The Biologist traveled to Portugal this month for a business meeting in the Azores. She was fortunate enough to squeeze in a little time for sightseeing and waymarking. Yea!
Day 1: The Biologist's flight left Jacksonville in the early afternoon. The first leg of her journey took her to Newark Airport in New Jersey, where she had a 4 1/2 hour layover. Yikes! She wandered through the International Terminal and found a few
3 Dimensional Art waymarks. Nothing overly exciting, but it was something to do to pass the time. Then a few of the other meeting attendees arrived and she spent the rest of the layover chatting with them and getting some Euros at the currency exchange booth.
Day 2: We arrived in Lisbon and only had 1 hour and 20 minutes to make it through the Passport and Security Checks and then take a bus to transfer to the Domestic Terminal. Wow, that was an adventure all on its own. Thankfully some very nice staff helped us and we made our connecting flight with moments to spare. The flight to the Azores actually involved us flying for 2 hours back over the same airspace we had just traveled through. Yes, we had to travel back toward the United States to get to the Azores. Anyway, we landed at the
Horta Airport on Faial Island a little before noon and our hosts were there waiting for us.
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| Peter Cafe Sport |
After checking in to the Hotel do Canal, a
Recommended Accommodation, we went out to grab a bite to eat. While waiting for everyone to meet in the lobby, the Biologist ran down the street for a block to check out the Peter Cafe Sport bar and restaurant, a
Bifana's House! We would have eaten there, but it wasn't open yet.
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| Caldeira do Faial |
After a quick lunch, our hosts took us on a nice tour of some of the beautiful sites around Horta. Our first stop was the Caldeira do Faial, a great place to do some
Volcano Watching and learn about it on the
You Are Here Map at the site. There was also a
Hiking and Walking Trailhead here for the 10 Volcanos Trail, a
Long Distance Hiking Trail that ends at the Capelinhos Volcano.
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| Flemish Windmill |
After enjoying the spectacular view, we made our way down the volcano and stop to check out two historic
Windmills that were built by Flemish colonists hundreds of years ago. Then onto the Miradouro de Nossa Senhora da Conceição where we stood in the shadow of a very tall
Christian Cross located above the town of Horta. While there, we looked through the
Coin-op Binoculars at the Horta Harbor and Pico Island across the way.
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| Portugal Geodetic Monument |
On our way down the hill to Horta, the Biologist spotted something interesting looking and asked if it would be possible to pull over. It was a
Portugal Geodetic Point, which also qualified under the
European Historic Survey Stones, Monuments and Benchmarks category! Woo hoo! The rest of the group thought the Biologist was odd for wanting to take photos of this rather plain structure, but they were game and three of them even walked out to the point with her. What a great group of people!
Day 3: Today we had a full day to recover from jet lag and explore the island. But who wants to sleep when you only have a little free time to explore a beautiful island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?!!! So five of us wandered down the street from our hotel to a vehicle rental agency. We tried to get a van, but they only had a compact car. Oh well, what's a little discomfort when you have a chance to do some exploring? We squeezed in the car and headed west and made a few stops along the coast to check out anything that caught our eyes. Before long we arrived in Varadoura where we spotted another
Portugal Geodetic Point and
European Survey Monument, as well as a lovely natural tidal pool that is a popular
Swimming Hole.
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| Capelinhos Lighthouse |
Back in the Peugeot, we next made our way to the Capelinhos Volcano to do a little more
Volcano Watching, this time from the top of a historic
Lighthouse located there. The lighthouse had been swamped by volcanic ash in a volcanic eruption in 1957. We went inside the
Nature Center for the volcano, surprised to discover it was an
Earth Home!
By now it was getting late and we needed to get the rental car back before the office closed for the day. After returning the car, the Biologist departed from the group and made her way to the nearby Horta Harbor to find her first geocache in Portugal. It was a virtual cache and the coords took her to
the pier and seawalls in the harbor and marina that are covered with small murals that are the "calling cards" of visiting yachts. She ran into one of the other meeting participants that she'd met for the first time the night before and they found the virtual cache location together. After taking down the necessary information, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner.
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| Igreja Nossa Senhora das Angústias |
Days 4-6: Time to work. We met in the Whale Museum, a
History Museum located in the former local whale factory in Horta. It was pretty much nose to the grindstone for the first two days of the meeting, but the meeting ended at around 1:30pm on the third day so the Biologist ran back to the hotel and grabbed her GPSr and camera and started wandering around the streets of Horta. Her first stop was at the Igreja Nossa Senhora das Angústias, a 17th century church of
Baroque Architecture located on Rua
Vasco da Gama, a street named after the famous Portuguese explorer.
This Old Church is a beautiful
Roman Catholic Church with an old baptismal font, a
Church Stone Artifact. In addition, there was a plaque in the church courtyard that offered a
Commercial Commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Philharmonic Society "Union Faialense".
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| Igreja Matriz São Salvador in Horta |
There were a couple of other beautiful historic
Baroque Roman Catholic Churches in town and the Biologist greatly enjoyed checking out
These Old Churches. On the walk back toward the hotel, she passed a statue of Duque D'Avila, a
Statue of a Historic Figure of a Portuguese politician, as well as a statue of Bishop Alexander, the 25th bishop of the Diocese of Angra. This
Statue of a Religious Figure and
Historic Figure was also a
Dead Poet's Society Memorial. Yes, this respected clergyman was also a poet of merit. After passing a
Community Commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the autonomy of the Archipelago of the Azores, the Biologist had planned to go back to her hotel for some rest, but couldn't resist doing a little more wandering instead. After all, it wasn't dark yet and there were waymarks to be found!
