The first night on Terceira Island in the Azores, we were walking along the street towards the sea, and an image on a sign hanging over a storefront caught my attention. I was attracted to it. And, I’ve thought about the image many times since. I wrote a poem to capture my thoughts about it.
A Mulher do Capote (A Woman in the Cape)
Who is this cloaked figure? I am drawn to her. She’s mysterious, Inviting, A keeper of secrets, A listener. She holds beauty lightly yet it follows her, She shares it wherever she goes. She doesn’t need recognition, But is recognizable. Beautifully mysterious~ A silhouette to ponder.
For our last dinner together in Funchal on Madeira Island, we walked to the Mozart Restaurant, located on Rua de Santa Maria. This is one of the oldest streets in Funchal.
On our way down Rua de Santa Maria to the Mozart Restaurant.
It is a pedestrian-friendly cobblestone street, with some car traffic. It is lined with small restaurants, cafes and a small art gallery or two. It is also known for its painted doors.
The Painted Doors Project began in 2010 with the idea of revitalizing the Zona Velha (Old Town) area, specifically Rua de Santa Maria.
It invited artists to transform old doors into unique works of art. The project was successful and continues today. It features a diverse range of artistic styles on painted doors, creating a vibrant outdoor art gallery.
This public art form continues today, so the street art is ever-changing.
It seems to me that public art does promote community, and I personally, always like to see art in the public.
These photos are a sampling of the many painted doors along Rua de Santa Maria.
It was an entertaining walk to one of the quaint restaurants along this historical street.
The last island we visited on our two-week trip to “islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean” was Madeira, a separate archipelago consisting of four islands. Madeira island is southeast of the Azores and about 600 miles west of mainland Portugal.
The view over the infinity pool looking towards the Atlantic Ocean, on the roof top of our hotel in Funchal.
Funchal, the capital of Madeira, where we stayed in a lovely boutique hotel with a rooftop pool and fabulous view of the city and ocean, was winding down from a Flower Festival on the island…beautiful carpets made of flowers along the sidewalks, and stunning flower arrangements everywhere.
A carpet of flowers found on sidewalks and in hotel lobbies.
It was the last days of the festival.
One of many stunning flower arrangements.
We went on a grand driving tour to: Camara de Lobos, a fishing Village, Cabo Girão, a striking overlook of the sea (the cliff is 589 meters above sea level or 1,932 feet), and Serrado da Eira, a picturesque mountainous region of Madeira.
Interior views on Madeira Island.
Serrado da Eira Viewpoint.
Looking straight down from cliff overlook, 589 meters (1,932 feet) above sea level. photo gb
Another view looking down from the high cliff to the shoreline. photo gb
We went to a rum factory and a farmer’s market, walked down a historic street with unique painted doors, and went on a cetaceans-watching tour. We didn’t see any whales but we did see dolphins and a beautiful coastline. (I have no photos from our boat tour because I do not bring my camera/phone near any bodies of water after having lost electronics in lakes a couple of times!)
Camara de Lobos fishing village.
We ate at several fantastic restaurants on Madeira Island. A huge European breakfast buffet was offered at all our hotels, on all the islands, each morning. Lunch and dinners were a mixture of eating as a group in small, local restaurants, or visiting a quaint sidewalk café when dinner was “on our own.”
We ate lunch at Quinta do Furão, part of this lovely hotel complex.
In Madeira we ate together at several special restaurants but three stand out…lunch at Quinta do Furão on the outdoor patio with lovely views of the ocean,
The lunch view. photo gb
il Vildali, a Mediterranean Cuisine restaurant that was eloquently set for us at a huge table with luxury tablecloth and candelabras,
il Vivaldi Mediterranean Cuisine Restaurant.
and on our last night together we ate at Mozart Restaurant; with a fun wait staff and interesting bathrooms.
The Mozart restaurant was on the Rua de Santa Maria, one of the oldest streets in Madeira. It is a pedestrian-friendly cobblestone street, with some car traffic. It is lined with small restaurants, cafes and a small art gallery or two. It is also known for its painted doors.
Funny to say, but bathrooms can be very interesting. I have always liked to check out bathrooms in different places, but in the Mozart Restaurant we all checked out the bathrooms. The room was all mirrors, including floors and ceilings. It was unique!
The room of mirrors…the separate room with the toilet was the same; all mirrors.
It is here where we had to say good-bye to our new friends whom we shared so many wonderful adventures together over two weeks. We were so happy to have had our paths cross with these fine folks. It was sad to bid farewell.
These peace lilies were growing wild all over the islands.
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.
Today our daughter-in-love was approved for an immigrant visa. This means she can be a permanent resident of the United States. And, this also means our son and his wife and our two grandchildren, ages 4 and 2, will be moving back to the US soon. The process has taken over a year so we are over-the-top excited for this good news.
