Mother Nature's wild side

 Tomorrow it will be two weeks since Mother Nature dumped 17 cm on Gavle Sweden overnight.  Not everywhere flooded, but Richard and Jennie got 1.5m of flood and waste water in their basement.  Walking around the town today, the evidence of the devastation was still visible.  The normally quiet river is still roaring in rapids, the erosion under the bridge has not been fixed, and new waterfalls into the river are still draining the grass by the Konserthus.  

More personal damage was, of course, at Rich and Jenn's house.  The basement has been cleared of all items.  The dehumidifiers (3 of them), have been working non-stop for almost 2 weeks, and tomorrow the construction company comes to tear out all the interior walls in order to disinfect.  The garage and workroom are also on tap to be completely redone inside, so there is a big storage container coming tomorrow and we will empty those two rooms in the next few days.  Gardening and applesauce on hold!

And just when you thought you had seen everything

 There was a sudden severe thunderstorm about 8 pm EDT last evening.  No problems with a light show, except that airplanes don't fly through them.  Our Icelandair flight was rerouted to Ottawa and there it stayed till about 10 pm.  Yes, we were supposed to leave Pearson at 9, but as it happened, we didn't leave till after midnight.  It was a great flight, especially since I was in Saga class with a very comfortable seat with no one beside me.  The only problem, with the long delay, I missed the connecting flight to Stockholm.

Icelandair takes care of its passengers.  We got hotel for the night, all meals, and all transfers to and from the hotel, and seats on tomorrow's flight to Sweden.  It took about 1.25 hr to get from the airport to downtown -- there was a need to change buses at a station.  The countryside is bleak, rocky and very black.  The volcanic action of the past is evident everywhere.

Downtown is a strange mix of new and old buildings and there is huge variety in both types.  On the bus into town I met a Canadian lady who now lives in Sweden and in the same situation as me.  We ended up at the same hotel, and so decided to go to lunch together.  She needed another COVID test as her first had expired, so we wandered and finally came to a clinic which was doing the rapid tests this afternoon.  She got her negative result and we had a nice (but chilly 11 degree) walk back to the hotel.  

I wandered down to the waterfront and was amazed by both the natural landscape and the designed skyline.  We are headed to supper early as we are exhausted -- I did get about 1.5 hr of sleep last night-- and the wake-up call is for 3:30 am to catch the 4 am bus back to the airport.  I truly hope to be on the 7:35 flight tomorrow.  I have been waiting for this visit for a long time.

Trying to think of everything

 So I am sitting here at Terminal 3, with my mask on, waiting for the counters for Icelandair to open for my 21:00 flight to Reykjavik.  I  have two huge suitcases, a small backpack, and a piece of art 24 x 30 inches.  I have my passport, my ticket information, my COVID vaccination certificate (hard and soft copies), my Results of Antigen test from this morning, and my health card.  I have done my online checkin but not printing of baggage tags.  I have registered for arriving in Iceland.  I think, I have thought of everything.

It has been 18 months since my last trip -- when we got back from the Azores in February 2020, we were asked if we had been to China.  That seems a lifetime ago, and it is a world-changing pandemic ago.  Only passengers are allowed here in the terminal.  Everyone is masked and seats are kept open to ensure social distancing.  But, I must admit, I have not been severely impacted by COVID.  It has kept me home for more than a year, but I have been healthy, financially secure, and not very inconvenienced by the safety measures.  Mostly, the problems have been in not being able to see other people -- specifically the little people who are so important.  There were two multiple month stretches where we did not see the Toronto kids, and of course, it has now been 20 months since we saw the Swedes.  

Getting back to what we have missed!

Unprecedented

 In a world of media hype, adjectives such as 'unprecedented' are  frequently misused to try and emphasize an event in the world of sports or other entertainment.  However, the last 9 months of 2020, truly are unprecedented.  Never before have whole societies shut down as they have since the middle of March.  School children had a 6 month 'March Break'.  Churches, gyms, malls, and restaurants were all closed.  Everyone stayed home, including me.

I have not been affected in my financial situation, as I am retired and on a nice fixed income.  I still go for walks and rode my bike all summer.  My garden benefitted from my being home much more than usual.  Both Ian's and my health has been great.  No one in the family has been infected.  It would seem that I am virtually unaffected by the pandemic.

But choirs and volunteering are off the table.   There is no singing at supported living homes.  And there is no travel.

