Yesterday we said good bye to some new friends that we met along this journey. They were with us on our slightly delayed (28 hours) flight to the island and through our first week. They were all seasoned travelers who took the delay in stride even though they only had one week of time scheduled. Also staying at the hotel are a group of US Marines who are here doing some training. There used to be a US Military base on the island but it was closed by a former president who wanted to downsize our military. I don't know all the politics involved but strategically having a base out here seemed to make sense for rapid deployment and supplies. Enough on politics, hopefully we can all at least agree that these young men and women deserve our thanks and support. One young man I was visiting with this morning shared with me that they are based out of South Carolina and that they were supposed to leave a few days ago but their departure has been delayed. Maybe they're flying Azores Airways as well? He smiled and agreed when I commented that there are sure a lot of worse places in the world they could be stuck.
So now for a little about the island's history. When the island was first settled remains somewhat of a mystery although there are indications of life on the island for more than 2000 years. There are nautical charts dating back to the 13th century indicating a group of islands that would later become the Azores as well as the Canary Islands. The colonization of the island began in 1450 and continued through the 15th century as the island became a very important and busy port where slave and merchant ships would frequently stop to replenish supplies.
In later centuries there was some dispute as to who controlled the islands. It mainly involved the Spanish and Portuguese although the English and French got into the fray a bit. As I am writing this I am looking out to Monte Brasil and the remnants of the largest Spanish fort ever build outside of the mainland of Spain. Interestingly all the cannon positions are facing inland. The intent was to keep the Portuguese on the rest of the island in check and not worry about who might be attacking from sea. Eventually sovereignty to Portugal was declared by John IV (who ironically was from Portugal) and the Spanish abandoned the island. By all accounts that I've seen the 18th and 19th centuries were quite undramatic although the island continued to prosper. Beef and dairy products are the main source of farm related income although fruits and vegetables seem to be abundant and inexpensive. The island has two major shipping ports, one modern airport and excellent roads around and across it.
One recent event that occurred on the island happened in 2003. President Bush (W), Prime Minister Tony Blair (UK), Spanish Prime Minister Aznar and Prime Minister of Portugal Barroso met on Terceira to discuss the Invasion of Iraq, which began four days later, on March 20.
That's enough history for one day. More on the capital city of Angra do Heroismo which also happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site in future blogs.
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| A pretty good place to blog |
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| Sunset from Monte Brasil |
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| A sign on the hotel wall. Do's and Don't...........there are a bunch of them and some are quite confusing |
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| Pretty good place to have sutures removed...........thanks Sue! |
