Azores - September 10

Our SATA flight arrived on time - 7:00 AM.  We quickly cleared Immigration and Customs.  Our transfer to the hotel was waiting for us.  By 7:30 we were checked in at Hotel Marina Atlantico but, no surprise, our room was not ready.  

We had breakfast, changed shoes, met our driver Carlos*...

...at 8:30 and headed out on a tour. The tour was to the western part of the island.  Last year the day we toured this part of the island it had been foggy and rainy.  And our course our destinations were limited by the size of the large bus.  This year the weather although not perfect was significantly better and our sedan was able to go many more places. 

farmer with Azores Cow Dog in tow

typical view along west coast of Sao Miguel Island

hot water from a geo-thermal spring warms the ocean water

an impressive natural arch

a free-standing wall made out of lava rock

No geothermal feed into this pool
- Pam smiling because she is not going in it.

commercial fishing boats in one of the small villages

These rocky outcrops dot the waters offshore
- imagine what is just below the surface.

Do these cows develop shorter legs on one side
that the other grazing on such steep slopes?

Looking down at Sete Cidades from the crater rim

Lagoa de Santiago (also inside the crater)

Green (foreground) and Blue Lakes divided by bridge at Setes Cidades

A relic of another time (not too long
ago in the Azores) - an aqueduct

another relic - a windmill
These are coming back as tourist attactions
similar to staying in a lighthouse.

Wonderful seafood lunch arrives on a fishing boat at A Traineira in Lagoa...

...and the delivery of the bill was amusing.

 

When we got to our room about 3:30 PM we promptly flopped down four an hour's nap, not allowing ourselves any longer for fear we could sleep right through dinner.  We in fact had a good dinner, albeit at the wrong restaurant (a story for another time) and were back in the hotel with lights out about 9:30.

The restaurant we ate at, and which we had eaten at twice on our previous trip was...

It is less than a five minute walk from the Hotel Marina Atlantico.  The menu has a picture of each dish.  The staff speaks enough English to be helpful.

*  Jaime Futardo was our contact for arranging a transfer from the airport and connecting us
    with Carlos.  His e-mail address is lindodriver54@hotmail.com and his phone number is
    351-919 384 242