Freaky Location Friday...Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal
Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal (http://www.azores.dk/Eterceira.htm)
My husband August and I were stationed in the Portuguese Azores from 1994 to 1997 at Lajes Air Base, and absolutely ADORED our time there. The island is tiny, only 20 x 10 miles, but there’s a ton of history to explore and fun things to do. Americans haven’t discovered the Azores yet as a travel destination, and don’t know what they’re missing. This is Old World hospitality and living at its best. On Terceira, the island we were stationed on, there are two main cities, Praia da Vitoria and Angra de Heroisimo. Praia is the closest to the base, while Angra is across the island. In reality, they’re both more towns (the population of the *entire* island is 55,000ish), tho Angra is bigger, and got a supermarket the last year we were there (before it was all tiny mercados).
How to begin describing this gorgeous land and people? First of all, take a look at the pics (linked above) and you’ll begin to get what I’m talking about…houses made of concrete and old volcanic stone…grape arbors intertwined with producing fields…milk still brought to market on the backs of donkeys…fields still plowed by hand. Food cooked in volcanic vents…bullfights in the streets…live barnacles seasoned with garlic and lemon. “Green” wine (lightly effervescent locally grown wine that goes down waaaaaay to easily). All this and a fantastic ocean view from almost anywhere you stand.
We were lucky enough to have a house that faced the ocean (even tho we were about 1/2 mile away from the cliffs), so we got to see dolphins, whales, ships, etc every morning with our coffee. And hell, the view was pretty damned good from my desk at work too! LOL. We made it a point to check out every little nook and cranny we could while we were there, from Biscoitos (freakin’ awesome lava flow/beach area…the waves were phenomenal) to Ponta Negra (our absolute favorite restaurant). We also went to one of the other islands (Sao Miguel) for a week, and had a total blast exploring it. That’s the more touristy of the islands, and we saw lots of Europeans and Asians while we were there…they already discovered the secret *g*!
If you’re looking for a place to vacation where NO ONE has been, but still has gorgeous summer weather (mid 80’s), pineapple that puts Dole to shame and food to die for, the Azores is cheap, laid back and SO much fun!
My husband August and I were stationed in the Portuguese Azores from 1994 to 1997 at Lajes Air Base, and absolutely ADORED our time there. The island is tiny, only 20 x 10 miles, but there’s a ton of history to explore and fun things to do. Americans haven’t discovered the Azores yet as a travel destination, and don’t know what they’re missing. This is Old World hospitality and living at its best. On Terceira, the island we were stationed on, there are two main cities, Praia da Vitoria and Angra de Heroisimo. Praia is the closest to the base, while Angra is across the island. In reality, they’re both more towns (the population of the *entire* island is 55,000ish), tho Angra is bigger, and got a supermarket the last year we were there (before it was all tiny mercados).
How to begin describing this gorgeous land and people? First of all, take a look at the pics (linked above) and you’ll begin to get what I’m talking about…houses made of concrete and old volcanic stone…grape arbors intertwined with producing fields…milk still brought to market on the backs of donkeys…fields still plowed by hand. Food cooked in volcanic vents…bullfights in the streets…live barnacles seasoned with garlic and lemon. “Green” wine (lightly effervescent locally grown wine that goes down waaaaaay to easily). All this and a fantastic ocean view from almost anywhere you stand.
We were lucky enough to have a house that faced the ocean (even tho we were about 1/2 mile away from the cliffs), so we got to see dolphins, whales, ships, etc every morning with our coffee. And hell, the view was pretty damned good from my desk at work too! LOL. We made it a point to check out every little nook and cranny we could while we were there, from Biscoitos (freakin’ awesome lava flow/beach area…the waves were phenomenal) to Ponta Negra (our absolute favorite restaurant). We also went to one of the other islands (Sao Miguel) for a week, and had a total blast exploring it. That’s the more touristy of the islands, and we saw lots of Europeans and Asians while we were there…they already discovered the secret *g*!
If you’re looking for a place to vacation where NO ONE has been, but still has gorgeous summer weather (mid 80’s), pineapple that puts Dole to shame and food to die for, the Azores is cheap, laid back and SO much fun!
posted by Keira Ramsay at 4:52 AM
2 Comments:
Do you think of going back-- staying there? I would. Hell, I may go with you. It looks and sounds fantastic.
Keira--fun to read your comments. I have an obsession with going to the Azores--my ancestors came to the States from there--and have a Google alert to send me whenever anyone posts anything about the Azores. It gives me the opportunity to learn a bit before I plan my trip. Thanks for yours.
Basha
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