Almost Perfect Day

Saturday, March 31, 2018
Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal
Dave slept like a log until almost 8:00; Sue didn’t do quite so well, allegedly, due to Dave’s snoring. We woke to gale force winds and rain but by the time we went to breakfast, it was calm, with blue skies. 
We enjoyed a huge buffet breakfast in the main dining room. The bonus was the spectacular views of the waves crashing on the cove below.  After breakfast, we met with a Getaways Azores rep and talked through the hikes, sites, and “bites” we had planned for the week.
By 10:30, we had our knapsack packed and we headed out for our hike up Monte Brasil (yes, that is spelled correctly, this is Portuguese). This is a mountain rising above Angra do Heroísmo, formed by a long dormant volcano. Actually, all of the Azores were formed by volcanoes.
The hike took us around the Fortress Sao Joao Baptista, built in the late 16th century. There is still an active military unit within the ancient stone walls. Continuing the trail above the fortress offered incredible views of Angra do Heroísmo and the rugged coastline. The trail, with its flowering tree canopy and lush vegetation, gave the whole place an unbelievably floral aroma.  
After being blown away by the views down into the bay and city of Angra, we came to the chapel of St. Anthony.  With its white stucco, yellow trimmed facade, built into the mountainside, it was quite impressive. 
There was constant bird song throughout the thick forested hike. The only other wildlife were deer, a whole herd of them (had to be at least 20). Our presence didn’t bother them a bit. They looked very much like our white-tail deer only slightly smaller and the males had straight, spike-like antlers.
With the spectacular views, we both said, we had never had a better hike, and that is saying a lot. This whole park was actually formed by three volcanic eruptions. Two formed the the two conical shaped mountains and the third blew off the top of one of them. It was pretty cool looking down into the caldera of these eruptions. 
Other than the fortress walls with the military base within, the three highlight destinations on the hike were the signal station, the Pica das Cruizinhas, and the ruins from Forte da Quebrado. The signal tower was the most strenuous section of the hike because of the steep climb to the highest point of the mountain. It had incredible views of the ocean and looked right down to the Cruizinhas. 
The Cruizinhas is an area that can be reached by car and is a popular picnic area for locals. There are still inactive WW II artillery positions on this hilltop. However, for several centuries, this spot has had a large cross that can be seen for miles. The views in 270 degrees are just amazing.
From the Cruizinhas, we followed the ridge line and descended through thick low forest to the ruins of Forte de Quebrada. The 150 yard detour off the main trail was steep, narrow and through close brush, but boy, was it worth it! All that was left of the ancient fort were a few walls, but the ocean views a 1,000 feet below, took our breath away. 
Our last hike highlight was the whale lookout on Quebrada Point. Here, back-in-the-day, whale watchers would spot whales and then fire flares to signal to the whalers to get ready for the hunt.  
The blue skies gave way to a passing rain shower and we had to don our rain jackets. It passed quickly, but it dropped the temp and we kept them on for warmth.  
Returning to the hotel, we passed the same market we stopped at yesterday and bought some provisions for future lunches. We figured that tomorrow, being Easter, most things would be closed. We sat on the balcony, sipped a beer and listened to the waves crashing until heading out for dinner. Life is good!
Our plan was to eat at the highly recommended local restaurant, Ochico.  Unfortunately, it was full with an hour wait.   In this same area (near the harbor, blue church and Vasco da Gama plaza) were several restaurants we had seen during last night’s dinner search. 
We settled on Verde Maca; it offered a good looking menu, right prices and comfortable atmosphere. On the trip we want to have alcatra, a stew prepared in a clay pot, which can be either beef or fish. They offered it on the menu, but our server warned us that preparing it would take an hour. She said wherever we had it that we should call ahead. We decided on a cod filet with onions and grilled grouper. 
Dave liked the grouper and Sue literally almost gagged on the cod after getting a bite full of bones. Those Iowa farm girls just don’t like bony fish! Dave had one and a half dinners!
As we sat at a window table, there was almost a constant procession of men dressed in red, led by a drummer. Our server did her best to explain that it was an Easter Saturday tradition - men wore red and women, blue?!?!
Portugal has two professional soccer teams and one of them was playing a must win game. The Verde Maca had a single TV in their rear dining room. A large group of 20 something’s sat in a horseshoe table setting, with the TV on the wall at the open end of the horseshoe. Of the group, all the men were at the bottom of the horseshoe watching the match, while all the women were on the sides, deep in conversation!
These young men’s addiction to soccer or maybe just watching TV, was trumped. Two middle-aged couples came in and the one guy left his group to go watch the match. It was so bad that the other guy at the table took him a menu, so that he could order!
Returning to the hotel, we stopped at Alto Se’ Cafe for a pastry and coffee (under 4 euros total).  Both were excellent, but the entertainment may have been better. There was a bachelorette party (drinking something heavier than coffee), playing pin the tail on the donkey.
What a full, wonderful day.
And, an added surprise was the fireworks at midnight to celebrate Pascua (Easter). They do have the Easter Bunny, too!!

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