The Nature Island
Dominca, Leeward Islands It is said that if Christopher Columbus came back to the Caribbean, the only island he...
Azores Portugal
After a week in Horta it was time to leave, so at 5:30 am, about eight boats from the ARC rally, including Berkeley East, set out for Angra do Hermiso on the island of Terceira. It was a 70-mile trip, but we lacked wind and had to motor most of the way.
The wind came up in the afternoon, so we were able to sail into the island and as usual, it was blowing hard as we pulled into the dock. The first dock was too small for us and Berkeley East resisted, so we moved to a second dock way inside the marina. The marina in Angra is nice, but designed for much smaller boats and the pressure from the wind caused Berkeley East to lift the dock out of the water rather than holding us in place. With a few extra lines tied to the dock pylons, we felt more secure.
Terceira, meaning the third, was the third Azore Island discovered, and like Faial and Pico, is made up of a number of volcanoes. After the Spanish took over Portugal in the late 1500’s, they conquered all of the Azore Islands except Terceira. The locals drove wild bulls down to the beach where the Spanish were landing, killing over 500 of there attackers, and preventing Spain from taking the island. At one point, Terceira was the only Portuguese territory, until it fell to Spain in 1983.
The city of Angra was renamed Angra do Heroismo for their heroism in defending the island from the Spanish. Angra is large compared to Horta, but still very quaint. Most of the buildings were destroyed in an earthquake on New Years day in 1980, but everything has been rebuilt.
We walked the town on our own and then with a tour guide from the tourist office who filled us in on the city’s history.
Because the bulls played a major role in the independence of the island, they are still part of the celebrations. One evening we attended an event where the bulls ran through the streets. The locals, and a few of the ARC rally participants, ran through the streets with the bulls chasing them, while the rest of us stayed out of harms way on top of walls and on the balconies of the homes of locals, who welcomed us in to watch the celebration safely. Like the islands of Faial and Pico, the people here were charming and friendly.
After a few days it was off to Punta Delgada on Sao Miguel.