Since I arrived, my grandmother has not been feeling well, which is rather unusual for her despite her 84 years. My mother finally convinced her to go to the hospital on Sunday night and it turns out that she had a mild heart attack the day before I arrived (the 16th). She’s doing alright, but is currently in the hospital for observation. To coincide with this information, the weather has been dreadful. I can hear the wind ripping around the house and it’s been raining on and off for the last few days.
Before the weather turned, however, I did get to go for another drive around the island with my parents and their friends. We stopped at a couple view points before heading down to the beach at Porto Formoso. The old folks had coffee at The Mill café while I went barefoot into the black sand, picking up pumice stones and seeing how close I would venture to a cave on the far end. I crossed a stream where ducks were swimming, walked past sunbathers lying among the large basalt rocks, and turned a corner where a group of people were setting up tents and preparing a fire on the beach. I approached the cave, but didn’t dare go in since the sand there was wet and the tide appeared to be coming in.
After stopping at another two view points, one of which looked down into the caldera of the Furnas (the hot springs) and the Furnas Lake, we went down to the springs themselves where we bought pão levado (a sweet bread that’s only available in this village) and took at look at the water and mud bubbling in the ground and along two streams. My parents’ friends told us about a man who committed suicide by throwing himself into the largest spring. When they removed his body, all that was left were bones. They must have exaggerated to some extent, but it’s not entirely impossible as people cook in the springs where special holes have been built in the ground. Well wrapped pots of meat and vegetables are left in for approximately seven hours, making for a tasty and unique culinary experience.
The waters from the hot springs are said to have immense health benefits. People come to the village to collect water that freely pours from pipes, each with a distinct taste. I tried six, each seeming like its own brand of soda water.
Today I went to Ponta Delgada, the biggest city on the island and the capital of the Azores. I was disappointed with the existence of the brand new mall housing stores common in North America such as Burger King and Zara. It’s novel to the Azoreans, however, so I suspect it will thrive.
In the centre of the city, my mother and I went searching for a trinket for my grandmother. The ethnic diversity on the island is small, with the great majority of people being of European descent, but the Asian population seems to be growing since my last visit (we went into four stores run by Asian people –– nothing compared to my hometown of Vancouver, but astounding for the island, especially compared to my first few visits fifteen years ago, when everyone was white). I also saw a South Asian couple and was so astounded that I pointed them out to my mom!
Hopefully my grandmother’s health will improve and the weather will shift soon. Until then I’ll look forward to the tours of the tea plantations and the geothermal plant while continuing in my attempt to convince my mom to visit either Santa Maria or Terceira so I can get a taste of what life on the other islands is like.
