Limpet Quest!

Grilled Limpets!

It's a beautiful Sunday here in Terceira. This is our sixteenth day here and for the most part we've had nice weather.  Sometimes it was a little cool, sometimes windy and sometimes rainy but nothing major.  However over the last 2-3 days the weather has really been on the upswing.  Today was nothing but blue skies, light winds and highs near 70.   A perfect day for a Limpet Quest!
Limpets are fancy name for sea snails.  I'm not much of a Limpetologist but I have learned they can only be found in a few areas around the world and the Azores happen to be a prime spot.  They can be found on the menu at any number of restaurants, especially those specializing in seafood.  We figured that if we were going to try them we'd go to a place that would most likely serve some of the freshest so we took off on foot.  Our destination was Breia Mar Restaurant in Sao Mateus, about a two and a half mile walk from the hotel.  We had enjoyed this waterfront restaurant the first Sunday we were on the island.  We saw Limpets on the menu then but were still getting adjusted so we opted for more standard items.
When we arrived the place was packed.  We enjoyed sitting along the harbor watching the fishing boats bringing in their daily haul of fish, crabs and maybe even some limpets until our table was ready. 
We got the small order of  grilled limpets as an appetizer to share. They arrived hot, having been grilled with plenty of butter and garlic and looking somewhat like mussels.  The verdict..............two thumbs up!  They were similar to a mussel or clam and every bit as good.  If you find yourself in a restaurant with limpets on the menu give them a try.  As for the even stranger menu item............barnacles.  Well you're on your own for that one!

Two thumbs up....the person with the other thumb was taking the picture



It can't get much fresher than just off the boat,  Breia Mar is on the far right of the picture



Along the seaside walk in Sao Mateus

She was one of about 10 people tying trotlines along the sea wall



 

How and Why

If you're wondering how we found this little slice of paradise in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean you don't know Beth.  I'm grateful everyday for such an incredible life partner.  One of her amazing gifts has always been the gift of a spirit of travel and adventure.  We honeymooned in Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, Wyoming 36 years ago.  This was a little unusual for two recent college graduates, but it set the stage for a life together where we've enjoyed making and collecting memories.  We drug Ben and Sarah all over the world.  Sometimes they went willingly and sometimes reluctantly but I think they both appreciate it now.
So the "how" started with Beth.  She is the planning mastermind behind these things.  My contributions when it comes to planning are extremely rare.  I think that sometimes she lets me think I found a good deal when really she's known about it for a while.  As far as the Azores go, it was something that she had seen on the website Travelzoo for a while.  If you're not familiar with this site and you have a desire to travel check it out.  Every week they post the "Top 20" deals weekly and there are usually some doozies.  A deal for the Azores through a company called Azores Getaways frequently made the list so it had been on our radar for quite a while.
https://www.travelzoo.com/
The "why" we finally booked it is simple. The price was unbelievable (it's much more expensive here in the summer) and it offered the peace and quiet we were seeking.  We were just finishing up one of the most memorable adventures of our lives, India and Nepal.  For as memorable as it was it was also physically and mentally exhausting.  We saw this deal while we were still in Dubai wrapping up the final piece of the India, Nepal and Dubai trip.  We booked it as soon as we knew the dates would work.
We've got a few more days left before we pack up.  Has it lived up to our expectations? Absolutely.  Would we do it again? We can't wait to come back!

She's enjoying the view, but I'll bet she's also planning!

The return of a legend!

College was a long time ago and getting further in the rearview mirror everyday.  My academic and social career were defined by mediocrity with one exception.  I think I did achieve legendary status in one area.  My ability to accumulate parking tickets.  Laziness, running late and a myriad of other excuses and I single handedly funded several full time University of Florida Police Officers positions.  The number of tickets I ended up with resulted in my car being towed and impounded one time.  Getting it out of jail wasn't cheap and I think that's when I started down the path to redemption.
My compliance with the law has been pretty good since then.
That being said, I'm proud to say that after all these years and now out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean I'm pleased to say that I am the proud owner of a parking ticket from the Azores!  I got it about 10 days ago when we had the rental car.  The fact I hadn't shared the news to the billions (okay, 10-15) of blog readers until now is my fault.
There is good news to report about my violation of Azorean Parking Rules.  My debt to the island was a whopping $4.32 US (3.50 euros).  We really laughed when we figured out the cost to park legally would have been $2.47 US (2 euros).  I'm keeping the ticket as a badge of honor and souvenir!

You gotta eat.............

