Terceira-Toronto

Day 7
Travel day from Hell. We were at the airport early. Our amazing hosts called to arrange pick up the night before. They came to our villa to pick us up (our car would not hold us and our luggage). They brought us to the airport and safely sent us on our way. We really couldn't have asked for a better place to stay. Everything was taken care of for us.

We waited to board the small plane in Ponta Delgada that would take us to Terceira.

The small plan was not even half full with two rows of double seats.

Terceira island has a very small military airport, so when we got there, we unloaded on the tarmac, then got onto a bus to take us to the airport. We then had a 2 hour layover until we left for Toronto. We were able to change our seats to window seats which served us well. I was still feeling sick from that night, and managed to score two seats to myself so I could lay down. I slept through dinner, coffee and the snack, and as I exited, the flight attendants were teasing me. I didn't miss much from dinner, as Shay said it wasn't very good, and he likes everything. Our flight arrived on time, but then had to wait to taxi into our gate, as another plane was already there. We got our luggage and made it through customs quickly. We then had to wait for our pre-arranged limo pick up. We finally made it home, and picked up Dexter. Longest day ever!

Ilheu de Vila Franca -Ponta Delgada

Day 6
We were debating whether or not to go whale watching today. It was very hot, and being the Canadians that we are, we prefer whale watching in cooler climates. Whale watching is available at the marina in Ponta Delgada from 40-70 euros depending on what you want to do. You can also swim with dolphins or go fishing for large fish. These trips are usually in small boats and are 3 hours long leaving in the morning or afternoon. Three hours on a small boat in the middle of the ocean wasn't going to cut it on our last day here. Especially if we didn't see any whales!

We opted for taking a small boat to Ilheu Vila do Franca. There is a white booth at the very end of the dock past the dive centre where you can purchase tickets to take the boat over. It is 4.50 Euros a person. The boat leaves every hour and returns from the island 10 minutes after the hour. It's not even a 10 minute boat ride.

Above is a bird's-eye view picture I found online. To the left you can see where the cliff divers jumped from. Inside is a rock and sometimes sandy bottom with clear greenish blue water. You can touch the bottom pretty much the whole way around. The little pool at the top right is a natural mini wave pool. A crevice in the rock formation allows ocean water to push through. There is no food or drink for sale here, and there is also no shade and very little sand. There is a washroom, change room and lifeguard. The locals were smart and brought coolers and beach umbrellas.

Buying tickets at the booth near the marina

The boat that takes you over

The island as we approach from the boat

Walking in, looking for the best place to perch

Shay in the mini wave pool

Water coming in

You can walk a little around the island and check out the views. There are certain points with signs warning you not to climb, and if the life guard catches you he will blow the whistle and send someone over to get you.

Close to where the diving took place. That side of the island is unavailable, due to falling rocks.

I would definitely recommend visiting this island. Bring lots of sunscreen, water and an umbrella if you can. We took the boat back and got a bite to eat at the snack bar by the hotel and beach. We had Mediterranean salad, cheese burgers, hotdogs and fries. Sangria and beer to drink, and lunch was under 20 Euros per couple. The hot dog may have given me food poisoning as I was up all night sick, but it could have also been a virus? After lunch we headed to the mall in Ponta Delgada: Continente Modelo. We bought a few things shirts, jewelery, shoes. The shopping isn't great on the island, but it was entertaining. The food court has Chinese food, a Burger King, a KFC and Pizza Hut if you require some comfort food.

We made it home and showered and changed. We were determined to find Rotas, the vegetarian restaurant Shay had researched. It was one street over from Bar Colegio where we were last night, and it was closed on Sundays. It was drizzling at night, but nothing to keep us indoors. We were very lucky this week, as this was the only bit of rain we had encountered. And we needn't worry, as Josie had umbrellas at the villa.

The cloth covered dining set, hanging upside down from above

Windows would blow open when a car drove by. Open your front door carefully!

Becky's Pineapple salad

                                  

Even the bathrooms were cool

We tried as much as we could, as this was the tastiest food we found on the island. We had filo wrapped pear and cheese, sauteed mushroom wrapped in rice paper, and rosemary and apple chevre for starters. Shay had the artichoke risotto, I had the grilled vegetables and polenta, and Jarvis had the cheese and Zucchini Penne. We had cheesecake, apple strudel and a berry meringue. Everything was amazing, including the owners. Our server picked out some tasty wine for us. Dinner for four, with four appetizers, four desserts, four main courses, two bottles of water and two bottles of wine cost 98 Euros. Eat here!!