For someone who loves to go, this is really hard.  Being almost 70, there are only a limited number of years for carefree travel and I am losing one to this COVID19.  I know that many people are losing much more and I am very fortunate, for which I am grateful.  Earlier this week there was an announcement of a potential vaccine with 90% effectiveness.  I will be in line when they start to give it out in a few months.  And the first place to go will be to the little girls in Sweden.  Internet conversations are fine, but can't substitute for the real thing, especially with the young people.  

There are more adventures waiting.

Going home?

Home is where the heart is.  Home is where you hang your hat.  Home is where your stuff accumulates.  OK, I made up that last one, but the definition of home is fluid:  where your family is, where you were raised, where you sleep, where you feel safe and comfortable.

A few years ago, I asked Richard if Sweden felt like home.  He and Jennie had been living there for some time and so the 2 year adventure was being extended.  He said yes, which was wonderful because it meant that despite the language issues, the customs, friendships, activities and space for  daily functioning gave him a sense of ease and well being.

So, today is the day we leave Ponta Delgada and return to Canada.  Yes, we are going back to where we pay the taxes and shovel the snow.  I will know where all the dishes and kitchen tools are.  We will slip back into the regular routine of choirs and stained glass.  We will pick up the mail accumulating for the last 3 weeks.

But our time here has been a comfortable routine; the apartment adequate to the life we lead here;  enough space for activities and stuff.  It has felt like home, and we hope to return next year.  A familiar sunrise through sleepy eyes, oh how happy I'll be.

Water Battle

I promised some photos from the water battle.  It is not called a water fight, but rather a battle -- this is serious!

We first experienced this annual event when we were here two years ago.  It happens on Fat Tuesday, starts about 2:30 in the afternoon, lasts about 1.5 hours and involves everyone from little kids to seniors -- whoever wishes to get in on the action.  The shops are boarded up o at least have all their glass taped over, netting is installed in front of buildings.  This year some additions were made to the preparations.  Sewers were covered with netting so that the plastic bags would not get into the waste system.  A net fence marked the battle zone -- another attempt to limit the plastic. 

Then the fun begins:  anyone who throws water balloons or plastic bags is fair game.  Spectators may get a bit wet if they are near the zone, but no one tries to hit them.  Trucks arrive with groups on the back, guys with helmets and sometimes body protection -- they throw at the people on the street and the ones below retaliate. It goes on -- sometimes one group runs out of water bags and the other group fills up their buckets with balloons so they can continue to throw. 

At the end, the cleanup starts -- one truck group helped scoop up the thousands of bags and fill the waste containers.  The cleaners work all night.  By the next day, the street is clean, the fences are gone and the reserved Azoreans are back to their normal routines.

The other side

Two years ago, Duane, Ian and I had a wonderful day tour with a guide named Henrique.  He left us with his email address and so, when we were contemplating a tour to see some of the spots on the island that we had not visited, we contacted him.

Yesterday he picked us up at 9 am and we drove to the north of the island to gather up another couple at a hotel in Capelas.  These seniors were on a promotional Madeira/Sao Miguel tour, but the tour company had them at a very nice hotel, away from all the main attractions.  They had a car, but basically had come to the same conclusion as we had, that concentrating on either the driving on narrow curvy streets or an inadequate map, left no time to enjoy the countryside. 

Enter Henrique.  Born in Lisbon, his family hails from the island and as a child, he spent all his summers here with grandparents.  Portuguese history was not only taught extensively in both primary and secondary school, but it is part of his passion for the island.  He and Ian discussed many aspects of island development and issues. 

Our tour was to be to Ribeira Dos Caleiroes (two waterfalls) park, Nordeste with scenic lookouts on the east coast, lunch in Povoacao and a drive through Furnas.  Henrique added a lava site, the tea plantation, hot springs and viewpoints on the south shore.  Ian refers to the two waterfalls park as Rivendell, being an idyllic little gorge hidden back from the north shore.

The miradour (lookouts) on the east coast were spectacular, both the lighthouse and the natural cliffs.  And they do lookouts in style, with gardens, barbeque facilities and shelters. 

Povoacao was the first settlement on the island and although the marker says 1432, there is some evidence that it was earlier. 

As before, our day was filled with excellent discussion, fabulous scenery, informative stops and a friendly atmosphere.  Henrique said he has never been as busy as this year in the winter.  Let's hope that there aren't too many tourists to destroy this place.