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Published: July 19th 2012
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Build it Yourself Transport
Take a motor, attach two wheels and a transmission and you can build yourself transportation like this as well. We find the days go by so quickly and it is now the weekend of the Festival of Emigrants. We had great plans of going to Santa Cruz by bus, doing a few more hikes and getting lots done on the boat with this extra week (Janice’s plan). We did do one more hike which was spectacular, we met some new people that have arrived in the marina (lots of socializing), worked some on the boat (you already heard about Bob’s favorite job of rebuilding the head), visited with some of the people that we have met on the island, had a great dinner and evening of socializing with Mike and Jeannette on Dutch Link, went to the local restaurant for dinner with Renee from Yoyo, had great visits on the dock with Christa, Pascal and Bernard from Titom, Hans from Switzerland who lives on Flores during the summer, had some great times visiting with Tiago (the great harbormaster) and visited with members of Teresa’s family when we ran into them whenever we were walking around town.
We have enjoyed both Saturday and Sunday evening at the festivities in town. This included watching the march (parade) which included numerous traditional
A View of Corvo
This is a view of the island of Corvo as seen from Flores. It is the smallest and most remote island of the Azores with a population of only about 500 people. We had hoped to get over to visit, but didn’t make connections. dance groups doing synchronized dance steps while they marched down the street followed by a community marching band, socializing with other cruisers and some of the locals we have met and Bob even tried one of their “famous” hot dogs with everything on it (see caption to find out all the surprising toppings) The next night he ate a “peasant’s meal” of pigs feet, boiled potatoes and very well cooked swiss chard. One thing we have found is that nothing starts early here; the march on Saturday did not start until 8:30PM and Sunday night didn’t start until 9PM. Cruisers always tease that we go to bed when it gets dark and up when it is light. As a result a short nap was in order so we could enjoy the evening entertainment provided by the Folklore groups and socializing afterwards. On Sunday everyone told us we had to attend the community sopa. This is a free meal provided by the community which traditionally is a religious event, but has now been timed to coordinate with the Festival of the Emigrants. It was enjoyable to visit with others from the Azores that are always eager to explain the culture and
For Small Loads
Quite a few of these are used for transport. With the hills on the island they work hard to get up, but it seems to work! traditions of their country. We also enjoyed spending time with our new cruising friends that we have met since being here. Just like back in the US at Navy Point or Treman Marina you get to know your neighbors in the marina and make friends quickly. Many have been cruising for years and we are picking up great tips from them all.
Fortunately the weather cooperated for the festival and there has been sunshine both Saturday and Sunday. We are trying to take advantage of it all while here. There had been a whale processing facility here from the time when hunting whales was legal. They opened the facility and showed a video on the history of whaling which was quite interesting. There are a few men still living in the area that used to hunt whales and they did a demonstration of going out in a replicate whale boat that they have in the harbor. They also have been giving rides to people out in the whaling boat. The last time anyone on this island went whale hunting was in the early 70’s.
On Monday, July 16 we had been on Flores for 3 weeks even though
Local Fishing Boat
One of the traditional fishing boats that we see going out every day. Many days they are very successful as they off load bushels of fish, other days are not so good. we had only planned on staying for one week, a testament to the beauty of the island and the friendliness of the people. We left the marina on Monday AM saying good bye to many new friends which included the friendly and helpful harbor master and sailed to Horta on the island of Faial.
While on our 28 hour passage I had quite a bit of free time to think, especially on the 4 hour night watch. Part of that time was spent thinking about my impressions of Flores and its people. First, what comes to mind is its natural beauty with its well-marked hikes, hydreanas lining the fields and roads, cows grazing on the hillsides and a definite sense of peacefulness. The small marina in Lajes lends itself easily to making new friends quickly as everyone gets to know each other and lends a hand to those that need it. It becomes a close community quite quickly with people having many of the same experiences and interest. We are looking forward to staying in touch with many of them as well as the people of Flores that we have met and were so welcoming to us.
I
What Lovely Gifts
Gifts from Teresa – we met her at the Folklore practice session and she was very welcoming. We walk by her house daily on the way to town and one day she gave us fresh lettuce from her garden as well as this beautiful lily. Another day she generously gave us potatoes which we have been enjoying. She is the one that convinced us to stay for the Festival this weekend. also thought that there are many similarities between cruisers and the people of Flores. What do I find similar? Cruisers sail to distant ports while many of the people from Flores leave to find a life elsewhere. Some cruisers are looking for something different from what they left behind determined that there is a better way of life – I heard the same from some of the people of Flores that left and moved to other countries looking for a better life. After a time, many cruisers give up this life and settle back to terra firm- in places similar to those they left. Flores has many of its previous residents return to their homeland looking again for the peaceful life they left. Still others have one foot in both worlds – cruisers that are “snowbirds” living part time on the boat and part time on land and many of those from Flores that still live in other countries return spending their vacations living in Flores. People are the same everywhere – dreaming of something different in their life, some making the jump and living their dream and returning to where they call home. As Dorothy said in the Wizard
The Ferry is in Town
This is the ferry that comes once a month from the island of Horta. Most of the people getting off it had backpacks for hiking the trails on the island of Flores. This month it came twice as it brought people this weekend for the festival. of Oz “there’s no place like home”, wherever you call home.
What will we take away from Flores? Great memories of the people and new friends that we have met both in the cruising world and those that live on this peaceful, beautiful island. All have contributed to making our 3 week stay a very pleasant one and we thank them. This was an excellent place for our first landfall after 20 days of sea – very peaceful, beautiful and memorable.
Faial, the next island in the archipelago is where sailors have made landfall after crossing the Atlantic since the early 1700s. This island historically was the most westerly island that had an excellent harbor so it was the 1st island that people came to. (About a year ago the government built a very nice however somewhat small marina in Flores so it is now the most westerly island with a good marina.) Traditionally people arriving by boat paint on the walls and sidewalks of the harbor the name of their boat in order to ensure good luck for the rest of the journey. As is always the case a simple tradition started by sailors on whaling boats
Quite the Formations
The land formations provide quite the scenery and as you can see the roads are in excellent shape thanks to the EU two years ago. We heard that previously these were typical mountain roads, but now they are easy to traverse. has become an art form unto itself. In some cases these paintings take on monumental proportions and some very bizarre turns. Some of the paintings are strangely detailed and can easily be 6 ft.². In one case we saw a pair of women’s underwear and a T-shirt epoxied to the sidewalk. Often the artwork is of a professional quality. A number of boats have used pieces of ceramic tile to create a mosaic. They are endless, everywhere there’s a flat surface someone has left their mark. In the late 90s the previous owners of Tsamaya left their mark when they were here. We are hoping we can find it and update it with her 2nd crossing. We also have request to check on a few others so we will see if we can find them.
We are situated in an excellent slip at a very reasonable price (12.88 euro/$16.31) which includes unlimited power , water and wi-fi. When we pulled into our slip the boat right across from us, Starlet is a boat we first met in Flores. In very short order we ran into 3 or 4 other boats that we also knew quite well from Flores. We
We never tire of the view
A view down toward one of the trails that we took on the western coast of the island. have already started exploring the area and this looks like another great island, but with a significant increase in population and tourism. . But we’ll save all that for our next blog.
Take care and we hope you’re all having as much fun as we are.
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