STRESS RELIEF Visiting six islands in the Azores TERCEIRA On Monday July 24, 2000 at 1000 we let go of the mooring in Velas on Sao Jorge and headed northeast towards Terceira. It took us all day to sail between the islands, even though we had northwesterly winds and following sea. By 2030 we had found our way into the harbor at Angra do Heroismo and tied up to an empty mooring. The harbor where we tied up was open to the ocean, but with northwesterly winds it was quite calm. They did have a smaller more protected harbor, but we would have to raft up with other boats. They were also in the process of building a new breakwater wall and a new marina. It will be a very protected, if somewhat small marina, when they are done. As soon as we were secure for the night, supper was cooked on the grill, and we enjoyed the potatoes and fruits from Marias Uncle's garden. When it was bedtime, Dan let Duke out for the night. Just as he was about to do his business, a fish jumped straight out of the water very close to the bow of our boat and scared Duke. Duke cleared the boat in two hugh jumps and sat shaking on top of the solarpanels, where Dan rescued him. We had never seen Duke move so fast and it looked hilarious! The next day we spent exploring the city, after we had checked in with the Maritime Police. By the time we got to their office, they already had us listed on a piece of paper that showed which boat and where they were located in the harbor. The Maritime Police check out the harbor with binoculars as new boats come in! While Tom and Dan rested at a Cafe', Maria, Duke and I walked through a garden and climbed many steps up to a high overlook of the city. We could see the harbor, Mount Brazil to the west and the split rocks to the east; a very beautiful view. That evening we rowed ashore in a downpour to find a taxi, to take us to a seafood restaurant farther up the coast. The restaurant is also a fishmarket, so we looked at all the different seafood they had. The lobsters were enormous, but had no big claws, some fish you could buy whole and some were cut up, and they all looked strange to me. We saw people eating, what we thought to be barnacles with seaweed, but if that's what it was we didn't find out. Anyway, the people dug down inside the seafood and scooped out something that was edible! Wednesday July 26, 2000 was the last day our very dear friends were going to spend with us, as their vacation was drawing to a close, and they would have to return to USA and reality. It was very sad to say goodbye to them, as they loaded their luggage into the waiting taxi, and soon it was just Dan, Duke and I again. Maybe Tom and Maria left at the right time, because the following morning the winds changed and it became very uncomfortable in the harbor. The winds came from southeast and so did the waves. For two and a half day we rocked and rolled a lot, so I didn't leave the boat at all. It was too tricky to maneuvre between our big boat and the small dinghy, as they didn't move up and down in unison. Finally on Saturday afternoon I went ashore with Dan and Duke. We were looking for a taxidriver who could speak english, and who would be willing to take us around the island on a tour. We didn't have any luck, so soon we returned to the boat. In the evening we watched a StarTrek movie again; we know our movies by heart by now, as we have watched all of them many, many times. On Sunday we finally found a taxi driver who spoke some english, enough so we could understand each other, and he took us on a six hour tour of Terceira. Again we saw many beautiful sights, bought a bottle of local wine, and of course took pictures. In the city of Praia da Vitoria there is a US Air Force Base and a very protected and nice harbor, so we wished that's where we had gone instead of to Angra. No matter, we planned to leave for Sao Miguel the following morning, as the winds looked to be in our favor! That did not happen; about one hour out from Angra the engine started acting up again. At that time we decided to try to power up to Praia da Vitoria and stay in their protected harbor, so Dan could work on the engine. With low rpm's we made it up and into Praia and threw over the anchor and once again we were safe and secure. Dan took apart the fuel system, but could not find anything wrong, except that one of the fuel filters was very dirty. After cleaning it in diesel and gasoline, he put it back in and we thought it was ok. By that time it was getting late in the afternoon, and I didn't want to set out for Sao Miguel, so we decided to stay in Praia over night. That one night turned into five more, as the winds changed the following day to southeast, precisely where we wanted to go. While waiting for better winds, Dan climbed to the top of the mast and put a new bulb in the tricolor light, which had burned out somewhere along the way, I cleaned up the boat, and laundry was done. In every port we meet new and interesting people, and it is enjoyable to figure out from where all the boats have come. It seems to me that most of the boats we have seen in the harbors are either from USA, England or France, with an occasional boat from Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Germany. I am sure that boats from other countries come as well, but they are not as frequent! We had not planned on staying in the Azores for this long, two weeks at the most, but circumstances change and we don't want to be in a hurry and sail when the winds are not in our favor. Now we waited for more favorable winds, so we could continue to the last island in the Azores that we had planned to visit, and that would be Sao Miguel. |