Summer 2023, the Azores

September 24, 2023

Summer 2023, the Azores

I want to do more than photo dump three months worth of summer in one post, but that's pretty hard. We arrived in Horta on the island of Faial in the Azorean archipelago toward the end of June. We were trying to beat a storm into port, which we did, thankfully, but that meant our first couple days in port were very windy and rainy. Not ideal for recuperating after a rough passage.

After the bad weather passed, it was time to explore Faial. We had about three weeks or so before Hans and the kids flew to the States--Hans to work and the kids to visit grandparents and go to camp. We spent a couple weeks in Faial, a few days in Terceira, and the rest of the time in Sao Miguel tying up lose ends before the big summer trip.

Faial and Terceira were definitely my favorite islands in the Azores. They're more remote, so harder to get to and thus smaller populations and more rural. The scenery is just spectacular. It's hard to find enough superlatives to describe the Azores. After a winter in the dry, desert-like Bahamas, it was heavenly to be in such a lush, green environment. I literally wanted to just roll around in the green. I settled for getting out in nature a lot--hiking, picnics, and just gazing at the scenery from some of the hundreds of miradouras around each island. We rented a car on each island to really be able to explore. Besides dramatic scenery, we saw cows. A lot of cows. A farmer told me that that Azores produce 30% of the milk in Portugal. They also produce the best steak Hans and I have had, anywhere. (Sorry, not sorry, Texas.)

After a week in Sao Miguel, Hans and the kids flew to the States. It was a well-coordinated travel feat involving some travel together, and one unaccompanied minor flight, complete with Meme pick-up at the airport and a hotel stay in Newark for Hans. It all lined up nicely and Hans was off to work for a few weeks and the kids were excited to see family and go back to sleepaway camp for two weeks.

Meanwhile, my plan was to stay on the boat, ALONE, for three weeks! I had a long list of projects and I diligently got started ticking them off. It was a lot of cleaning, purging, sorting, and de-mildewing. I mixed up my work time with reading books, eating out, and hiking. After ten days or so, I had a spontaneous visit from my friend Ellie. We had been chatting and I kept sending her pictures of the Azores. My "gentle" pressure worked, and she jumped on a last minute flight and spent a week with me exploring Sao Miguel. I threw my to-do list out and enjoyed a week of hiking, good meals, and lots of talk and laughter.

Unfortunately, by the end of the week I decided to travel to Boston to support my sister and her family for a medical emergency. No one likes to be reunited in stressful, scary situations, but I was so thankful I was able to make the quick trip.

After a week in Boston, including a visit from my kids and Dad and Jeane (!), we all met back in Ponta Delgada, reunited after almost a month and ready to get back to our regular programming. Time to sail to mainland Europe and close our Atlantic circuit.

Not so fast. Of course we have to wait for weather. And wait. And wait. With no good forecast in sight, we rented a car for a week so we could maximize our time instead of just sitting around waiting. More hiking, thermal pools, and miradouras. No one was complaining! We also found our favorite spot in the Azores, and possibly my favorite spot in the world so far: Povocao on the far southeast corner of Sao Miguel. We moved the boat to the small harbor and waited there for a few days before we had good weather to sail the final leg, a little less than 1,000 nm to the mainland.

If these pictures don't convince you to visit the Azores, I don't know what will!

Faial

There is a big tradition to paint your boat name on the seawall in Horta, usually the first port of call for a west -> east transatlantic. We had fun finding our friends' boats and the kids did a great job leaving our mark. There is definitely a lot of Swedish pride shining through in this tradition--there seemed to be a disproportionate number of swedish boats, and they all did their signs in either blue and yellow or included the flag, or both!

This crater was so big, there was no way we could get a picture of the whole thing.

Matilda spent much of the passage from Bermuda to the Azores dreaming about being in a forest. Look at her smile!

The White Festival--there's a DJ in that octopus.

We took a day trip over to the neighboring island, Pico, and went on a walk through the vineyards, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The fracure is healed!

Terceira

I wish we had more time in Terceira, but we needed to get to Sao Miguel in good time to get settled before Hans and the kids flew out. We only had a few days, but we made the best of them.

At anchor with our friends on Tiki Tour and another Boreal, Zephyros. 3 kid boats in one harbor!

Goodbye Terceira. We did an easy overnight sail from Terceira to Sao Miguel.

Sao Miguel, Vermont, Boston

The ocean swimming area in Ponta Delgada. Always packed, with people ages zero to 100. It reminded me of swimming at the town pool as a kid and lying on the concrete pool deck to warm up.

Ponta Delgada and our marina.

Restaurants cooking traditional stews in underground pits, heated by geothermal.

Thermal baths in Furnas, Sao Miguel.

Thermal baths at the edge of the ocean.

Pina coladas all around!

Cleaning out, airing out.

art with Meme

Blueberry picking!

Matilda, acting in the camp musical, Matilda.

Freja too!

Teaching Grampy how to make pannkakor.

Hanging out at the hospital with Aunt Angie.

Entertaining Chase!

A bonus during my trip to Boston, drinks with my college roommate, Cristina.
It had been a long time since we saw each other!

Flight complications landed Hans and the kids in NYC for a few days. They made the most of it and toured all over the city.

Sao Miguel again

Back in Sao Miguel, we reunited with our friends on s/v Twig, rented a car to tour the island for a week, and found perhaps the best town ever.

Povocao.

The last weekend we were in Povocao coincided with a religious festival, and cotton candy bigger than the girls' heads!

Povocao

Povocao. (When we buy land here and start homesteading off the grid, don't be surprised!)

I took the kids on a farm visit outside of Ponta Delgada and we learned all about native fruits, vegetables, and herbs. We met some farm animals, and we even got to milk a cow and drink fresh cow's milk. The kids were a little squeamish about it, but at least they tried.