Caloura -Praia Beach -Ponta Delgada

Day 5
Today was beach day. We drove down towards Vila Franca Do Campo looking for another beautiful beach. We had heard that the beach near Caloura Hotel was very nice. We followed the highway down to the south end and located the natural pools first. This is a pier surrounded by lagoon-like water with a swimming pool at the end. There is no sand here, it is rocky with a boat dock, but the locals perch up on the rocks and cement, and dive off the pier. They love their diving!

Speaking of diving, The Red Bull Cliff Diving World series was in Sao Miguel yesterday. It was hosted on Ilheu Vila Franca do Campo, an island just off the shore of Vila Franca do Campo. The island was closed so the only way to watch was to be on a boat and be awake by 8 o'clock am. We were none of those things, so we looked up the highlights on:
http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Video/RED-BULL-CLIFF-DIVING-IN-THE-AZORES-2012-WORLD-SERIES-HIGHLIGHTS-021243237550697

These are pictures from that website:

from rebull.com

from redbull.com

from redbull.com

from redbull.com

From redbull.com

Very cool!

We drove back the other way and found the beach. If you follow the Caloura Hotel signs, it will take you to Praia beach. This is the most beautiful beach we have seen on the island so far. High rocky cliff sides encircle the brown sandy shore. The water looks green and clear here, and you can see the bottom. It gets deep very quickly, and we learned most people enter by taking a few steps and then taking a dive into the waves. We had to move our towels further up the beach as the waves vary from large to small most of the day and sometimes come as high as the rock croppings on the far side. We started on the far side in the morning, then moved to the other half of the beach on the other side of the rock cropping. This side is the "recommended beach" according to signs. I would recommend going earlier in the day as it gets very busy by the afternoon. The locals bring epic picnic lunches, with tupperware filled with marinated meats to bbq on the stone fire places above. Both beaches are down a steep descend of stairs, and by the end of the day it is quite exhausting to carry yourself back up.

 The above shot is looking down from the top of the stairs on the far side. This is the side we spent the morning on. I liked this side better. There are a lot of families and kids on this side who like to play in the waves and jump off the rocks.

Above is the "recommended" side. It is very busy in the afternoon with teens, and adults. On both sides, but more noticeably on this side, the waves look as though they are covered in a line of seaweed or sea debris. At closer inspection, we learned that it is actually floating rocks. There are little jelly fish here too, but they don't bother you too much. Sometimes you can see them sometimes you can't. I was lucky to be traveling with two east coast jelly fish experts, who told me to cover my stung arm with wet sand, after fearing I'd have to somehow pee on myself to relieve the minor stinging sensation. It went away quickly.

 Swimming in the beautiful green waters at Praia Beach.

The white building on the cliffside behind the building with the orange roof is Caloura Hotel.

The only downside is that there is no food or drink for sale down at the beach or up at the parking lot. There are showers and washrooms though. We drove to a cafe on the way to Lagoa to eat lunch. The grilled mussels were delicious.

We drove back home to freshen up, then left for dinner in Ponta Delgada. We wanted to find Rotas, a vegetarian restaurant that we had heard good things about, but we couldn't find it, despite a lot of support from some very helpful locals.  We did end up finding another restaurant, Bar Colegio 27 on Rua Carvalho Aráuj. Street names are not easy to locate, or read, so if you are google mapping a location, it's best to go by landmarks on the map, and not actual street names.

The cockroaches come out at night. Look out!

 This is tucked away on a street just south of the library. Our servers were very informative and explained the history of the building over the past 200 years from being a salt maker shop, to horse stable, to brothel, to restaurant. The bar features a variety of music, including but not limited to, live jazz and Portuguese Folk, and most of the patrons are tourists, so everything is written in English. It is more expensive here compared to many other restaurants, but for good reason. The food is flavourful, with a little flare, compared to the usual fish, boiled potatoes and corn. Becky had a chicken ceasar salad, Shay the smoky rib salad, with filo cheese, Jarvis the trigger fish, and I had the Steak Frites. The tomato and goat cheese salad, and the carpaccio and caviar starters were very tasty.

After dinner we went to the square off of Campo de Sao Francisco across from the Forte de Sao Bras, per our waiter's suggestion. There is a stage for live music, a carousal, and a bunch of stands, or mini bars, that sell any possible drink you could require. Popcorn, ice cream and other foods are available as are some goods from local merchants if you get there early enough. We had passion fruit drinks from bar Cariocas, and Strawberry daiquiris and a pineapple PDL, from K bar. Very fun environment.

This was the Brazillian bar recommended to us by our servers at Bar Colegio 27

This place got popular later at night. Must have been the flashing neon lights.

Everyone hangs out by either strolling around the square or sitting on picnic tables.