Terra Nostra Ruth: November 10, 2021We climbed to the crater rim above the town of Furnas at 510 meters before diving down the steep road into the town. I will climb a lot to get to hot springs and the ones in the botanical gardens at Furnas are some of the best. November 11, 2021 We left Maia and cycled back to the bungalow in Capelas. With only ...
Mar de Prata Ruth: The good: We are staying in the lovely seaside town of Maia in a tiny little house called Mar de Prata (“Sea of Silver”). The house is perched over a little sand beach with views of the headlands to the east. It is just perfect! Sãozinha, our host, has filled our kitchen with food: fruit, wine, breads, cheese, meat, eggs, homemade fig ...
Ruth: Yesterday we hitched our trailers back on the bikes and rolled down out of Santa Barbara. Our flight to São Miguel was not until seven so we had lots of time to have a meal at the German restaurant in Vila da Porta before heading to the airport to pack up our bikes in their suitcases and check in. The process was quicker than ...
Ruth: Dia de Todos os Santos, or All Saints Day is a national holiday in Portugal. It is the day when people visit the cemetery and bring flowers to remember their departed loved ones. The cemetery in Santo Espírito was a far more colourful place than it had been on our visit two days earlier. Our rides yesterday and today have taken us over the few ...
Gordon: The Azores must have one of the most gentle climates on earth. I did a little research and learned that in the largest town, Ponta Delgada on São Miguel, it has never been colder than 4 degrees Celsius, or hotter than 29. The normal daily range is perhaps 12 to 17 degrees in January, and 21 to 26 in July. There is a few ...
Our house is the one at the top on the right. View of São Lourenço The Northern hut on the coastal walk. Ruth: It’s evening and we are tucked into our little house on the hill overlooking the hobbit shire of Santa Barbara. We booked Casa Emilia for six nights, because the forecast was not good. We were ready with tea and novels for a ...
Ruth: While Gord headed off on his bike to access a trail and continue hiking around the island, I took the day off. This will be our ninth day at the Youth Hostel in Vila do Porto. It’s interesting to stay in a place like this and watch all the different groups and individuals come and go. Yesterday a group of tired but exuberant Dutch ...
The Barreiro da Faneca Shrine to Our Lady of Fatima Ruth: Oh my, I ate too much, again! Eating in the Azores is quite simple and affordable as long as you want to eat when the locals do. It’s much more challenging to find a meal between 3:00 and 6:30 pm. Our bike rides often end in this window. Ideally we find a cafe serving ...
Gordon: We had glorious weather today, with a ride to match. All rides from Vila do Porto begin with a climb to 200 metres to the junction that feeds the network of roads on the island. Today we almost immediately dropped back down to the beach in the next bay. It’s only 4 kms from our hostel, but 8 kms and 200 metres up and ...
The view from Pico Alto. A good spot for an orange. The frog chorus at our lunch spot. Ruth: I first picked up the nickname Mocanitsa in Romania. That’s their pet name for the narrow gauge steam engine that climbs up into the heights of the Carpathian mountains. As I cycled up into those same mountains Gord started calling me his little Mocanitsa and the ...