Terceira Island, Azores

I made the mistake of not blogging Matt and my adventure to Europe last summer.  I didn't want to make this same mistake this year with our visit to the Azores. So even though we aren't in Australia, I want to preserve the memories of our latest adventure.

We left Salt Lake about 10:30 on Tuesday night.  We flew to Boston via New York (gotta love sky miles!)  It wasn't bad despite the late hours.  We arrived in Boston about 6:00 am.  We had booked our trip from Boston to the Azores through a company so we unfortunately had to pick up our luggage.  Due to the early hour, when we walked over to the international area there was no one there.   It was deserted with the exception of a handful of janitorial workers coming and going.  This area was to be our home for the next 16 hours.  16 hours! What a long day!  It's so hard to sit for that long.  It was unfortunate too because it would have been nice to go out and see a site or two in Boston.  We couldn't though because we were stuck though with our large suitcases.  We made the best of it.  I think I watched about a dozen episodes of Heartland and Matt read and played a lifetime's worth of solitaire.

Finally about 7:00 pm we were able to line up to check in for the flight to the Azores.  The line was huge.  I couldn't believe there were this many people heading to an island that 6 months earlier I had never even heard of.  We managed to get through the line and were finally free of our suitcases.  It was such a relief and a huge weight to not have to drag around.  Three and a half hours later we boarded our flight to go to Terceira.

We arrived on the island about 6:00 am.  It was pitch black.  The airport was much bigger than I would have guessed.  I think we taxied back to the terminal area for a good ten minutes.  When it came time to get off the plane the rear door was opened and we exited using a ramp.  I was just a tad disappointed it wasn't a slide like they show you in the emergency information.  This is the only thing I've seen coming off of the back of the plane.  Since it was so different and something we had never done before, I wanted to take a picture but wasn't able to due to the rush of people trying to get off (Darn!)

We managed to get through the process of renting a car and then on to the hotel.  Sadly, when we arrived we were told that we couldn't check in for another 5 hours or so.  What?  We hadn't really slept in about 24 hours and were feeling the need to not only sleep but take a shower and brush our teeth.  Five more hours seemed like an eternity.  Being positive thinkers we took this opportunity to go exploring.  

The first place we went was the local grocery store.  It was really nice and a lot cheaper than we would have guessed given this island is literally in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and everything has to be shipped in.  

This store is like the Walmart of the Azores.

Milk in a bag.  I haven't seen that in a while. 

Oreos...one of the many comforts of home. 

An entire aisle devoted to yogurt in every form you can imagine.

From the grocery store we went for a short drive to a local park which turned out to the town's swimming pool as well. The park and much of the area around have these amazing stone walls and fences.  Some are small, 3-4 feet tall and others 12-15 feet tall.  I can't help but wonder what keeps them standing.  There doesn't seem to be any mortar connecting the rocks.  Why do they not tip over especially after all the years they've been up?  Did the builder have the patience to find rocks that fit this well together or did someone shape them?  I find these walls fascinating.  I can't even imagine the amount of hours it took to build them and they're everywhere!

The day was pretty windy although very nice as far as temperature goes.  The pool was very interesting as well as creative. An area right off the ocean was cemented in with walls, and a nice gentle slope allowing for varying water depths. It even has several sets of stairs and handrails for easy access.  When the tides is in its very deep (as in the pictures).  I'm sure on a less windy day this place would have been packed!

These aren't great pictures.  The tide had come in so the pool was really full.  We'll take some better ones tomorrow.

The island itself is beautiful.  It's very green and lush with all kinds of interesting plants and trees.  I don't remember seeing either of these types of trees before.

This tree seemed almost rubbery.

Is this a variation of a palm tree?

Terceira Island was the third of the Azores islands to be discovered (thus it's name).  It's  what you might picture a European village to look like, very narrow streets, many of them cobblestone, little shops and houses.  Today, in addition to the wind, it was a bit overcast with low misty clouds on the hills.  We were warned that the weather changes quickly and to always have a rain jacket with us.

We were finally able to check into our room at the Terceira Mar Hotel.  It's a beautiful hotel right on the ocean.  Our room is a little fancier than were used to, but we'll enjoy it.  It's going to be a great week fun and exploration!