Tag: OAT

Terceira

We arrived on the island of Terceira a day before our official tour with OAT began.

Overlooking the city of Angra do Heroismo on Terceira.
A lilac-color hydrangea in bloom.

We wanted to acclimate our body clocks, plus we wanted to get a hike in with our friends we travel with.

A stop along our hike up Mount Brasil.

We had a good weather, a sunny day and an interesting hike up Mount Brasil. 

An inviting trail on Mount Brasil.
Looking over a caldera, to the Atlantic Ocean.
Looking to the ocean from Mount Brasil.

The next day we met our OAT tour group. OAT promotes discoveries and experiences, so they bring the groups to small, local businesses and out of the way places, and even make unscheduled stops. One day we stopped at a farmer’s market and a fishing dock to talk with a local fisherman, neither one on the schedule for that day.

At the fishing dock, a local fisherman shows us the bait that has been assembled for the next round of fishing. These are fish heads/parts secured on a hook for a fishing line.

A few of the many experiences on the island of Terceira was a small winery tour, an organic coffee/banana plantation tour, seeing the dramatic tide pools, and having dinner with a local family. All were remarkable in their own way.

Buildings for the winery built from lava rock.
Several volcanic rock walls create an amazing vineyard.

The Materramenta Winery was interesting. The vineyards were enclosed, and divided, by volcanic rock walls making it picturesque,

Some grapevines were planted in rows in a small area.
Other vines were planted in deep volcanic rock holes – a special planting method. photo gb
An interesting vineyard.

plus adding a unique and great flavor to the wines apparently.

The olive tree in the corner is to detract birds from eating the grapes. photo gb
The lava rock walls were strategically put together to allow air flow.

After a tour of the vineyard, we were invited into a tasting room with a long, welcoming table.

Setting for our wine tasting at this small winery.

The coffee/banana plantation was so different from the winery, yet beautiful in a different way. It was very lush.

José, the owner of an organic coffee and banana plantation gives us a tour.
A bucket of organic coffee beans.

José, has expanded his small business into eco lodging and built a few small camping cabins in the midst of the plantation.

A nice camping cabin on the coffee plantation, complete with indoor plumbing!

The a-line cabins were inviting, and are creating more income for this family.

One of my favorite pictures at one of my favorite spots on our trip.

One of my two favorite activities on Terceira was going to the Biscoitos tide pools and watching the waves crash over the volcanic boulders along the shore.

Making a big splash!
Mini waterfalls created by waves crashing in.

It was mesmerizing. A fellow traveler commented with waterfalls the water flows down, but along the shore when the waves hit the rocks the water bursts up into the air.

Beautiful colorful water.
Aqua water coming in.
Biscoitos tide pools.

Another favorite activity was a local home visit. One evening our big group was divided into three small groups and folks on the island invited us into their houses for a home-cooked dinner, and for a peek at how the islanders live. It was wonderful.

We were invited into this beautiful home for dinner. photo gb

Due to different circumstances, our host was on his own with all six of us, but his wife had the meal mostly prepared and he pulled it off flawlessly. He was a great host and his 17-year-old and 6-year-old joined us near the end of dinner. We had a delightful evening.

Roger, our home host, adding the final touches to dessert.

And that was not all (that we did on Terceira)…But it is enough…(for now).

Açores & Madeira

We just returned from an adventure to the Azores, an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, with an added hop to the island of Madeira, all governed by Portugal.

The first morning after we arrived on the island of Terceira, one of the nine islands in the Azores archipelago, I greeted a woman in the hallway of our hotel and she enthusiastically replied, “We’re on a small island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!” And off we went on our separate ways. But, those twelve words became my mantra throughout the trip. Many times I would remind myself, and those around me, by saying out loud, “we’re on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!” It was kind of crazy, but very beautiful, and definitely wonderful.

Angra do Heroísmo, the capitol city of Terceira, with Mt. Brazil in the background.

Our adventures started in Terceira (nicknamed the lilac island because of the many lilac-colored hydrangeas there – which only a few were in bloom at this time). After five nights we flew to São Miguel (the green island) our second of the nine islands in the archipelago, and ended up in Madeira, an island between the Azores and Portugal. 

The harbor at Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira.

We were traveling with a tour group (Overseas Adventure Travel) for the first time.  There were 16 of us in the group, all from different areas of the US. The tour guide was a local man who lived on the island of São Miguel. He was knowledgeable, very personable, and took good care of us. He spoke great English with a wonderful accent. We were together with these same folks for twelve days. We traveled well together. Our group had some very interesting people, and it was fun to get to know them. Everyone has a story. 

Henrique, our wonderful OAT tour guide, from São Miguel.

I’m finding the longer one is on tour the more pictures one takes… and then all those photos have to be gone through. It is a time-consuming job, but a fun one.  I will be share more stories and photos in the coming weeks.