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Rolando Andrade's avatar

The beautiful Azores. I am from Portugal, so I travelled to Azores , specially to São Miguel Island. I've been to all the places you talk about in this newsletter. Have you tried "Queijadas da Graciosa", a tradicional cake or Fig jam?

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Nancy Whiteman's avatar

We enjoyed the Quijades and brought back two boxes. One for ourselves and another for a neighbor who was born in Furnas.

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Laura | Sunhats and Chardonnay's avatar

What a wonderful recount of Sao Miguel. I was there in 2022. I did pretty much the same itinerary. It was also cloudy but so peaceful. I can also vouch for the Louve Michaelense restaurant. It was wonderful for dinner but also great during the day for coffee or a light lunch.

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Douglas's avatar

We visited Terceira a few years ago and really enjoyed it. The Azores are a great value vacation. Sometime soon we want to visit São Miguel and appreciate the restaurant tip!

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Edmund's avatar

My wife and I did a similar trip 2 years ago and loved it. With so many islands to explore, we'll be back!

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Nancy Wagner's avatar

I visited Sao Miguel for a few days a couple of years ago and loved it! I especially liked Furnas and that area, and seeing so much green while driving. I'm glad you and Denise made a visit there.

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Angela Knight's avatar

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a lovely trip. I’m looking forward to reading about the rest. I haven’t been yet, but it’s on my list!!

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Simone's avatar

The Azores look like heaven on earth - I am looking forward to doing that trip one day. FYI in response to your comment regarding your president - 99% of what Trump said about the farmers and South Africa is true. I was born in SA and still live here. Perhaps mass murder instead of genocide would have been more grammatically correct. The video clip of the crosses wasn't burial sites, but a staged protest in relation to a high number of farm murders. Each white cross on the road represented the murder of a person, or a family. Most of the people here, irrespective of colour, were utterly thrilled about the sequence of events in the Oval Office. This is because a small number of ANC elites have hijacked the entire country, with no care for the utter poverty this has caused to their own people. It's absolutely heart breaking to watch. And since our president is one of the small group of extremely rich elites (think Mugabe) whose corruption knows no bounds, most of the country feel he got everything he deserved! We cannot wait for round 2, and we pray for targeted sanctions on the ANC elites every day. Particularly Julius Malema who has a significant following in South Africa and has normalised the song "Kill the farmers" for over 30 years while our president has colluded. In our neighbouring country, Zimbabwe, where the farmers were in fact killed and their land seized, it should not be lawful that a party with 9.8% of the national vote is allowed to behave in this manner and take no responsibility for the farmer deaths that occur daily.

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Nancy Whiteman's avatar

It is hard to believe anything that comes out of the mouth of Trump and as you suggest much of what he said was not accurate. We have S African friends living in Portugal who immigrated because of the violence in the country. Yes it is tragic…but I doubt Trump really cares. If a deal can be made to enrich his family he will overlook any atrocities.

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Juli Robertson's avatar

I totally agree. Another Saffa that left South Africa to find safety in Portugal. At least Trump was the only other world leader to put the spotlight on South Africa's farm murders problem. Journalists don't really cover it as it does not suit their agenda. The situation for white farmers is dire in South Africa. The Government say that the chant/song "Kill the Boer, kill the farmer" does not incite murder or violence - he should visit the aftermath of a farm murder where the words "Kill the Boer, kill the Farmer" were written using the deceased's blood.

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Simone's avatar

Yup, that sounds about right. I understand the farm killings are especially brutal, such as drilling holes in victim's knee caps or boiling them in water, or peeling their skin. And there's a slang term the police use for the government contractors who are the clean up teams after one of these events: in Afrikaans called "bloed sussies". Meaning the "blood sisters" (obviously female cleaning teams).

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Teresa Hill's avatar

Please come visit us on Terceira and stay at our Angra house :)

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Nancy Whiteman's avatar

we'll keep that in mind! please email me (ncwhiteman@gmail.com) with details.

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Juli Robertson's avatar

I would love to visit the Azores one day! It looks idyllic and I think the weather would suit me. I am sorry to say but I would have skipped that meal from the pot in the ground too. It did not look appetizing. After visiting there you have to watch the movie Rabo de Peixe (A Fish Tale), which is based on a true story. You will love it.

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Velma Hines's avatar

So very exciting!

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Sunny Megatron's avatar

São Miguel, my (newish) home! ❤️ Originally from Chicago & moved to Açores a couple years ago. Paradise!

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Barbara Grassey's avatar

So funny. Every time you said, "We didn't try that" I was thinking to myself, "Um, don't think I'd do that..." Really enjoyed this. Thanks!

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Nancy Whiteman's avatar

Thanks…just trying to be transparent.

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Butch Heilig's avatar

Saw a YT video done by a German guy who went to the much less visited outer/smaller islands. Definitely high on my list.

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Nancy Whiteman's avatar

Absolutely...we hope to take another trip this year to Terceira and visit its neighboring islands!

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