The Mid-Atlantic Chill Pill

posted in: Azores, Highlights 0

So the Azores are awesome.  There is nothing like indulging in beautiful scenery, hot thermal pools, and lots of meat when one survives being trapped in a fiberglass container that’s just plowing through raw, unencumbered nature for ten days or more.  It’s as if sailors designed this place to give them a bit of a break.  I mean, things are even cheap here!

We’ve had some beautiful days driving around the countryside of Sao Miguel.  This is a place where the “scenic overlooks”  all require ultra-wide angles lenses and have broad-spectrum histograms in Photoshop.  The “rest stops,” which occur every kilometer, consist of stone (not wood!) picnic tables and beautifully landscaped mega-plants.  I mean, you feel really guilty if you do not bring along a picnic lunch.  The cows just stare and laugh.  “Fools!” they moo.

We also had a luxury day at Terra Nostra Garden Hotel, where, after our massages, we floated in warm, golden springwater surrounded by a massive botanical garden and an Art Deco Hotel. The light smell of sulfur did not detract from our perfect G&T’s, which included a sprig of actual juniper.  Fancy!

In the evenings, we get together with friends from South Africa and France in this territory of Portugal and think, the world is really mostly water, not land, isn’t it?

Of course, Mel had to ruin it.  “I miss my kids,” she sighed.  And so the Burnetts are on the move again.  Because of complicated reasons involving airline flight patterns, they will have to go to Portugal instead of Gibraltar to pick up the kids.  They are heading to Lagos, Portugal, tomorrow, ETE 5 days.  Then they are officially “crossed” over.  Enough with this Atlantic, already!

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