also ordered the wine Terras de Lava.
21.14 The tasteful starters have been followed by the main courses, which seem delicious. The waiter has asked if the wine was fine. He told us that it was a new wine and he wasn't familiar with it. We are no wine experts but had nothing to complain about regarding the wine.
22.19 Food is good. Now we are back in our room at Vila Nova Hotel. It is time to put the finishing touches to today's work. Soon we will sleep. We should be up early tomorrow morning.
Interesting design on this house outside our hotel.
Delicious dinner at O Churrasco.
Quickly back to the hotel to catch some sleep.
Saturday 7th of April
04.31 A figure move through the darkness, a figure with wet hair. This figure will soon join two other like-minded people for a short taxi ride away from Vila Nova Hotel in Ponta Delgada.
05.12 We are four people in the lobby, four people who want to check out. They are the three of us and an American woman. There is, however, no one behind the counter.
05.17 The night portiere appeared after Christer had awoken him. He had fallen asleep in front of the TV. The three of us shall now go by taxi to the airport. The fourth guest in the lobby will be leaving in another taxi.
05.35 Check-in here at the airport went well, but they wanted us to pay for the baggage. There is nothing strange with it. We had forgotten to pay for it when we booked our tickets. The strange part is that we didn't have to pay on the trip down. We are now in the queue to make this payment.
06.01 There was no problem with the control of us and our possessions. In addition, it has now become time to eat breakfast.
06.36 We have just boarded the plane and are seated in the seats 29 D-F. It is actually at the rear of the plane. The airline TAP will now take us from Ponta Delgada on the Portuguese mainland.
CHANGING TIME ZONE
08.55 We have left Azorean air and the Azorean time zone. The sun is shining on the upper side of the clouds and we are once again on the way to Lisbon.
10.04 The European continent spread out below us. We are about to land at the continents south westernmost capital.
10.37 Most things are fixed and completed here at the airport. We have what we need to be able to continue. Our bags are waiting right here at the airport before being loaded on board on our next flight, which is at midnight.
11.01 After having wandered through the airport and got rid of some of what we drank in the Azores, we will now go by metro towards the city centre. We are on the red line and going to the end of the line, the station of São Sebastião.
TAP takes us from Ponta Delgada to Lisbon.
In the metro towards central Lisbon.
Jardim da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
New friends meet in the park.
Next month it´s time for Eurovision Song Contest here.
A view of Parque Eduardo VII.
11.29 The metro journey came to an end, mainly due to the fact that the red line came to an end. We have walked around in the vicinity of the station of São Sebastião without really knowing where we are going. We spotted what resembled a park and has put us down in the green area of Jardim da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. Here we found a knitting lady who sat and listened on a radio that mostly just roared and a small amphitheatre. Today will be a quiet day. We have plenty of time and don't have to rush.
11.42 On a stone in a pond in the park are a duckling and a turtle. Has the turtle started a nursery for young ducks?
12.05 A huge Portuguese flag is waving behind us. We are sitting on a bench on the top of Parque Eduardo VII which is located above the city's main artery, avenue, Avenida da Libertade. It is a great view of the park and also towards the city centre. We can also see some water in the distance
12.43 We will, before we enter on the Avenida da Libertade, have coffee and pastries at the bakery/café, A Padaria Portuguesa Do Marquês (https://www.apadariaportuguesa.pt).
12.50 We needed a ticket to be able to order. Roberth shouted "Bingo!" as his number came up and he got help from a girl who had a hard time understanding him when he insisted to order in Swedish.
13.15 Coffee break is over. It is time to go down to go up. We will first walk down towards the river Tagus before we are heading up the city's steep hills.
14.05 A combination of Christer's and my memory, in cooperation with Christer navigation on Google Maps has brought us to the lookout point, Miradouro São Pedro de Alcantara. We have a view over a large part of central Lisbon and also hear accordion music. Christer and I were here on a New Year's trip 2013. They played accordion back then as well. We also seem to remember that it was greener in the city then although it should have been winter. Isn't it spring now?
