Walking to the Fort

 When we were here two years ago, I started to walk after supper.  The Fort is at one end of the harbour walkway and a convenient distance for an end of the day bit of exercise.  I googled it and it was 1.1 km away from our hotel.  It took about 24 minutes to walk there and back.

When we got back to Ontario, it seemed a good routine, so after supper, I would still 'walk to the fort'.  The corner of Upper Paradise and Rymal is conveniently 1.1 km from our house, so it was an easy transition.  

Then the pandemic hit and we were encouraged to avoid people, but I could still go for my walk as I rarely met anyone else along the way.  It was a slice of normalcy in an unprecedented time.  I walked that path hundreds of times in the last two years averaging about 5 nights out of 7.  Every time I did the walk, I reminded myself of the walk along the harbour with the lights and sounds of the boats and the city.  For those 24 minutes I was transported back to Ponta Delgada in my mind.  It was easier in the summer than in the winter when I needed to put ice grippers on my boots, but it was a breath of simpler time in all the stress of the pandemic.

So, of course, I walk to the fort every night now.  I feel blessed that I can experience the sea and the life of this city.  I also feel blessed that life has changed to the point where this is possible again. 

Vehicles

 Our balcony has a great view to the street below -- main waterfront road -- and the harbour beyond.  We watched today as two tugs did a 180 degree turn on a huge Norwegian LPG tanker that was almost too long for the width of the harbour.  We are very curious how long it will take before she unloads and heads out again.  Just love the technology that lets me type while sitting on the sea wall,  the name of a ship into a google search and find out who she is, and what she is carrying.

And the same harbour has sailboats, a three masted schooner, whale watching boats, fishing boats, a couple of snazzy looking motor boats and currently a container cargo ship and a military boat.  Yesterday there was a windsurfer zooming around and a sailing school for little boats operating at the end of the harbour.  There is always something happening.

The vehicles on land are also varied.  Most of the cars are smaller which is a good thing when you notice how narrow some of the streets are.  Motorcycles and scooters are very popular as they can run year round.  Ian loves to stop to check out all the different kinds.   There are a few pickup trucks and small flatbeds.  Yesterday they had to close a street for a concrete mixer and pumper truck that needed to get into town for a delivery.  On the day where there was a cruise ship -- one the second this year, there was a horse-drawn carriage to give the tourists a ride.  There are plenty of big buses and they manage in the narrow streets.  The island is well served by 3 bus lines and you can go just about anywhere by bus.  We plan to use it in the next few days to go to Furnas to see the camellias.

But of course, most of the vehicles are the cars.  In the past few years I had come to think that the plates on the cars reflected their age and Carolina confirmed this.  On the right ends of most of the plates are two numbers above and below a line.  It is the year (top) and the month that the car was acquired.  The oldest I have seen is about 1992.  No salt on the roads and not far you can go, so the cars last.  Carolina told us that she had just done an oil change on her car and the next change was in probably in about 2 years!

 

And don't forget the bicycles.  There are not many, but there is a bike share program which actually seems to be well used.  It rained this morning, so today was a walking day.  No problem.

Carolina

Those of you who know me well, are very aware that I do not make friends quickly.  In fact, most of the time I go out of my way not to impose myself on others.  I admire those people who can strike up conversations easily with people and I am fortunate to have married one.  Ian has an engaging manner and is often still speaking to someone, while I have already moved on.

Fortunately, we can both speak easily with Carolina.  We met her several years ago while at this hotel.  She is one of the desk personnel and when we were looking for someone who wanted to store/take and use our bicycles, she volunteered.  

While my green beauty at home is a come-apart bike and fits into a suitcase sized case, the airlines imposed heavy fees to transport bikes, just about the time that I got it.  So, it became much better value to rent bikes where we were going than try to take our own.  That was, until I looked to rent here on the Azores.  15 euros per day -- every day.  Well, when one is here for 3 weeks, that came to over 300 euros.  Yikes!  Enter Decathlon -- sport store for everything you can imagine.  And yes, they have bikes.  In fact, the basic bike I got (8 speeds) was 100 euros.  It was an easy decision and I got lots of riding out of it.  So at the end of our trip, we wanted to give it to someone who would use/appreciate it.  The lovely young lady from the front desk said she would take our bikes.  In fact, she has stored them for several years -- even for the last two when we could not come.  

Carolina and her husband live in a little row house which they have redone inside all on their own.  She said that it was basically an empty shell when they got it and I can believe it, having seen those types of properties along the streets.  They have set up the house to live on the bottom floor and have the upstairs for  their business (now finished) or storage or possibly a rental flat in the future.  It is a cozy space and still a work in progress, but she was delighted to show us around.  There is a balcony on the roof, but no garden.  We had a thousand questions, many of which had to wait till we took her to lunch yesterday as a thank you for storing our bikes.  Husband Ricardo is off working in Switzerland at a hotel, so we did not see him this time.  Being born and raised here on Sao Miguel, Carolina is a perfect person to answer questions of history and life on the island.  Much of what we gleaned from her will appear in future blogs.