As I've hinted in previous blogs, the food here on the island is exceptional in every way.  There are numerous cafes and restaurants, as well as markets within easy walking distance of the hotel.  There are even a couple of food trucks right across the street.  One of them makes a pretty nice pizza that we've enjoyed twice.  We have another week, but here's what we've found so far:
There are a nice variety of fruits readily available including citrus, bananas and strawberries, but when it comes to fruit the pineapple is king.  They are smaller in size than the ones you would typically find back in the US (slightly larger than a large grapefruit) and they are juicy and sweet.  The breakfast buffet here at the hotel has fresh pineapple every morning.  The pineapples are grown in the Azores, just not on the island of Terceira.  In addition to fresh cut delicious pineapple there are pineapple breads, pastries and jams that are all delicious.
http://www.azores-adventures.com/2014/01/azores-pineapples-unique-in-all-the-world.html
Homemade breads are offered up as a free appetizer or accompaniment with meals.  One of our favorite little outdoor cafes serves up a wickedly good Alcatra (pot roast) sandwich on what they call "Grandma's Fresh Local Bread".  We ate lunch there yesterday for the third time. We went in a different direction, ordering the grilled sausage (chorizo) that you grill yourself at the table on a small open flame clay pot cooker.  It was ridiculously good and as with all our meals, inexpensive.
Beef, cheese and ice cream make up the holy trinity of bovine offerings.  Clearly grass fed, happy cows make all of these products excellent.  Luckily because of their availability they are also inexpensive.  Hamburgers and steak sandwiches served on "fresh local bread" can be found everywhere for less than five dollars.   The Alcatra, which is also referred to as "The Traditional" is slow cooked in a red wine for several hours in a clay pot and can be found on numerous menus.  It's so good it would be tempting to order it everyday if there weren't so many delicious foods available for sampling.  Last night we indulged at a "high end" restaurant (something we usually don't do) where the total bill was less than $50.  In the US that meal at a similar restaurant would have been two or three times as much.
Being over 800 miles from any significant patch of land there are plenty of offerings from the sea as well.  These include the standard fare such as fish and shrimp but a few more exotic things for the more adventurous diner such as limpets (sea snails) and barnacles (yep, the crusty things that grow on docks and seawalls).   An order of limpets may find their way to our table before we leave next Thursday.   Barnacles.............we're not that adventurous!
As far as beverages go, soft drinks and water are readily available but they'll set you back more than beer or wine.
It's getting to be lunch time over here, gotta go for now! 

High tone for us, and well worth it! (Q.B. Restaurant)  Steak and Pork Loin for the main entrees.

Chorizo cooking on an open flame at O Internacional Cafe 



They're called Tremoco-it's a "bar snack".  Kind of like a peanut served in Olive Oil and Garlic..........very tasty

Hamburger and Fries at the Marina.  Easily big enough to share

 

Alcatra at Caneta

White Sangria

 

Sideways!

Sunday afternoon was nice and relaxing (what a surprise).  We roamed around the city center and spent an hour or so in the Angra do Heroismo Museum.  The museum which is located inside the former Convent of Sao Francisco was really quite spectacular.  At one point in time there were nine different convents on the island.  I'm not real well versed on Catholicism so I don't know how many nuns it takes to run a convent, but that seems like a bunch on nuns on a small island if you ask me.  
The museum was full of information and really nice exhibits covering the history of the islands.  It covered topics as far back as how the islands were formed and discovered and right up to the present time.  Entry into the museum will set you back two euros ($2.50 US) unless you go on Sunday when it's free!  If you ever find yourself here with a few hours to kill I would highly recommend a visit.  If you can go on a Sunday it's even better.  The money you save on the entrance fee will get you a nice brownie or slice of cheesecake at one of the numerous cafes.  
As the sun was setting the winds were starting to pick up signaling some bumpy weather was on the way.  This morning we woke up to about 25 mph winds and rain that was blowing sideways.  No worries!  Looking out on a stormy ocean can be even more entertaining than calm seas and sunny skies!  The winds continued to blow all day but the rain stopped just in time for us to get out for a late lunch at Adega Lusitania, which is a small restaurant just a short distance from the hotel.  We learned about it from a couple of travelers who were with us last week and it certainly lived up to it's billing.  I'm planning to do an entire blog on food one day.  As a preview I'll just say we've found it's really good, plentiful and inexpensive.  Today's lunch consisted of bread, fresh local cheese, olives, soup, salad, a huge pot of beef (Alcatra), potatoes,  desert and two glasses of wine for under $25!
http://adegalusitania.com/
We then took the city bus (30 cents) to the Praca de Toiros (bull fighting ring) which is located on the opposite side of town.  From there it was a casual couple of miles, of a mostly downhill stroll, back to the hotel.   I'm not sure how much of the lunch we burned off on the walk but I do know that neither of us are looking for another meal this evening!

Lunchtime!

