Day 7+8 - leaving the Azores and getting home

Sunday February 17

Bummer. Our coughs are getting worse. But it is an easy morning. We are being picked up for the airport at 12:45 noon. We have to check out of the hotel room at 11 am but there is plenty of lobby area with empty sofas.

So, first we admire the sunrise and then we have a leisurely breakfast.

When the driver picked us up to go to the airport he had parked on the street in front of the tunnel and a (very fast) passing car broke his driver's side mirror. The other driver actually stopped but then decided to go on. Our driver wrote down the license plate number. Yup, those streets were narrow. I always squashed against the houses not to loose my arm when a car was coming.

Checking in, going through security, nothing a big deal. Then we had plenty of time though. Time for a coffee.

Finally we are allowed to walk to the plane. Unfortunately we were not told which steps to use. So, if you don't know where the middle of the rows is, you could be "swimming against the stream". Yup, that's what plenty had to do including us. It could be so easy with a little organizing.

Luckily the plane was not full. We had an empty seat between us again and I had a window seat. Just love it when the weather is clear and I can see the world from above.

This is the area where we took the tour with the LandRover. I can see the edge of the crater which we drove around on. You have to look really close to see the "hole" in the top.

Oh my, then after a while, I could see two more Islands. The first with the tall mountain must be Pico, the other on the left Faial. Yup, don't forget to look out of the window once in a while. Ah, I just love it.

As always, in this direction the flights take longer. After 5 1/2 hours there is Boston.

And it was soooo cold. Colder then a week ago. We had to wait for the Hyatt hotel shuttle a little while. Then we got a room were the shower didn't work properly. Got a different room. After that all was good.
Soup (New England Clam Chowder) and salad downstairs. And a beer.

Light was out very early. And (surprise, surprise) I even could fall asleep. This cold has hung around now about 2 weeks and it is not getting any better. At the moment rather the opposite. 

Monday February 18

We were awake early even though we didn't really have to. The 4 hours time difference to the Azores did/do make a difference.

Surprise, surprise when I opened the drapes. I remembered having heard something on the news last night about 1 to 3 inches. They were right. About 3 inches.

We decided to get going and take the shuttle whenever it is there. What does it matter where you wait? Everything went smoothly with check-in and security. Our plane was supposed to leave at 11:34 so there was plenty of time. We found a place to have a nice cup of coffee.

Well, why not have some breakfast. The place was called Wahlburgers and the two over-easy eggs with sausage and cheese came looking like that. No cutlery and it was terribly messy. After one bite I asked whether I could have a plate and fork and knife. No problem. They were very nice and it was much easier to eat.

It wasn't that much snow but it was interesting to watch the going ons of the machinery. For a long time our flight was supposed to be "on time" but then James got messages. We had two more hours to waste. 

Finally we had boarded. The plane was totally full. The captain came out of the cockpit to thank us for being patient and that we had to be a little more patient because the plane had to go to a de-icing place. It would take about 15 minutes and then we would be on our way. Well, I would never complain about the airline taking all precautions to keep us safe. It was interesting.

VIDEO!     (0:55)

Almost home. I had a good view again but couldn't quite make out what was what.

James is sick of his cough so as soon as we were home he went to a doc-in-the-box. It was a good experience and he came home with medicine and hope.

We are just happy and grateful that the coughs didn't hamper our vacation and we had such a great time. What wonderful new memories. And my knee didn't hamper anything either. Oh, how lucky we are. Thank you, Lord!

Day 6 - Trip around Furnas

Saturday February 16

Another booked tour. Pick up at 9 am again. Same two guides. Yeah! This time it was a mini bus and yes, James and I were the only guests again. It was great!

But when we had left our room and walked the corridor from elevator 1 to elevator 2 we went through this covered bridge between the buildings and the sound of the rain on the plastic roof sounded not very promising.

Hugo drove us up the coast and the first stop was the view to the little island which was a volcano crater. Hugo told us that in summer for a limited time you can swim in the middle of it. When I saw it from the boat yesterday I thought that would be a lot of fun. He said the snorkeling is great because the fish are swimming there too. It is a bird sanctuary though that's why it is sometimes off limits. He also told us that it used to be privately owned at one point. Can you imagine owning something like that?

When we arrived in Furnas Hugo showed us first the part still owned by family of the same wealthy man who owned and established the botanical garden we visited few days ago. He had even promised to build a church because his wife had been so ill.

Then we went to the Terra Nostra Garden. The brochure said it was a Bicentennial Garden (?) but there are 12.5 hectar of incredible beauty. There is a hotel in the middle and hot pools you can use. Obviously the water is rich on iron. The water was nice and warm but even though we both brought our swim suits and towels that we didn't think that we would quite enjoy it in this weather. We both are still coughing.

