Beth Azores in Day 4

 Today was a transition day. Not much hiking but several walks to beautiful overlooks and seaside areas. 

After breakfast we attended a talk by a local geologist.  She spoke about the science  of geothermal energy and the efforts to have more clean energy on Terceira.  Lots of information and very inspiring.  So far, they can supply 34% of their energy with geothermal power plants. 

Then, we boarded our bus together with our group leader, Arianna, and our local expert, Felipe.  Felipe is a naturalist and also an expert on Terceira's history and culture. He has been with us on our hikes and he always has a lot to teach us and talk about.  

The weather in the Azores is  VERY changeable.  It will rain, be sunny or windy without notice.  Today, the forecast was for rain so the plan was to "chase the weather " as our guides say. We set out to look for the sunniest or driest spots and wow, they did a great job!

We started in Sao Sebastian which is the oldest village on Terceira. Next was Sao Mateus on the southern coast.   It was once a whaling village but now it is the only fishing village. 

 Continuing on, we stopped at several lookout points to view the island from different directions.  By then it was lunch time.  We stopped at a restaurant that is part of a golf course that was originally  built in the 1950s for American military personnel based on Terceira.  Now it is a public course and they serve an incredible buffet lunch. 

During the 70s and 80s there was a large American air force presence on Terceira.  The American and British military first came to the island toward the end of WWII when Portugal joined the allied forces. By the 70s, there were 7000 American personnel.  Today, only 200 remain so most of the base is deserted.

Our last stop was Praia da Vitoria. This is the second largest town on Terceira and it has a beautiful marina area. To reach the marina, we walked down 350 stone steps. The view was amazing. In Praia we had time for a little shopping and day drinking.  We had a local beer named after Brianda, a noblewoman who saved her community from the Spanish by releasing bulls to attack them. Google her for the whole story!

From there, we headed to the airport for our flight to Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel where we will stay for the next three days.

More hiking tomorrow.  Can't wait to see how different this island will be.