Coffee stop at A Padaria Portuguesa.
The statue of Marquês de Pombal.
A bed walked through the city.
You can say a lot about Lisbon but it´s at least not flat.
The view towards Castelo de São Jorge.
Christer and Roberth are waiting for lunch.
14.17 We are now at Largo Trindade Coelho. Here we have seen the church Igreja de São Roque.
14.28 In a steep street/alley, we suddenly ran into the restaurant Solar do Duque (http://www.solardoduque.pt). Here we'll eat lunch. The waiter suggested that he would bring us four beers, three for us and one to himself. It ended with only three glasses after all.
15.31 We have had an outdoor lunch. It was really delicious food. Unfortunately it's raining a bit but what does that matter when there is good food and good friends, in addition, in a beautiful and pleasant city.
16.18 We paid for our meals and took the stairs down to the lower areas. Here we went, as tradition over the Rossio Square, with its wavy patterns. Once again there was a slight feeling of seasickness. We are now at Starbucks Coffee at the railway station Rossio.
17.22 Roberth bought and offered roasted chestnuts on the way from Starbucks. They were tasty but we are really dry in the mouths. Now we have passed the Praça do Comércio and come down to the river Tagus. The 25th of April bridge stretches over this waterway a bit further downstream.
17.40 We are for a short while inside a building upstream from where we last were. This is not that much interesting to write about. The building is a ferry terminal with small shops and kiosks.
18.07 It says Largo Adelino Amaro da Costa, 1943-1980 on a stone plate near where we sit on a bench. Our bench along with several other benches images a polygon around some bushes and grass.
18.19 A group of 8-10 Segway riders go round and round on the square. It looks like dancing cranes. A big, yellow crane lorry came down a hill. The surrounding area including the Segway riders watched everything and applauded. It may not be easy to navigate this large vehicle along the narrow, steep street. It was, however, an experienced driver behind the wheel. He took it easy. We will now continue on foot, and follow the crane lorry.
Roberth is attacking his squid.
Peter is having lunch at Solar do Duque.
More attention than money.
Restaurants along the street Calçada do Duque.
Praça Rossio, Lisbon.
The railway station Lisboa-Rossio.
18.35 The crane disappeared in the distance and we got down to the lower areas of Lisbon again. It starts to get cooler and we are thinking on the next move.
18.58 Hey, there are oranges in the trees here. We are once again on the way up toward the higher parts of the Portuguese capital.
19.14 We have found a café in the same chain as the one we had coffee at earlier today, A Padaria Portuguesa. This time, the address is Rua Dom Pedro V. Roberth is about to sign one of his books that a friend of mine has ordered. Roberth is perhaps not a writer, but has published two books on the teachers' daily lives and working environment, under the pseudonym The Desk pedagogue (https://skrivbordspedagogen.skolbloggen.se).
19.41 Pastel de Nata, Portugal's contribution to the world of pastries is absolutely heavenly good. They become perfect if you in addition, sprinkle cinnamon and icing sugar over them. The time has come for us to have a bench break. We can see the flag of the United Arab Emirates on a building nearby. We are in Jardim de Principe Real.
20.17 We are on the hunt for somewhere to eat dinner. We want to do away with dinner before we return to the airport. It would be silly if we had to rush.
20.49 We once again, glance up towards the mighty lift, the Elevador de Santa Justa. The Santa Justa Lift (Portuguese: Elevador de Santa Justa, also called Carmo Lift (Portuguese: Elevador do Carmo, is an elevator, or lift, in the civil parish of Santa Justa, in the historical city of Lisbon, Portugal. Situated at the end of Rua de Santa Justa, it connects the lower streets of the Baixa with the higher Largo do Carmo (Carmo Square).
