What Is That....and that.....and that ?

Every island is unique. You might think that because all nine Azorean Islands are in the same archipelago, have fishing villages, green pastures and living hedges of hydrangea they would be the same. There are differences in the way the homes are decorated, cultural variety in their food and heritage. 

Terceira has curious chimneys not found on any of the other islands. They are called mao-postas (Hands in Prayer). They look like an A-frame or wedge and on top they have a canopy made of bricks or tile. The design prevents the rain from entering. The early residents came from Southern Portugal -Alentejo & Algarve region and you will see these unique chimneys there as well. 

You can see the difference in many of the rural homes.There will be colored edgings around the doors , windows and corners of the exteriors. Against the white walls painted with lime it is striking.

Each home will have a small garden and you may see maize hanging in tree branches drying. The more prosperous households have a “Burra de Milo”( Donkey for Maize)

Where the ears of maize (corn) will form a large triangle as they dry. Under the corn is a wood framework and elevating the corn to dry will protect it from rodents. At least that is what they tell me. Now the mice/rats we have in the U.S. seem to know how to climb a little but fortunately in the Azores they are more timid.

 

This afternoon we took a tour that ended with a luncheon in a typical Azorean backyard. It was the tour guides yard and his wife prepared a light lunch to accompany the included wine tasting. 

When you live on an island with limited economic opportunities you have to make your own job. This family used to have a computer shop that they closed after operating it for three years. As more and more people began purchasing computers via the internet it became difficult to compete. Then Covid hit and everything closed down. Victor and his wife used the extra time to do some home remodeling and landscape their backyard for entertaining. He prepared to provide tours to visitors and one of them is the Backyard Wine Tasting. 

His van will hold eight people easily and when he picked me up I was the only guest. Nevertheless he provided an educational 3 hour tour and 2 hour luncheon at him home. The table was prepared as if he had a full van and I can only imagine the time it took his wife to prepare the delicious fancy appetizers. 

Victor now has 5 different tour options and the newest one is especially for families. It is a rural farm tour and the children learn to milk a cow. You may notice in the photo of his backyard there is a cow. She is a family pet (ha ha) and not real. The children are introduced to the size and features of the cow before they approach a real one. I think Victor missed his calling. He would have made an excellent teacher. One of the most informative tours I have ever taken. His hobby is history and he weaves it into all of his narrative.