part 1

Saturday 4 September 2021

We get up at 4.25 am and go to the airport. After checking in for the flight with TAP Portugal to Lisbon, we have breakfast at Schiphol. The flight to Lisbon leaves 15 minutes early at 6.45 am and arrives at Lisbon Airport in plenty of time. In Lisbon we have to take a bus to the terminal. There our QR code is checked for the vaccination against Corona. After that we get in the wrong line, but that is quickly resolved. We eat something in the food court and then wait for the flight to Terceira. Here too we are the first to board because we have premium boarding on our ticket.

This flight is also going well. We now have a little more legroom than on the first flight. That first flight was disappointing, because, even though we had exit row seats, we hardly had any extra legroom. We land around 12.55 local time (two hours earlier than NL). We pick up our rental car at Ilha Verde. That takes quite some time, but after a lot of patience we get a white Renault Clio. We drive to Angra do Heroismo, to the Pousada. Our room has a sea view, but is a bit dated. We cannot eat in the restaurant in the evening because there is a wedding. Lunch is not served here anyway. That is disappointing.

We go downtown for lunch at Tasca de Tias and that's fine. In the evening we have to go out again for dinner. We call around a bit, but is is not easy. Many restaurants are fully booked. Eventually we find a steakhouse, where we can go. Simple, but fine and friendly service. Erik takes a pepper steak and I take the sea bass. That fish is served on a red-hot stone and has to grill a bit on the table.

Back in the hotel we watch the replay of the international football match (Netherlands-Montenegro) and then we fall asleep like a log.

Weather: 23 degrees and cloudy. Sometimes some rain.

Sunday 5 September 2021

We sleep until 7.30 am and have breakfast in the hotel. The breakfast buffet is very good and has a large choice. After breakfast we go by car for a tour of the island. We drive through the middle to the north. It rains intermittently, but there are certainly dry periods as well. At the Furnas do Enxofre we get out of the car to view the geothermal landscape. However, it starts to rain violently and horizontally, so we end the walk on the marked trail prematurely. We continue to Praia de Vittoria on the east coast. Here it is dry again. We walk around the (seaside) town before we drive on to the Serra do Cume, a ridge of more than 500 meters above sea level. From a miradouro we have a beautiful view over the island. We meet a male couple from Groningen. They are also traveling through the archipelago, but have only one day left. They think Terceira is the flattest island so far, so that's promising! We drive back to Angra and have quite a bit of trouble finding a place for lunch. Many businesses are closed on Sundays. We find something at the harbour, but the quality is not really good. After lunch we rest for a while in the room in the Pousada, which is located in a 16th century fortress.

After the siesta, we drive to the Gruta de Natal. This is a cave formed by underground lava flows. Our underground route is difficult and the passages are often narrow and low. It is beautiful, but it takes a lot of effort. The entrance fee includes a visit to another cave, the  Algar de Corvão. This is an empty volcanic cone. You enter the volcano through a concrete tunnel. The space is huge. There is a hole at the top, the volcano hole and the walls are overgrown with mosses and ferns. Water is constantly dripping down. Concrete stairs have been constructed in the volcano by which you can go down into the volcano. It is an impressive experience.

We drive back to the Pousada and drink a glass of wine in the hotel bar. A cocktail doesn't work out, because the staff doesn't know how to make them. Another setback. After our order, we are left to our own devices. In the evening we eat in the hotel restaurant. We have also better in a Pousada. The food is mediocre. It's not expensive either, so it's good value for money. The wait staff is a bit inept and does not know the wine list. Erik takes a veal medallion as main course and I a trio of meat. Nice, but not shocking. The dessert is the best psrt of the meal.

Weather: very changeable. Showers and sunny periods. 18-23 degrees.

Monday 6 September 2021

After breakfast we drive to the center of Angra. We take a walk through the center. We pass the Misericordia Church, the Cathedral and the former Palace of the Captains General (Governor). The walk ends in the park of De Duque de Terceira, an 18th century landscaped park, designed by a Belgian landscape gardener, who emigrated from Liège to the Azores when he was only 18. From the park I climb a hill and am rewarded by a beautiful view of Angra and the Mont Brasil. Just like King Pedro IV had, who climbed up here in 1846 and who is now honored with an obelisk at the top. Back downstairs we have a soft drink on a terrace before we drive the car west for a trip along the coast. In Sao Mateo de Colheta we enjoy the view of the fishing port. In Cinco Ribeiro the cheese factory is open, but here you can only taste and eat a cheese sandwich. It continues to Santa Barbera, where we take the road up to the Serra Barbara. However, it is too cloudy and foggy to enjoy the view. We drive on to Rominho, where there is a nice viewpoint. The road continues north to Biscoito. This is the center of Terceira's viticulture, but unfortunately the wine museum is closed on Mondays. We can eat at Ti Pedro, where the wait staff is somewhat overwhelmed. It takes at least three quarters of an hour before we have something to eat. After lunch we drive back to Angra. We rest and then have a drink from the hotel bar and enjoy it on the terrace. In the evening we eat at Tasca das Tias, where we had lunch earlier. The food is tasty and the service is smooth. Afterwards we walk back to the hotel. A walk over steep slopes that takes a little over fifteen minutes.