Since its construction the Lift has become a tourist attraction for Lisbon as, among the urban lifts in the city, Santa Justa is the only remaining vertical (conventional) one. Others, including Elevador da Glória and Elevador da Bica, are actually funicular railways, and the other lift constructed around the same time, the Elevator of São Julião, has since been demolished.
Source Wikipedia.
Christer is entering Starbucks at the railway station Rossio.
Arco da Rua Augusta, Lisbon.
By the river Tejo.
Ponte 25 de Abril-bridge across Tejo.
In Lisbon you can find a shop dedicated to rubber ducks.
Segway-riders and others watched this big truck drive through the narrow streets.
21.00 The search for a restaurant made us tired and we decided to pay a visit to an old acquaintance. We are at the restaurant Casa Chinesa. Christer and I were here in December 2013. We seem to remember that they were generous with cheap red wine.
21.52 I finished the late dinner with coffee and Beirão liqueur. The waiter seemed to be unfamiliar with this delicious liqueur and I had to point it out in the menu. When it was served I got a hefty amount, thanks! Now we are going to visit a metro station to take us to the airport again.
22.18 I gave a man with a speech impediment a euro at the reloading of the metro cards. Here in the metro wagon that man just commented a blind beggar with what seemed to be negative terms.
22.32 We have changed to the red line. On the way between the lines, I saw two Kånken carriers. We are on our way towards the airport. Suddenly it feels like we are running out of time.
22.45 A poor fellow passenger went a station too far due to the halting calls. He had to turn back but we have got off here at the airport.
23.13 The staff closed and left just after we had passed the security control. What if we had arrived later? We continued through the duty free shops and Roberth made some shopping. We are now at the gate, number 19.
23.37 At the gate, we were told that we would not sit on the 25 D-F. We are moved to, 6A-C.
Praça dos Restauradores, Lisbon.
Portuguese pastries at A Padaria Portuguesa.
Skrivbordspedagogen has signed his book.
Going back to the airport again.
Sunday 8th of April
00.08 We leave Lisbon and Portugal behind us. A number of hours remain before the end of this long travel home is over.
CHANGING TIME ZONE
02.40 The flight meals have been served, consumed and removed. Was it a late dinner, an early breakfast or some completely different meals? Who knows? Some hours of flying remains. The time is now Central European/Swedish.
04.40 Small islands of light are visible in the night's black ocean. We are about to land at Stockholm-Arlanda airport. It feels in the bodies that we have been awake for nearly 24 hours.
SWEDEN
05.11 The three amigos are now sitting on a stone bench and wait for their luggage.
05.31 Our luggage arrived as it should, despite the long wait at Lisbon airport. Now we are sitting on a new bench and fill up with fluids. We are soon about to say thanks and good bye to Roberth. He shall go by train to the north and Östersund. Christer and I'm going to sleep for a few hours at Rest and Fly before the train departs.
06.01 We are about to sleep for some hours in room 42 at Rest and Fly (http://www.restandfly.com). We however don't feel that worn, or?
09.40 It feels much better now with some hours of sleep and a shower. We are seventy minutes away from departing.
10.05 We are at our classic bench. The questions now relate to breakfast, why, where and what? Why is easy to answer. The other questions will soon be answered.
10.23 The other answers were; with a drink and a baguette from the Pressbyrån kiosk, everything consumed on "the bench"
10.45 This trip has started to reach its end. The train with us on board rolls north towards Sundsvall as the first stop.
11.16 Heart-stopping news reached me in the bistro. It was closed, something technically wrong. Thankfully, the news was regarding the cash register and not the coffee machine. It went fine to get coffee and it was for free. There is still snow here in northern Uppland.
12.59 We are ever so slowly reaching Hudiksvall. The travel team will be completely shattered within an hour. There is plenty of snow outside.
14.14 We reached Sundsvall a bit late. Christer is on the way to his home. I'm waiting for the train to my home area. It departs in about a quarter of an hour. Our journey has been fun and eventful. Now I'm going to prepare first and foremost for jobs but also for future travel.
