Terceira actually means “The Third” and was the third one we visited. The island was discovered as the third of the group and is the third largest in the Azores. The appropriate island for us: The SAN = 3 on the island “the third”. 🙂
The Town Angra do Heroísmo
In 1474, the town was granted town rights and in 1534 it was granted further rights and became the first major town in the Azores and a diocesan town. From 1580 to 1583 it became the capital of Portugal, which was under Spanish rule on the mainland. In 1980, an earthquake severely damaged many of the houses in Angra, but they were rebuilt in the same style with the help of Unesco. Since 1983, the city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the old town is now a listed building. The bay of Angra offers good shelter for ships and the Azores were and are an important base on the Atlantic crossing. Unfortunately, most sailors nowadays are in a returning mood and in a hurry. A pity, because the islands are beautiful.
And again balconies:
The Festival Sanjoaninas
A week of celebrations in Agra do Heroísmo.
The celebrations begin in the evening with a cannon shot at the same time as the street lights are switched on. That is at 9 pm. When we are on the SAN, we get a good fright every time. The gunshot echoes through the bay and you involuntarily think that the boat has bumped into something. The celebrations go on all night until 7 a.m. Our island tour guide had to watch the parade between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. because his wife was taking part. We watched the children’s parades that take place in the first part of the night.
Jardim Publico — Public Urban Garden
This garden is so beautifully laid out on a slope that we couldn’t go there often enough. Every now and then you discover a little niche with an even more beautiful bed. There are watercourses and small ponds, enough benches to rest on, one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen.
On the fourth visit, we discovered a part of the garden that we had not yet seen:
The Island
São Sebastião
Império Divino do Espírito Santo:
A chapel for the Holy Spirit. These chapels exist in every town. They are contact points for a neighbourhood community and are independent of the churches. Once a year, a festival is held in which the whole village participates. Food and drinks are donated and then distributed to everyone, so that even poorer parishioners can join in the celebrations.
Miradouro da Serra do Cume
Another Port: Praia da Vitória
We had wine with lunch. We are not used to that at all, but since the earth sways anyway when you go from the boat to the land, we could also take the alcohol. 😉
Lagoa das Patas
Cave: Algar do Carvão
A volcanic crater shaft that you can climb into. There are only 3 of them in the world: in Iceland, Mexico and here. The one here is the easiest to visit, with stone steps. It is an impressive experience. A fascinating cave with a lake at the bottom, where you can easily imagine Gollum 😉
Biscoitos
Natural rock pools used as swimming pools.
Mata da Serreta Forest Recreation Reserve
Work around the boat
Of course, there was also work to be done. We had to replace the batteries for the anchor winch and bow thruster. One battery weighs 60kg. Kindly, the people from the shop where we bought the new batteries took us to the marina by car and met us there again the next day to take our old batteries to be disposed of.
When anchoring in the bay here, the electric winch had already failed and we had to drop the anchor by hand. Lengthening or shortening the chain is then a feat of strength. Not nice for us mollycoddled sailors.
Our last home-grown salad ended up on a burger.
We will stay true to the Portuguese islands and sail to Madeira next, where we will meet with Lukas and Maika.
This Post Has 2 Comments
How lovely it all is – you will find Madeira just as beautiful, though perhaps more touristy. Ken and I spent out 25th wedding anniversary there. Like you, I was swept away by all the beautiful flowers – Orchids and Cannas in particular.
We are half way through our summer here in England – my new garden is at last looking lived in. I was so sad to leave my Cambridge garden behind, but now 2 years on I am settling down in Colerne and finding great joy in creating a new one. I can mow the lawn in 20 minutes here instead of two days energy required to cope with the Capstan Close lawns and flower beds.
Safe sailing
Annette Wallace
Dear Annette, how lovely to hear from you! Glad to hear you have adjusted well to the new environment. And yes, these islands are amazing as to the abundance of colours and impressive sceneries. Inspirations for our gardens back home. But then again, we see plants here outdoors, taller than us, which at home only thrive indoors in a pot and are only about a foot tall.
All the best, Mathias