MOONSHINE AND BULLS - HOW TO FIND THE TOUR


                       The Bulls of Terceira

YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT YOU ALMOST DID TODAY !


You booked a “Moonshine” tour. A four hour tour! What on earth were you thinking? How do people do four hours of moonshine. Yea, I know you said you were told it would be educational and you believed it…..really? Alcohol can kill brain cells, how can THAT be educational.

So what did you learn in those four hours? What to talk about that?


Yes, We are going to talk about it. When the tour van arrived that usually holds 6 to 8 passengers, no one was in it except the driver. I was dreading the possibility that we might wind up driving around in a van full of tipsy foreign tourists speaking strange languages. He explained I was the ONLY reservation for the day and he does not cancel a tour if there is even one guest. His feeling is people have come a long way and the Azores should not disappoint them. Then he asked me what I would like to see. I told him "everything" and that Liqueurs was not on the top of my list. So for 5 hours I had a private tour and delightful guide. A private tour is usually far to expensive to book that is why I take the group tours that are at bargain prices.


 It was an amazing day. The Azores make wine and delicious liqueurs. Many really cool and tropical fruits do well in the Azores mild climate: pineapples, figs, passion fruit, bananas and wild blackberries. The Azores  liqueurs tend to be rather sweet and use aquardente. That is a Portuguese spirit distilled from wine as their base. 

I have tasted them before so it was ok to miss it this time.


When he asked me where I would like to go for lunch which was complimentary with the tour, I asked him to take me to his favorite not touristy place. A charming small cafe that is frequented by locals. Here they served authentic Azorean food. Bean soup, boiled pork hocks, fresh bread and the local wine. It was delicious and I saw parts of the island only accessible by jeep. 



The photo is of the Bulls of Terceira and is located in Angra do Heroismo .There is a story it commemorates.

A mixture of history and legend and it is hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. 


  When Spain decided it wanted to rule these islands the Portuguese people here were not very happy about it. On July 25, 1581 a Spanish squadron tried to conquer Terceira. It was composed of ten ships and 1,000 men who entered the Bay of Saiga and took the local residents by surprise.


 They resisted the attack and used what they had to fight the soldiers. A thousand bulls were herded to the beach at the bay and the Spaniards had to fight their way through the bulls to get to the people in the town. As a result only 50 Spaniards lived to return to the ships and a few dozen local brave men died. 


It was a humiliating defeat for the troops of King Philip II of Spain but a temporary one. Eventually they returned and conquered the island but not the people. Even as they burned the homes in surrounding villages the women would attack the soldiers with farm implements. Spain build an enormous fortress to rule the town of Angra do Heroismo. The fort is still there and is a massive stone structure. 


Our tour ended with a visit to Biscoitos, which means biscuit. It is on the northern side of the island. The basalt rocks from the volcano look different here. Like large lumpy black biscuits. These rocks from coves where sea water accumulates in shallow ponds. The city has build concrete ramps, showers, handrails, etc. You can swim or soak in the ponds. They are protected by the rocks from rip tides and waves. The large concrete ramps and stairs were built to make it easier to enjoy them. It is all free to visitors. 

Here are some photos taken there. 

















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