Weather: very changeable, from sunny and warm to rainy and fresh. 17-23 degrees

Tuesday 7 september 2021

We get up early and have breakfast before 7:30 am. After breakfast we head for the airport. We return the car and check in for the flight. We are way too early and have to wait another hour and a half before we can board. The flight with SATA Azores Airlines takes more than 20 minutes to the island of Pico, where we arrive just before eleven o'clock. We rent a car here again from Ilha Verde. This time a Ford Focus (diesel). We drive to the Bed&Breakfast Calmo do Mar in Madalena. Petra welcomes us and explains everything. We rest for a while and then head for Mount Pico. The weather is exceptionally clear and therefore ideally suited to enjoy the view from over 900 meters above sea level. It's beautiful. The sun is shining and the sky is blue. We can clearly see the neighboring islands of Faial and São Jorge. Pico is a resting volcano and with more than 2,300 meters the highest mountain in Portugal. He can be seen from afar.

Back down in Madalena we have lunch at Cafe Cinq. It's a busy place, but the food tastes good. After lunch return to the B&B for a rest. Then we drive to a hypermarket for some groceries and from there to the Moinho do Frade, an old windmill in a vineyard. The mill is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. During this time the grape harvest is being brought in. I let the drone fly around for shots of the vineyard, which is compartmented by lava rock walls.

We go back to the B&B, drink a beer and then walk to the restaurant O Ancoradouro. A lovely restaurant with terrace on the shore of the strait between Pico and Faial with a view of Horta, the main town of Faial. I eat Octopus and Erik pepper steak, accompanied by a Verdelho wine from the island itself.

Weather: sunny, 24°C

Wednesday 8 September 2021

We have breakfast around 7:30 am and then go by car to Lajes de Pico, a harbour town on the south coast of the island.  There we booked a whale watching tour from Espaço Talasso. The tour starts at 9 am. Soon we get to see common dolphins swimming and jumping around our boat. Then we sail a long way out to sea and see a couple of sei whales. Rare at this time of year, as these fin whales usually prey on krill, which only lives in cold water. However, there are some sei whales, which can also live on fish. It is still quite difficult to get a picture of these huge animals, because when you see them they have already disappeared in the water. They are large animals, growing up to 12 to 18 meters in length. Only the blue and fin whales are larger. The sei whale is a fast swimmer and very agile. It reaches speeds of 55 km/h. That makes him hard to follow. It often and quickly changes direction. They only stay above water for a short time and then dive back down. They do not raise the tail, as the sperm whales do. Our guide puts the hydrophone in the water to listen for sperm whales, but unfortunately they are not around. We therefore sail on and meet a group of bottlenose dolphins. These are lively and cheerful animals that jump and dive around the boat. Finally, closer to shore, we encounter a group of gray dolphins or Risso's dolphins or Grampers. These have a blunt nose and high pointed dorsal fin and are gray to white. They become whiter with scars they incur in mutual fights.

Then the trip is over and we sail into the harbour. We have lunch at the harbour and then go on a tour of the east coast of the island. We stop in Calhete de Nesquim, where we have a look at the church and drink coffee. Then continue to the Ponta del Ilha lighthouse. Looks good, but nothing special. We drive on to the North Coast and stop at a miradouro of Terra Alta. Then we take the coastal road via Santa Armaro and Prainha back to the main road to Sao Roque. We then take a small mountain road as a shortcut to the main road that leads across the center of the island to Madalena. We drink a glass of wine in the garden of our B&B and in the evening we eat at Tasca O Petisca. Nice restaurant. Too bad my steak was rather tough.

Weather: sunny day with occasional clouds. 24 degrees

Thursday 9 september 2021

We start the day with a cup of coffee in the center of Madalena. Then we drive along the north coast to Cachorro, where there is a beautiful viewpoint on the lava coast, overlooking the neighboring island of São Jorge. We continue along the north coast and stop once more in Arcos and later again at Santo Antonio. Then we drive on to São Roque de Pico, where we do a walk. The walk runs along a dried up stream uphill past a number of water mills. Then the route goes horizontal for a while (first in the wrong direction) before going back to Sao Roque along another stream. The walk is known as “easy”, but the path goes  over difficult rocky patches here and there.

We have lunch in Sao Roque at Casa Ancora. Surprisingly modern and good dishes with a sea view. Then we go inland again to the Lagoa de Capitão, a mountain lake at a few hundred meters altitude. We continue to Lajes on the south coast, where we did the whale watching tour yesterday, then head west again along the coast to Madalena. Along the way we see some typical red windmills, which belong to the UNESCO World Heritage.

In the evening we drink a cocktail at the Recycle Bar and afterwards we eat at restaurant / pub Arruda a simple eatery for the locals without any frills. The food is excellent however, and the service friendly. When making a reservation by phone, I first got on the line with someone who only spoke Portuguese. I hung up, but was called back moments later by someone who spoke English. How nice is that?

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