Still

Reading and hanging out

I just finished Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (loved it) and now I'm starting The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway. Hemingway kills me- his characters are so messy and beautiful, just like real life. And his style, so sparse and penetrating. Reminds me of Vonnegut.

This rocky beach was a good place to read while Sena and Ed went snorkeling and Aiyana did her own thing.

A quote from Brave New World:

"...back into the present, back into reality; the appalling present, the awful reality - but sublime, but significant, but desperately important..."

Today Ed, Sena and Aiyana went on a whale watch. We all went yesterday but we didn't see any whales, so they got to go again for free. I decided not to go because I felt nauseous yesterday due to the boat ride being choppy, and that was no fun for anyone. Instead, I'm hanging out by myself for a couple of hours, in Ponta Delgado, and I am happy to be here. I actually ended up finding a really nice cafe, and I got my book with me, so I am content to stay here, watch people and read. 

Here are Ed, Sena and Aiyana getting on the boat this morning.

And this is the cafe I found, where I am writing this from. Isn't it cute?



Peace 

Furnas and Maia

Furnas: They say that here you can see the earth breathe. That is some very hot water heated by geological activity near the surface. People made holes in the ground where they lower big cauldrons and cook food right there.

Near the village where we are staying 

I love the stone houses, and there are plenty of them here 



Maia: hiking along the ocean 

Hold on

Hiking Pico do Vara

7km round trip, took us about 3 hours, and that included frequent picture stops as you can see. I love mountains.

The weather changes so quickly here. One minute it's rain, then sun, and that means you get a lot of rainbows. 



Reached the peak.

Sky high 

Can you see Sena and Aiyana in the distance?



On our way back to the house we're staying...

I want to know the Earth

That's what I thought on the plane ride here, that one thing I want in life is to know the earth. 

This place we came to, the Azores, is definitely giving me so much of what I asked. Just when I think that there is no way it can get more beautiful, it does. I am filled by this beauty and am so grateful to experience it and I want to give it especially to those who are suffering physically or mentally or having a hard time in any way. May you feel lighter, clearer, and may your heart be lifted. May you find what you need.

The first three pictures are from the house we're staying at, in the little village of Pedreira. The rest are a few km away in Nordeste.

First time I see such a huge rainbow and going straight into the ocean. Isn't that insane?

Ps. please let me know if the picture size starts looking messed up again.

Sky high kick around the world

Ed took this picture of Sena doing a roundhouse kick this morning in Nordeste, Azores.

Furnas hot springs

The water was 25C, and so soothing. The rust color is from high iron content.

Found a good Chinese restaurant right by the springs too.

And from the cave we visited earlier today, I didn't mean to post just those few lines but I'm still messing up with the app I'm using....

Gruta do Carvao

Visited a volcanic cave today. It was a good day to be inside, since it was pouring rain outside. 

Ponta Delgado and Mosteiros

Ponta Delgado waterfront 
Mosteiros area

These views....




Food situation is still kind of sad. Everything seems over processed, over cooked, too salty (this coming from a salt lover), etc. There are dairy cows everywhere, which is very scenic, and dairy production is huge on the island, yet you cannot buy fresh milk at the local stores. The only milk sold is ultra pasteurized, the kind that you don't even have to refrigerate and has an insanely long shelf life because it has been processed so heavily. I'm a little disappointed because for me, a significant part of why I travel is for the food. I'm not a picky eater, I love trying new things, and I love eating whatever the locals are eating when I go somewhere.

But maybe we just haven't found the right places to eat yet, so we'll keep looking. And anyway, even if the food doesn't improve, the scenery more than makes up for it, so it's fine. 

East coast of Sao Miguel, Azores

Ferrarias

Sete Cidades





Sorry about the size of the pictures, I am using an app and don't know how to make it so you can magnify them. I did try to make it so they post a little larger than before. Let me know how they look.