Oh, the coverings over the car parks?  Sol Mar is an Azores based grocery chain and recently changed ownership.  The new group wanted to do something nice for their clients.  Now that is customer service.

What's new, Pussycat?

It was a catchy title, wasn't it.  And quite appropriate for today's post.  

One of the things that Ian especially has been waiting to see, is what has changed here since our last visit.  Not only has it been two years, but also a pandemic between our snapshots into the life of this island.

And, surprisingly, not much.  Carolina, who graciously stored our bicycles, told us that just 2 weeks after we left, basically everything on the island shut down.  This hotel where she works, was closed, as were the others on the island.   The police even drove up and down the streets telling people to stay home.  I gather it was quite like our experiences at home.

But now, the hotel is open again with some enhanced cleaning measures.  There is an interesting gadget at the front door that scans your temperature automatically.  One wears a mask inside everywhere except in the apartment itself.  At breakfast, you make your selections and serve yourself, but don't unmask until you sit down to eat.  The same routine goes for other restaurants and cafes.  There has been no checking at shops or restaurants for vax certificates.  

But we did do something different today.  We walked through a cemetery.  People are buried either in little houses with shelves for caskets inside, or, in underground crypts with large concrete slabs over the top with rings so that the tops can be opened.  The family plots are numbered and the rows designated to facilitate easy location.  And this is where the cats come in:  the place has shy felines roaming through it in greater density than we have seen anywhere else here.  

However, one item has struck us in our wanderings.  Two parking lots have been outfitted with large, heavy tent roofs above the spaces for cars.  At the grocery stores they even have lighting.  Were they to keep shoppers and their packages from the rain, or recognizing that people couldn't eat in the restaurants associated with these lots, were they for the convenience of eating in your car?  We will have to investigate further.

Looking Back

 I think this should be called, the dangers of looking back.  Especially when I now have 70 years to look back on, the tendency is to compare -- often unfavourably, the current situation with previous experiences.  I think, in many ways, we remember 'the good old days' quite differently than when we were in those times.  Perspective is a wonderful thing and a necessary thing to keep sanity and move on when going through rough times but let us remember that continually looking back, stops us from moving forward and embracing a future.  I guess that is what children and grandchildren do for us -- they keep us in the every moving present.

We are now on our eighth trip to Ponta Delgada and there is a wonderful familiarity about this hotel (5th stay),  the local cafes, the grocery stores, the fabulous gardens, and the walks, particularly along the ocean.  This trip we were upgraded in our 1 bedroom apartment to a larger apartment on the front of the building with a balcony looking straight onto the harbour 50 meters across the coastal road.  In addition, the layout of the suite has an extra bed off the living room, which I am using as a dressing area making it much easier to get dressed and go for a walk in the morning while Ian continues to sleep.  When checking in yesterday, I was given the card for this room and was somewhat apprehensive about the front of the building as it is over the main road.  But the door to the balcony is great for sound reduction and watching the harbour is fantastic.  Something new turned out even better than the old which we had really liked.  

I have to remind myself that I have not learned everything yet and positive surprises are still possible.  Looking at 70+, I am very mindful that this is now on the downward slope. But a brilliant rainbow still takes my breath away.

 

PEI essence

 PEI Essence

What do Auckland, Koblenz, Chippawa, Cozumel, Melk, Albufira, Playa Del Carmen, St. Martin, and Thornbury have in common with Stanhope?  They are some of my favourite rides along water, but except for Cozumel and Stanhope, all the rest were on rented bikes.  Today I cycled along the North Coast on my own green Gecko.  Unfortunately, there was a flat tire, but thanks to a good Samaritan with a pump, I made it back to my car without having to change a tire.  47 km from Robinson Island to Queen's point and back.  And bonus, my car charged while I was out riding.  Thanks PEI National Park for the charge at 40 amps which took half the time it does at home.

Being here in a shoulder season, has its pluses and minuses.  Plus: Not too many people anywhere, Minus: many of the attractions are on limited hours or closed, and the internet still says they are open.  

The other truly Island activity today was a New Glascow Lobster Supper.  They are the original lobster supper since 1958.  I don't eat lobster anywhere in Ontario, it's just so good here.

The most fun in the world

 About 30 years ago, our family was on the East Coast and one of the favourite things to do was play in tidal pools.  Richard, announced that he could not think of anything more fun in the world.  Now, he has probably changed his mind in the ensuing years, but turning over rocks and looking at what the tide brought in is still something I love to do at the seashore.

Today I cycled to the south west of Charlottetown, to the south shore at Canoe Cove -- well actually Lloyd Inman Memorial Park.  There were some school groups there just having a day out, and it was a perfect spot for kids to play and explore.  Being a big kid, I explored too.

The tide was out and so the bottom was exposed to reveal kelp, little barnacles and, of course, everything that the tide had washed in.  Remarkably there was very little human litter, but the ocean deposited shells and rocks and lots of seaweed.  It is always so much fun to poke around.

The ride was hard.  PEI is a lot of up and down and today it seemed even more so than yesterday.  Particularly challenging is going against a 25 km wind up a hill, but coming back, it is so nice to get that little extra push.  I'm happy with the 60 km today.