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It's complicated to get to the Azores (Portugal's nine volcanic islands in the Atlantic) from New York after Delta's direct 5 hour flights stop at the end of the summer. For our 18 day trip starting on Sept. 25 we had to go first to Boston to get the direct flights of Azores Airlines. On the day of departure, finishing lunch at 1, we got a call from American Airlines that our 4PM flight to Boston had been cancelled but they could put us on the 3PM. So, on a day when NY traffic was clogged by the UN meeting we began our trip with the stress of getting to LaGuardia on time. Then six hours of waiting in Boston and arriving in Ponta Delgada too late to get our connection to the island of Terceira, our first destination. Another 6 hour wait. In sum, 27 hours traveling time to get to our destination instead of 20. Plus, on the Azores flight from Boston, the worst screaming baby we've ever experienced.
BUT, once arrived at the Hotel Cruzeiro in the lovely town of Angra do Heroismo in Terceira at 5PM instead of 7AM, all went well. We walked down to the marina and started with a Passion fruit Caparinha. Then, limpets, barnacles, octopus and Azorean fish stew, all excellent.
On the next day, we had a wonderful 8 1/2 hour survey of the island with a hired taxi.
I'm having difficulty changing the order of the uploaded photos so they are not in a complete chronological sequence.
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| Front desk Hotel Cruzeiro, Terceira |
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| Typical stone sidewalk, Angra do Heroismo, Terceira |
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| Illusion of policeman wearing a skullcap, Angra do Heroismo |
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| Sidewalk stone mosaic |
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| Moray eel, fish market, Angra do Heroismo |
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| Shop street display, Angra do Heroismo |
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| Fish market, Angra do Heroismo |
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| Sidewalk mosaic, Angra do Heroismo |
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| Cathedral, Angra do Heroismo |
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| Fancy sidewalk |
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| 2 1/2 lb.. lobster |
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| Praia de Victoria, the other town on Terceira |
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| Windblown tourist at viewing platform |
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| Inside volcanic cave |
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| Rainwater pool at bottom of volcano cave |
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| Moss-covered chimney through which lava once exploded |
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| Volcanic steam area seen from viewing trail shown below. |
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| Conger feel provided a wonderful fish stew at lunch on our island tour |
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| Amazing ocean swimming area protected by, and built into, lava formations |
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| Wild lillies line the roads along with hydrangeas. |
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| Typical landscape |
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| High viewpoint |
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| Hotel corridor simulates a forest |
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| Part of our meal on the first night in Terceira, grilled octopus |
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| Azorean fish soup |
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| Cracas, otherwise known as barnacles |
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| Lapas, otherwise known as limpets |
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| Cocktails with marina |
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| Unusual decoration of house for sale |
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| This dog flew with us from Boston. |
I'd say that after enduring the screaming baby on the flight over, plus the pre-flight stresses you describe, that passion fruit caipirinha was truly earned and well-deserved!
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