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Published: August 28th 2012
Terceira
Terceira is the 3rd largest island in the Azores and the 3rd to be discovered which is why it is named Terceira which means "third" in Portuguese.We had an enjoyable sail, however rainy in the beginning, from Sao Jorge to Terceira in the company of two other boats (Takari and Caitlin of Argyll) that we have gotten to know while in the Azores. This gave us yet another opportunity to have some photo sessions while sailing.
The island of Terceira (which means third in Portuguese) was the third Azorean island to be discovered and is the third largest of the archipelago.. After getting settled in to the marina in Agra do Heroismo we walked into town to get oriented to the city. This city is the Atlantic’s first European city founded and developed to open up a new geographical area for the Portuguese explorers. Unesco classified the central part of the city as a world heritage site in 1983. We were looking forward to exploring it as we heard about this city from many cruisers that we have met . We ran into Mark and Jennifer from Starlet at a café and they graciously invited us to join them to explore some of the island as they had a rental car lined up for Friday, August 10
th. Terceira is known for its caves and volcanic vents
Sailing to Terceira
Thanks Sylvie for the photo of Tsamaya while sailing to Terceira! and we went to explore these with them. The Algar Do Carvao is located in the center of the island at about 500 meters (1,640 ft.) above sea level. It was formed in 2 phases, one erupted about 1,700 to 2,100 years ago while the older section is approximately 3,200 years old. The cave opens up into large rooms covered with stalactites and many mosses, algae and even beetles, centipedes and spiders live here. At the bottom 80 meters (262 ft.) down there is a lake which is formed by rainwater which almost completely dries up in summers with low precipitation. The other cave, Gruta do Natal (Christmas Cave) that we visited was much different in that it was a lava tube where various lava types were identified. It is about 687 meters (2,254 ft.) long and named this as a mass was conducted inside on Dec 25, 1969. We had to wear hard hats here which we were happy to do once we saw that there were a few low lying ceilings in some areas. We have to thank Jennifer and Mark again for inviting us to go along to explore this area. When we returned to the boat
First view of Angra
Our first glimpse of Angra do Heroismo on Terceira. One thing that stood out was the blue church that you can see in the lower right near the water front. Bob mentioned that he was having severe stomach pains and was very uncomfortable. Finally after not getting any better Janice suggested that we should head to the hospital. When she didn’t get a fight from Bob about doing so she knew it was bad. Thanks go out again to Mark for driving us to the hospital (which was not the easiest to find as the old hospital was the one marked on our map). After talking to the Dr. he suggested that numerous tests needed to be done to rule out what may be causing the pain. By this time Bob had a low grade fever as well. After 3 vials of blood were taken for tests, an EKG was done and an IV of medication was administered. The end result was the Dr. told Bob that he was a very healthy man except for these stomach pains. He suggested that it was probably from the fish he had for lunch today and stated that it should get better. Luckily with the medication they gave him he was already feeling better so we got a taxi and arrived back at the boat about 12:15AM. Janice informed Bob that he did
The marina where we are
A view looking from town down toward the marina in Angra do Heroismo. not need to do anything quite that exciting in order to remember our 38
th wedding anniversary! The next day we laid low and Bob felt somewhat better.
By Sunday he felt up to getting off the boat so took a nice hike around Monte Brazil. This crater was created by volcanic action as well, however, due to its strategic location was used for defensive purposes. At the foot of Monte Brazil the 16
th century Sao Joao Baptista Fortress was built (a fortified wall 4 km/2.5mi long) during the Spanish era while another fortress was built on the other side of the harbor to prevent boats from entering. This location was used for defensive purposes up through WWII as anti-air missile defenses were also located at the top of Monte Brazil.
We took a day to explore another one of the historic buildings in Agra and at noon took a bus to Praia da Vitoria located at the east end of the island to see that town as well. The Convent of Sao Gorcaio in Angra was founded in 1545 and has examples of Portuguese tile work and painted ceiling from the 18
th century. We found it interesting
A Long Fortress Wall
The Sao Joao Baptista do Monte Brasil Fort has a large, fortified wall 4 km (2.5 mi) long. It was built during the Spanish era but continuously was modified up through WWII. that the convent is still used but as apartments for single females. Each of the rooms that had been for the nuns has been converted with each having a bed, kitchen and bath for those that are alone and want a place to live or cannot afford an apartment. They do pay a small amount of rent, but it provides them a safe place to live. Most are elderly women, but we were told a university student is living there as well. One of the benefits of not being fluent in Portuguese is that we had our own private tour of the complex. You felt as if no time had passed since it was built as it appeared in excellent condition. As we were told and could see by the evidence of the bars once you became a nun you were kept separate from touching or coming in contact with anyone from the outside. During services, the nuns were kept in a room upstairs behind bars where they could hear the sermon being given downstairs. There was also a large room where the nuns could be on one side of a double set of bars to allow them to talk
A View Toward to Fort
View looking toward Sao Joao Baptista do Monte Brasil Fort and the St John the Baptist Church on the hill overlooking the harbor. to people from the outside, but they could not reach far enough to touch them. We were then taken into a room where the floor was made up of vaults where the nuns were buried. As the guide mentioned again, once you came inside to become a nun you never were able to leave. The afternoon took us to see the Igreja Matriz Church in Praia da Vitoria which was built in 1456. Over the years it had been partially destroyed by 4 earthquakes (1614, 1810, 1841 and 1980). One quote written by a priest in 1637 about the 1614 earthquake stated “everything was destroyed except the church pulpit, the prison and the hospital; symbols of truth, justice and mercy”. The church was rebuilt in 1577, 1810, 1842 and 1980 therefore resulting in no one distinct style of architecture, but contains many pieces from the various centuries. The pipe organ dates from 1793 and is still in use today. Just hearing these dates remind us of how young the US is.
