Fake Sunrise, AI Lies & Foggy Reprise
Beautiful Gardens, Madly Blue Seas and Sulphury Reeks
Today I am venturing a bit further out, to the north east side of the island. The original aim was to go to Nordeste. The guide book says that this is viewed as the tenth island as it is so remote. As far as I can tell, there are fast roads all the way, so this is either an anachronism or a marketing ploy.
Spoiler alert, I don’t actually make it to Nordeste … or at least I do but can’t see that there is much mileage spending time in the town.
First stop: Jardim Botânico da Ribeira do Guilherme. Say that after a few drinks! This looks quite spectacular in the pictures - almost jungle-like with waterfalls along the hiking trail. Well, the initial view is encouraging, the lack of entrance fee even more so.
but then I get to the start of the walking trail.
Bah.
It may not be the worst thing. I’m starting to suffer from this cold somewhat and the humidity is up another notch from yesterday. This seems to be very much a thing in the Azures: mild climate (except when the Atlantic storms hit I guess), lots of moisture and rainfall. This is, of course, why it is so green and explains the proliferation of botanical gardens - I guess pretty much anything will grow here. I make the decision to visit another one of these in Furnas. Furnas is one of the volcanically active parts of the island and I had intended to visit later in the week but it occurs to me that, what with my aborted hike and the fact that it is on the way back to PDG, I may as well go today.
But not before a trip to the eastern most point of the Azores at Ponta da Madrugada. AI had told me that there is a slight chance of seeing passing whales form here, so worth a look. All I get of course is a whole lot of Atlantic.
Interestingly, AI had also told me that this is the spot which first sees the sun in the whole of Portugal. I hazarded the opinion that mainland Portugal was much further east and so probably likely to see it first. Well, I got a proper telling off from a very smug AI telling me that I had made a classic error:
Ah, a classic geographical trap, Tony! You’ve caught me (or rather, the map) in a bit of a riddle.
You are absolutely right that mainland Portugal (specifically Cape Roca, Cabo da Roca) is the westernmost point of continental Europe. But here’s the twist: Nordeste is in the Azores, which are an autonomous region of Portugal located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Because the Azores stretch so far west (about 1,360 km from Lisbon), the eastern tip of São Miguel (where Nordeste sits) is actually further east than mainland Portugal, but the western tip of the Azores (Flores Island) is the westernmost point of the entire country.
I call BS on this once more before the AI finally comes clean checks relative longitudes and apologises for the error. So for all of those AI doomsayers, bare in mind that before AI can take over the world, it has to find it. Then again, the thought of AI controlling weapons targeting scares the bejesus out of me based on this.
I had a run-in with Google translate too. I know enough Portuguese to be able to say that I am unwell, but asked it how to say that I have a cold. The response that I got was, “Estou constipado”. Doesn’t take much imagination to work out what that actually translates to. I’m so glad I didn’t ask anyone for some cold medicine!
So no, I will not be relying too heavily on AI.
Meanwhile, back at Furnas, I head for another garden: Parque Terra Nostra. This turns out to be absolutely stunning, with plants from all around the world, as well as being remarkably peaceful.
It also has a bubbling pond. Does what is says on the tin.
As well as thermal bathing pools. I contemplate whether this might help clear my cold but think it is more likely to lead to a snottery slick threatening the other bathers and so I give it a miss.
The park has many signs proclaiming welcome, but in such a way as to lead me to think that they don’t mean it
Never seen so many rules in a park.
And, as one might expect. Another entry for the Relaxing Benches of the World series
Leaving the gardens, I take a brief detour into Caldeiros to get some more volcanic action. It occurs to me that this is almost exactly a year since my last sulphury fix at Yellowstone. You just can’t have too much of volcanos … well I guess maybe if you live next to one …
There is a stew, Cozida das Furnas, made only in this region, which is cooked in volcanic vents. I had looked up whether a vegetarian version is ever made and the upshot seemed to be that, if offered, it was “made” by cooking the stew and then taking the meat out. Probably give that a miss.
That evening there seems to be a major naval presence in PDG which it turns out is some NATO exercise. Turns out that PDG is a refuelling hub for some NATO operational group. Of course there is also the US military base on Terceira which I was recently privileged to visit.
The still active WhatsApp group from the flight suggests that this has caused all of the restaurants in town to be booked up for several days. Don’t the navy provide their own food? Ah well, we shall see…
Another day, another need for gallons of water to replace the moisture escaping through my nose. Today I am off whale & dolphin watching. Nothing like a stiff see breeze to help the eyes and nose start streaming! :-)
A group earlier in the week spotted a pod of orcas. This would be cool to see, but of course we don’t. And this graffiti is about the closest that I got to a whale
but we do see lots of dolphins.
First up, some bottle-nosed dolphins (no doubt looking up and marvelling at the snottle-nosed human) and then a large collection of common dolphins, who are very playful and keep buzzing the boat. I hadn’t realised that dolphins surf! Every now and then 4 or 5 of them would line up and catch a wave. Very cool, and quite a sight!
Back on dry land and I am off to Gruta do Carvao, some lava tubes which it turns out are literally around the corner from where I am staying and which I only discovered last night.
On the way I see these trousers hanging out of a window. Because, well, why not?
The lava tubes are pretty impressive. They let you wander down over the rough lava floors (that would never pass H&S muster in the UK!) and we get to explore 2 tubes - one more or less pristine, the other slightly damaged by construction work above before they realised what was there and put a stop to it. Apparently the locals also used it as a tip - seeing a useful hole in the ground they helpfully filled it with rubbish, fridges, washing machines etc. which then had to be cleared out by volunteers.
Apparently there is a longer tour available which involves crawling into some reeeeally tight spaces. The guide shows us where, just in case we are interested in coming back. Not a chance, that is absolutely terrifying.
Final day and I decide to try and take in some more of those spectacular Azores views. Nature has a different idea. I have a viewpoint in mind and set off, but as I get up into the hills it gets foggier and foggier.
I’m honestly not sure which is more scary - navigating narrow city streets and battling crazy drivers or driving cliff hugging, winding roads in the fog. Either way, the brakes which I thought were a bit extreme when I first picked up the car are now my best friend.
[ I have noticed that although the Portuguese - and I may be generalizing from a small sample here - drive like lunatics, and seem to be deeply distressed at the though of stopping at crossings, they are generally very polite to pedestrians. On any number of occasions I was waiting for a car to pass, only for them to stop and wave me across. I think they just object to being told what to do and so have a disdain for official stops. I can relate to that! ]
Anyway, back at the “viewpoint”…
I could wait, but it doesn’t look promising, so back to PDG I think.
I decide instead to wander around the local botanical garden (weather much improved of course!)
before heading on to the Museum of Sacred Art. A little off-piste this one, but I had read a review saying that the receptionist was the rudest man ever. Obviously this made me want to visit. I even had a few Portuguese retorts ready just in case. Disappointingly, the staff were very polite and friendly. The museum is quite small, but the attached church is spectacular and sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and splash out those 2 euros!
From a distance, it almost looks more like something from a Hindu temple. I’m not sure it is any less disturbing close up!
Anyway, hopefully I will get home tomorrow without incident (I may be invoking the family jinx here but I am trying to draw its attention away for my parents who are finally travelling home after being stuck in Crete for a month!).
I would certainly visit the Azores again, but I would like to get to some of the other islands - particularly Terceira and Pico. This will involve some careful planning and, as I am discovering, the need to build in some contingency. Just as well I have time…