Making Our Last Days Count

June 22-25, 2013
On the last Saturday here, the tour was unfortunately cancelled (because Joao didn't want to pay for it.) However, four of us (Trent, Michelle, Kash, and I) (who weren't hungover) decided we still wanted to go on the trip, so we paid Danny 4 euros to take us! Getting in Danny's van was an adventure alone because it was a billion degrees. I attempted opening the window, but didn't quite have the muscle for it (pathetic.) Michelle fiddled with the radio and finally got it to work! Like most of Europe, they listen to American music here. However, they listen to covers of American songs! It's so weird hearing these versions of them (i.e. Impossible sung by a guy instead of Shontelle.) Also, can you believe there is not a single movie theater on this island?

The tour began with us going to the last, real working blacksmith on Sao Miguel. Walking into his shop, I immediately started picturing myself in the 1800s. I've seen blacksmiths before, but they've always been in historic towns in the US where they re-enact them. This was the REAL DEAL. The place looked like it was thousands of years old and could have used a serious dusting and some windows. It was run by one man, and he makes horseshoes and some metal wheels for wagons. One horseshoe goes for 40 euros. He would put the metal into the fire and then bend it into the proper shape using a hammer. It was freaking sweet. Though, I cannot imagine doing this for a lifetime... or even an hour. He started working when he was 12, and there are old pictures in the back of the place from years ago. There's one picture that looks like a woman got burned by the metal. However, it's actually the oil from flour kernels that was put on her back. Apparently, in the olden days, when someone had a skin infection, they would go to the blacksmith who would burn the flour kernels and put the healing oil onto their skin. In fact, the blacksmith gave us a demonstration, and we put the oil on our skin. Unfortunately, the oil has permanently stained by blister this gross brown (today is July 1st).

Still red from the fire

We then moved to the next part of the tour: Lagoa. Lagoa is a beautiful town in Sao Miguel with the most beautiful, ornate, but not overdone houses. The houses all have these lovely, colorful flowers in front of them. There is also this preserved area with part of the ocean you can swim in. It's all of these little nooks around rocks. I jumped off of the high diving board into it! There is also an artificial pool for the wimps who don't like going in the real sea water. (None of us were wimps.) The water, however, was absolutely frigid. Trent brought some goggles so we could explore underwater. I think I was the only one who didn't see any fish.  There was also this area that was called "The Blowhole of the Whale" or something like that. The water from the waves would come in, but the pressure would be too high, so it would explode out as if coming out of a whale's blowhole (if that's even what it's called.)

The Blowhole of the Whale

It's not the best angle, but the white board is the
high diving board!

Our last stop on the tour was to the only restaurant on the island that still sells the shellfish called "the fish of the ear."Surprisingly, they're called this because they're shaped like an ear. Have you ever had shellfish before? Multiply the tase by two thousand and the grittiness by four. This might have been the single grossest thing I ever ate. But, my golly, I ate three (because I felt bad.) Check these out:

He's thoroughly enjoying these

Mmm... delectable

Oh, and I also ate the little guy out of the
conch shell

Bon Appetit  

There was another tour on Sunday that I was super, super pumped about that I RSVPd to, however, there wasn't enough room in the vans, so I was kicked off the van because I'm session 2. I was pissed. It was understandable why I had to go, but that shouldn't happen to anyone because Joao should pay for proper busses. I took the day to pack, finish reading the 3rd book in the Girl with the Dragin Tattoo series, and be productive. 

Monday night was pretty much all of the session 1 students' last night in town. During the evening, we had some coffee and pastries with the Base5 students to say goodbye. (The Azores have the BEST pastries. They also have one of the highest diabetes rates! Figures!) I also had dinner with the session 2 kids who flew in that night, and Joao stood Kash and I up for an hour and changed restaurants on us. He's so inconsiderate. Then, at the dinner table, all he does is talk on the phone and go on his laptop computer. Who whips out a laptop at dinner? But, the session 2 kids were awesome and it was exciting to meet them! I wanted to hang out with the session 1 kids on their last night, and ee were all supposed to go out to the beach, but somehow that never happened. When they left the next day, I was actually miserable and heart-broken. I moped in bed for a good hour. I really loved those guys. Their empty dorms were depressing, and I saw memories of them lingering everywhere through Ponta Delgada. But it wasn't a goodbye, just a see ya later! (Especially since most of them go to UNC). I was excited for what was in store for session 2!

Sadly waving goodbye to those on the busses leaving