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| Gate of Porto Pim |
Next stop was the historic Gate of Porto Pim (the old harbor gate) and the small Forte de São Sebastião (a
Historic Fort), which are the only remaining 17th century fortifications that once protected what was Horta's main harbor until 1878.
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| Forte de São Sebastião |
Day 7: This morning the Biologist and the rest of the meeting attendees that don't live on Faial Island boarded the morning plane to Lisbon. Several of us that were heading back to the USA had to stopover in Lisbon because the next flight home wasn't until the following morning. After checking into our hotel in Lisbon, five of us decided to explore the city. We hopped on Lisbon's
Underground subway at the Campo Grande station, which is actually an above ground station. We made our way to the historic Alfama district where we headed down to the Tagus River. We ended up at Commerce Square (Praça do Comércio), which is the home of an
Equestrian Statue of a Historic Figure, King José I, a
Monarch of the World. It is also the site of an
Infamous Crime Scene where the assassinations of King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Luis Filipe, the Prince Royal, occurred in 1908.
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| Casa Dos Bicos |
We continued wandering around this area and soon spotted the Casa Dos Bicos (also known as the Spiky Mansion, House of Points, and House of Diamonds), which has a curious and interesting façade of
Renaissance Architecture influence. Next we came across the Lisbon
Cathedral, which is a
Medieval Church dating back to 1147. This
Old Roman Catholic Church had it all, including a
Doorway of the World, two
Bell Towers, at least four
Gargoyles, a
Town Clock, and a lovely
Stained Glass Window over the entrance. After a quick stop at the
Castle San Jorge at 20 minutes before it closed, we looked around for a place to eat then called it a night and hopped back on the subway to head back to our hotel.
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| Belém Tower |
Day 8: While the others in the group headed to the airport bright and early this morning, the Biologist remained to enjoy a weekend layover in Lisbon. First thing on the agenda today was a 1/2-day organized tour of Lisbon. The first stop was the Belém Tower or Torre de Belém, which was constructed in the 16th century and is considered one of the main works of the Portuguese late
Gothic, Manueline
Architecture style. This
Historic Fort also had two
Rotary International Plaques and Monuments on site; one of them was a miniature
Exact Replica of the Belém Tower.
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| Tomb of Vasco da Gama |
Next we headed to the National Coach Museum, which is both a
History and Oddball Museum that has the largest collection of magnificent royal coaches in the world. The museum is located next to the Belém Palace. This Palace or
Castle has
Baroque Architecture and is the official residence of the President of Portugal. Our next stop was the Jerónimos
Monastery and Church of Santa Maria of Belem.
This Old Roman Catholic Church had beautifully detailed
Stained Glass Windows and an old Baptismal Font, an excellent example of a
Stone Church Artifact. The tomb of
Vasco da Gama is located in Monastery, which is built on the site of the former Ermida do Restelo, a hermitage that was founded by Henry the Navigator circa 1450. Vasco da Gama and his men spent the night in prayer at the former hermitage before departing for India in 1497. The tomb of Luís de Camões, one of the greatest Portuguese poets and author of the maritime epic Os Lusíadas, an account of the exploits of the Portuguese navigators, particularly of Vasco da Gama. This
Dead Poets' Society Memorial was sculpted by the 19th century sculptor Costa Mota in a neo-Manueline style. The tour ended in the historic Alfama area, where the Biologist caught the subway back to her hotel and made arrangements for her afternoon adventure.
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| Anta de Casaínhos |
The hotel arranged for a taxi with an English-speaking driver to take her to the small town of Casainhos, whose claim to fame is the Anta de Casaínhos, a
Megalithic Monument made of limestone. This funerary monument was classified as a National Monument in 1977 and consists of a few stones in a poor state of repair. The megalith was not easy to find and the taxi driver was extremely kind and asked several people in town how to get to it. He even walked down the path with her to find it and took a picture of her with it. What a nice man! He took a few photos of the megalith as well, as he'd never heard of it and undoubtedly wanted to show his friends and family what the crazy American paid good money to go see!
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| Astronomical Observatory |
Day 9: Today was a day for wandering and exploring. The Biologist found and admired several
Statues of Historic Figures,
Monarchs of the World, and/or
Dead Poets' Society Memorials. She also visited a few more subway stations of the Lisbon
Underground and eventually ended up at the Jardim Botânico da Universidade de Lisboa, a lovely
Botanical Garden in the Rato District of Lisbon. After passing by the
Astronomical Observatory on the way into the garden, she quickly spotted a couple of
Sequoioideae Trees from the US Pacific Northwest. Not long after that she came across the Lagartagis, a
Butterfly House in the garden. What a lovely, peaceful place to come and escape the hubbub of Lisbon! With aching feet and calves, the Biologist headed back to the hotel to post a few waymarks and pack up her things.
Day 10: Today it was time to say Adeus to Portugal. What a wonderful place to visit.
Muito obrigada Portugal!
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