Adega Lusitania Restaurant 

Entrance to the bull ring.  Like most places in Spain and Portugal the bulls are no longer killed in the bullfights which is something I'm sure they appreciate

Statue in the roundabout in front of the bull ring



A colorful building in the marina area

This morning from the balcony

A shot from the same balcony on a calm day!

.........."and you can't rule out the chance of a passing shower"

In Florida even on a sunny and cloudless day the weather people will often finish their forecast by saying "and you can't rule out the chance of a passing shower".  It's a good way of hedging their bets and often plays out to be true over the course of a day.  In Texas the common way to describe the weather was to say "if you don't like it, just wait five minutes and it will change".  Those words also tended to ring true more often than not.  Here in the Azores we've learned that to accurately describe the weather it's kind of a combination of both of those phrases.
Temperature wise there really isn't much variance year round.  The highs in the winter are in the mid-fifties and the highs in the summer are in the upper 70's.  Not bad at all!  At this time of year we're getting overnight lows in the upper 50's, which make it perfect for sleeping with the sliding glass door open.  All night long we can hear the constant roar of the ocean and the chirping of numerous types of birds including one that has an extremely bizarre mating call (at least we've been told by some of the staff it's a mating call).  The daytime highs are mostly in the middle 60's.  There is also a steady breeze coming off the ocean.  Very nice temperatures that seem pretty steady.  The one thing we have found to be true though is that even in this narrow range there are constant fluctuations, meaning you need to keep a light jacket with you at all times.  When the sun is out it's slightly warm, but when the sun tucks behind a cloud, which it frequently does, it's slightly chilly.  It's a constant mix of sun and clouds so we're wearing out the sleeves of our jackets putting them on and taking them off.  One other thing..........you can't rule out the chance of a passing shower.  They'll pop up and be gone before you can get your umbrella open.
Complaining?  Heck no!  Sleeping with the windows open and not breaking a sweat all day?  No complaint's here, besides as I've said before, you can't judge the day by the weather!

 The pictures are from strolling around yesterday.  

Although small, it's the largest beach in Angra Do Heroismo

Angra Do Heroismo

Just in case you were still wondering "wherethetuckaretheynow"

The total population of the nine islands that make up the Azores is just a little under 250,000.  Over half the population live on the island of San Miguel, while another 56,000 live on Terceira which is where we are staying.  The least populated island is Corvo which has less than 500 permanent residents.  Hopefully they all like each other and get along well together.  The largest city on Terceira is Angra Do Heroismo.  About 36,000 of the Terceiran's (not sure if it's a real word) call this capital city of the Azores home.
To describe the city I would use words like clean, orderly, friendly, laid back and extremely peaceful.  We've been here for over a week now and I don't honestly think I've heard a horn blowing or a loud noise other than school children happily playing on the playground.  If you're stressed or worn out from the hustle and bustle of life I've got a place for you.  If you're one of those unfortunate people who just can't relax and take it easy, you're head would probably explode after about a day here.
It's Friday evening and the sun has just set off the western shore.  Our day looked like this:
    Coffee on the balcony while listening to and watching the waves.
    Breakfast overlooking the cove between the hotel and Mount Brasil.
    Sitting poolside, reading and staring out to sea.
    Strolling slowly over to the Spanish Fort and City Park overlooking the marina.
    Reading a little more and staring up at the clouds.
    A late lunch at an outdoor table in a café at the marina.
    Visiting the very impressive Town Hall in the city center.
    Sitting in the public gardens watching families enjoying a sunny afternoon.
    Totally exhausted from all this activity, strolling slowly back to the hotel as the last light of day
    begins to fade away.
Who knows what wild and crazy adventures we're in store for tomorrow?
A little more about the city.  It's known as the Atlantic's first European city as it became part of the trade route across the ocean.  It's early design represented a change in construction away from the medieval fortress design to a city center and passageways that opened up to the sea.  For these reasons in 1983 UNESCO designated an area of approximately one square mile around the city center as a World Heritage City.  This area is easily identifiable by the cobblestone sidewalks and streets that have withstood the test of time and are still being used today. 
We do understand that during the summer months of June, July and August the pace does quicken around the island.  There are numerous festivals including the long standing tradition of the "running of the bulls".  Many of the shops around town sell video highlights from previous years events.  They are quite entertaining to watch.  Bulls that have been bred to be aggressive released on narrow streets crowded with testosterone filled young men who have been overserved alcohol.  What could possibly go wrong?
We've explored some of the historic buildings and sites that Angro Do Heroismo has to offer but there is plenty more exploring to do,,,,,,,,,,,we just don't want to overdue it!

Town Hall and City Square

The "General Assembly Room" in the Town Hall

 "Council Chambers"

Santissimo Salvador Church

City Park overlooking the marina




Did you notice a theme of no people in any of the pictures?  They weren't staged that way, just not a lot of folks here right now!