We did enjoy walking around though and seeing at least some of it. You need several visits and more time to really enjoy it all.

The most breathtaking of all are the camellias blooming right now. So many varieties. Hugo told us that you can trim/shape them into little bushes, tall trees or hedges, whatever you like.

And then of course there was a real downpour. We found some shelter for a little while.

When we came to this pool a second time it 11:30 am by now and if you look closely you can see people swimming in the pool. Most came from the hotel with robes and flip-flops provided.

We had to be at the next place at a certain time but we had a little time and had a coffee around the corner where we had parked. That was nice. Then Hugo drove us back to the lake to this place.

How to explain? Hot steam is coming out of the earth in places. People had dug holes (now lined with pipes) in which in the early morning people sink large pots. The pots are prepared with veggies and meats, no liquid. After 6 or 7 hours the cooking is done.

We were here to watch when the pot is retrieved from the restaurant where we have reservations for lunch. Anybody can bring a pot. There are people from the city who take care of it. But these were mostly restaurants. A pot feeds about 40 people.

VIDEO!     (1:32)

Several cats were around and enjoyed the warm places to lay on.

James and I had a quick look around. It was all quite fascinating. And a bit smelly!
VIDEO!     (0:21)
VIDEO!     (0:39)

And then we had to hurry to the restaurant. We didn't want the food to get cold, did we?'

We were offered bread. On the right was cornflour bread. Nice and heavy how Germans like it.
On the left side regular bread which was just too airy for us. The butter of course was Azorian from happy cows.

And this was the stew.
Google says: "Cozido das Furnas", a traditional Azores stew cooked underground with volcanic heat.
The three different kinds of potato, other veggies and different kind of meats including pigs ears and trotters. We hardly made a dent into this platter.

Chocolate cake or local pineapple for dessert?

It looks small from the outside but it had plenty of room inside. Very nice.

More places to visit. There was a little village with the hot places.

It's kind of hard to image to live in the middle of these things. Hugo said that one could suddenly appear in your yard.

VIDEO!   (0:31)

And then there are cold springs too. It's drinking water and they all even have (supposedly) different medicinal purposes.

Back at the parking lot a quick photo. Yup, in the middle of the village.

And another overlook. The lake. On the far side would be the church with the two private houses of the very rich man built in the 18th century.

On the front edge of the lake is were we saw them collect their cooked stews. There is also a government test garden.

Hugo pin-pointed where the botanical garden was in the middle of the town.

And I always enjoyed seeing the fields with the happy cows.

Next stop: A tea plantation. Since 1883 the company Gorreana produces black and green tea here. Black and green tea was introduced to the island in 1750, brought by ships returning from the Eastern world. Hugo of course knew all about it and it was very interesting. James was excited about the wonderful condition the British machinery was in.

Of course we had a tasting and even bought some Orange Pekoe in support. It is loose so we will see how it is at home.

Another look-out at the north coast. Gosh, is it gorgeous! But cold. At least the rain has stopped. Everything is nicer with sunshine. Or at least some.

VIDEO!     (1:08)

This was a long day. I think we were dropped off at the hotel at about 5 pm. James and I agree. We can't say enough praise about our guide Hugo. How lucky we were to have gotten him all three times. He is very knowledgeable, friendly and considerate. You can ask him anything and he knows about it ... in a very nice way.

So, we had a rest in the room. Mostly the long hot showers made us feel good. This time it was James who wasn't so sure he wanted to go out again for dinner. All the other evenings it was me and James did a little pushing. His cough just has not gotten any better. He finally decided that a soup and a beer would do him good. But were to go.

We just walked in the town center direction and when James peaked into this place he liked it. Surprise, surprise, he had similar dishes like we had experienced on Terceira 3 years ago. You cook it to your liking in front of you at the table on a hot stone. It's a very hot volcanic stone.

I had tuna and James beef. It was all very, very nice. And the servers too were so friendly and helpful. It was fun.

I "stole" one of James' sweet potato chips.

James had perked up so much that he even wanted dessert. This is pineapple cream. OMG, made from "their" pineapples. Hugo had kept telling us how their pineapples (ananas) are so much better but not good for shipping. They are farmed differently too. At one point they pinch the crown so they stop growing. And you store them upside down. He said if you see in the shops, the most expensive are hung on the cut ends. That all makes them sweeter.

Yes, we walked back to the hotel marveling what a surprise the whole day was. 

Step count: 14,096