Up late: 9:30 a.m.!
For me it's a feat... but the music at night makes us fall asleep later and/or I have entered vacation mode quietly.
We have lunch quietly in the cockpit, hiding a bit from the sun. People are already on the beach. Really happy with where we are docked. It’s relaxed, you see people interacting. We have access to 2 sandy beaches, which is rare here and in addition, it is within walking distance. The natural beaches of volcanic rock re also good, even magnificent, but there is more space on ours made of sand and we are also closer to the boat.
We booked a visit of Fort Sao Joâo Baptista. We have been trying to call a number for 3 days to book, but it never worked. We found another one this morning which did work, so we'll be there in PM. It will be hot but it takes sacrifices to live adventures :)
We washed the genoa before leaving to remove as much salt as possible before storing the sails (in the next few days). Suffice it to say that the water would not reach the top of the sails, but we did our best, the sails are really big.
Then we jumped in the water, okay, climbed down the ladder straight from the boat and swam to the beach and back (I don't really like it when I can't see in the water... so Louis deserved the eyes I gave him 😉). Then we left 1h30 before the visit, which is a good thing because finding a taxi was difficult. There is a number, two in fact, to call a taxi in Praia da Vitória, but someone does not always answer. The people here are much more relaxed than us, the proof: when we arrived very close to where the taxis are waiting for customers, we talked to an elderly couple who explained to us with signs, because they did not speak English or French, that you had to wait for the next one and wave to them. When a taxi arrived, they waved and gave us their seat. Charming!
We arrived 1 hour early to register and show our identity papers, we are still going to a fortress that houses soldiers. We then chose to eat close by, at the Bowling Café. We asked if we could be served in less than 40 minutes and were told no. People here are really on a less rushed mode. The waitress told us that we could eat faster with this or that dish. That's what we did. And it happened quickly, we even arrived 8 minutes before the start of the visit and with full bellies, thanks to her!
Returning to the Núcleo de História Militar - Manuel Coelho Baptista de Lima for the visit, we heard a couple on the street speaking French, so we started chatting with them and since they wanted to go see the fortress, we suggested that they come to visit. We explained to them that if they went to the fortress directly, they would not let them in and, like us last time, they would have to come back down to book a visit. They were therefore part of the group of curious people, with us, to follow the guide and listen to the stories of alliances, policies, imprisonment and wars that are part of the history of the fort. Truly a great visit! I did not expect so much content and surprises. A great learning experience!
I'm not going to tell you the story again, because there is too much to say and a lot of technicality, but I would go back again to be able to listen to the guide again. She was really passionate and interesting!
I can at least tell you that the desire for fortification began in the 1500s to protect the bays from pirates and corsairs in particular, then over the years, from foreign ships and their sovereigns. Since the Azores were a popular stop for merchant ships at the time, they aroused much covetousness. There have been several attempts by foreign rulers to gain control of the bay. The local, non-military inhabitants even went down in history for having defended their land with their cattle. Yes, yes, they won a battle thanks to their cows/oxen. You must go for a visit, it’s really interesting!
We visited old cisterns, a church, dungeons, etc. Again, super interesting, we even saw engravings that the prisoners made to write their name in stone or say the number of days they were locked up there. There is one who was practically a subscriber to these dungeons. He did almost all of them in the fortress, and not just one day each. Some dungeons had a toilet, others did not. Imagine many people inside, without really much light and with the humidity of the earth. Finally, because I must leave some for your future visit, the prisoners in these cells were soldiers and not prisoners of war. At least, what I understood. So the one who did almost all the dungeons probably just had a tougher head than the others. Just kidding 😉 He probably had character anyway.
We also asked the guide a few questions about what we had seen on the islands. We saw people on the side of the road, decorated their car with flowers, most of them hydrangeas and we first thought of a wedding (decoration of the vehicle that transports the bride and groom), but no. It is related to the bullfights in the city, people decorate their vehicles for bullfighting.
She also explained to us, because she studied plants/trees, that the trees around the fortress are a foreign species and that their roots contain poison to eliminate other varieties of trees that come near it.
The guide also helped us find a taxi for the return, which was not easy, as taxis operate by city. So we can take a taxi from Angra to go to Praia, but not a taxi from Praia to pick us up in Angra. That's why if you want phone numbers, let me know, I kept the ones I contacted. This information is precious in the islands.
There are always adventures and stressful moments on the boat… here is the proof!
Free translation: ...glass...did you see the fish wanting to eat the glass...don't fill it with water...wouhaaa... (Cindy laughs)...(cindy laughs). .. come to the dock to get it
I went to the dock to help and retrieve the glass. We got it!
We were still in a festive state so we had a lot of fun once again with Louis trying to say the names of the towns on the island.
We ate desserts again in the evening. I was telling you that Louis had an addiction for the capotes/claudios from O Capote Pastelaria. It wasn't a joke. I tasted natas from the nearby kiosk. The best natas I have eaten. And I ate a lot of them in the Azores. Creamy, exquisite!
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