April 13, Terceira
In the morning, we drove to the northern and eastern parts of the island, first stopping in Praia da Vitória for a walking tour. We entered a market area and went into a small grocery store where we were served slices of local bananas and cheese. Along the way, Mafalda pointed out various Imperios: small chapels used for worship by members of the Cult of the Holy Spirit, a Catholic sub-culture mainly found in the Azores.
We next drove through the area of Lajes Field, what was once a thriving US air base but whose buildings are now largely abandoned, including apartment complexes that could help improve the local housing situation but remain empty.
Then it was on to meet with Tânia, who has been researching for years the "Missing children of the Azores", a "Controversial Topic" OAT likes to include in its tours. Quoting OAT, "Between the 1940s and 1970s, many children were separated from their parents when they were adopted by American soldiers serving on the island's base. During this period, many Azores families were suffering from extreme poverty, finding themselves unable to provide for their families - with the help of local authorities turning a blind eye, many families found an unofficial solution to their problems by giving away their children to American families looking to start a family back home." Documentation is scarce, but Tânia has been relentless at chasing leads (and fending off locals who would rather this not be brought to light.) We were shown a slideshow with pictures of documents and children who were "adopted out" in this fashion.
After that, we had lunch at a fascinating restaurant called Os Moinhos, where we had a traditional Terceira dish of beef cooked for hours in clay pots with onions, garlic, laurel, clove, pepper, and red wine.
We then visited Biscoitos, so named because the lava formations on the shore looked like biscuits.
Our last stop of the day was to a winery that grows their vines the "old fashioned" way: small patches surrounded by stone walls. We got to taste the wines, but none of them thrilled us.
On the bus back to Angra, Mafalda asked us if there was anything else we wanted to know about Terceira, to which some of us replied, "The name of a real estate agent!" While every place we visited had its own charms, we fell in love with Terceira.