Terceira

Since arriving on Ilha Terceira we've been dividing our time between being tourists, working on Petronella, and just hanging out, enjoying the luxury of living on a non-moving boat with plenty of water.

Not only plenty of water, but we've been on a dock in the city marina, which is only steps from the center of town. Apparently, the marina is very cheap, although I don't actually know what the daily rate is. Nor do I care! The anchorage is fine on calm days, but no fun when the wind pipes up from the east and the swell rolls in. Whatever they are charging us, it's worth it.

The other day, our friends Trip and Nicole and us rented a car and did a tour of the entire island. We took a bunch of pictures, of course... so many that I'm not sure how to present them. After thinking about it a bit, I've decided to upload a simple slideshow of my favorite pics from the trip. I hope it gives a taste of what this beautiful island is like.

All the islands in the Azores are volcanic in origin, and in the first few pictures of the slide show, we are standing on the ancient (and much eroded) rim of the volcano, looking down on the bowl, which is now all farm land. 

Later on, we visited a kind of 'beach' with sharp volcanic rock instead of sand. A few hardy souls were swimming in the pools of water between the rocks, but not many! We were not tempted, but it was beautiful to look at.

We stopped for lunch at a Portuguese restaurant which had some traditional dishes, including bone marrow... and what a bone it was! The table was divided in its opinion of the flavor. 

Then we drove to the western part of the island which was full of flowers and trees and beautiful sea views. 

And finally, we drove back to Angra through some mountains with woods, and farms, and bulls. Bulls are a big thing in the Azores. More on that, later!