Fortunately for us the International Follklore Festival was being held while we were here. Numerous groups came to participate ranging from Brazil, Bosnia, Latvia, Estonia, Italy, Columbia, Switzerland,
Color Everywhere
Many items that were without color on the various islands are found here but with color as seen on this water fountain. Portugal, and of course a representative from the Azores themselves. The costumes of each country were unique as well as the dance and music. The instruments used also differed between countries including guitars, mandolins, cello, recorder, clarinet, drums, hammer dulcimer, tambourines, and the Swiss even included some very large cow bells. We figure they must have had to answer some interesting questions in airport security with those! Food and various souvenirs were also for sale at the event so sampled a couple of the food offerings as well. It was interesting to watch the variety of dances presented and listen to the music from these countries. We have learned however to stay up late as nothing seems to start in the Azores much before 10PM so it has definitely changed our sleeping habits!
Wednesday, August 15
th was a religious holiday on the island therefore most people had off from work. This is the day that El Bolo invited us to join him to attend a festival and come to his brother’s house for a feast and to see the Touradas A Corda (street bullfight which is actually a bull on a rope running through the street). The previous week
A Blue Church?
The blue church is quite the landmark in town. It was supposed to be open on Tuesdays to tour, but found out it is only open on Sunday for services so didn’t see the inside. while we were walking around the city we had stopped to take a photo of an Espirito Santo house that we saw. Luckily for us El Bolo came up the street at that time and stopped to talk. He explained that this particular Espirito House is the oldest one as it was built in 1670. After answering our many questions he invited us to his bar for a drink. We accepted and went to his place, also called “ El Bolo”. It is a small place but he has done lots with it. The most obvious is the enjoyment that he has given to those in the area as evidenced by the numerous photos on the wall and in his scrapbook. He is also an accomplished musician with the drums and he even treated us to a sample of his talent. In the afternoon El Bolo (this is the name he is known by) came by to see our home (Tsamaya) and then took us to his brother’s place. Unfortunately it turned out to be a rainy afternoon and evening, but the festivities still went on. We had a chance to meet many of his family members and others at
Balconies & Color
We love seeing the many balconies and the color used on the buildings here in Terceira. the party. As we have found on the other islands, many people at this gathering had either lived in Canada or the US before or are currently still there and are here visiting their relatives for the summer. Fortunately for us many spoke excellent English and were willing to explain things to us. His brother’s house is on the road where the bull was running down the street, therefore we had ring side seats (standing at the very sturdy fence) to see the action in a safe place. The food was in ample supply and was unending which included an excellent fish soup, numerous dishes of food that we knew and some that we didn’t. It extended to a huge table full of desserts as well. After the bull run (chasing people) was over the music started with guitar and drums accompanied by singing and dancing. It was a great way to spend the afternoon and evening. We can’t thank El Bolo enough for being generous in including us in his family celebration. We had a chance to meet some fabulous people and hopefully will be able to stay in contact with them. This is why we travel the way
A Beach Here
There is a lovely beach right in town next to the marina which you can see at the left side of the photo. Everything is so convenient here. we do – to meet the people and to get to know a place a little better than we did before we arrived. Luckily for us a few days later we ran into some that we met at this festival. Jose Luis and Rogerio were two of the people singing at the event. Jose saw us walking down the street from the store and graciously invited us into his house, introduced us to his family and shared some traditional sweet bread (masa) and drink with us. He offered to drive us home to the marina but not before stopping at Rogerio’s house where we had a tour of his home given by his lovely wife and were generous in giving us grapes freshly picked from the vine for us. Jose’s daughter, Vanessa is a university student in Lisbon so plan to touch base with here when we visit that city. The people of the Azores are very generous, helpful and proud of their heritage. When we think of the Azores it will not be only of its natural beauty, it more importantly will be about the people we have met.
We stayed in Terceria for a few extra days
An Interesting Rake
Note that the rake that this person is using in the park is actually made up of branches with leaves on it, these are not just caught up in the rake. than we thought as hurricane Gordon was headed toward Sao Miguel and Sao Maria in the Azores so figured it was best to stay put in a nice, safe harbor in Terceira. With the extra time we spent time socializing with others in the marina – Brian and Dorothy on Caitlin of Argyll, Sylvie and Guy of Takari, Carol and Jim on Nepenthe, and Gordon and Elise from C-Lise II. Unfortunately Bob started to have stomach problems again with the same type of pain as before. Everyone has been so caring and concerned about Bob – it is nice to be part of such a wonderful group of cruisers. Bob tried to get to a specialist on Terceira but he was on vacation so made an appointment for a Dr. on the next island, Sao Miguel.
16 days after arriving on Terceira we sailed in the company of Takari to Sao Miguel. It was a pleasant 17 ½ hour crossing and we are currently in the marina in Ponta Delgada. We will fill you on this island in the next blog entry. Just a quick update however on Bob. He had the Dr. appointment today, he is going to
Interesting Spires
Looking toward the Fort and the Santissimo Salvador da Se Church with its 2 black and white spires. get an ultrasound tomorrow to determine if he has gall stones – will keep you updated on his condition. Fortunately he is feeling fine now.
Take care and keep in touch!!
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