Here is the update the world has been waiting on the edge of its seat for! The Azores Islands!!!!! I am going to stay true to the bullet point trip log form because it’s more fun to write this way and I’m less likely to ramble on about like the wind for five paragraphs :) Also, before I let the bullets flow, let me just say that it is AMAZING here and I love it so much and I so see myself living here and I am so inspired and renewed and joyous every time I look outside and Chris and Pavel and Stephanie YOU ARE THE BEST. Fyi, it is Day 2 right now (oop, now its Day 3) but I am starting this log on Thursday because Thursday was a fun day and I want to write about it and I didn’t sleep that night so my Friday was basically my Thursday too!

Thursday, April 14th

  • 9:00 Wake up
  • 9:35 Leave the house
  • 9:41 Metro –> Get off at Povenca
  • 9:51 Walk to Learnlife. Do internship! Second-to-last-day. Had no idea I was supposed to be leading Adri’s Math for Science and Business until I walked in two minutes before class started…
  • 5:00 Bye Learnlife! Walk over to Parc de la Ciutadella. Stop to buy chocolates and olive oil for my Azores hosts. Speeeeeedwalk for real
  • 5:45 Arrive at Ciutadella 15 minutes late. This was a program activity and it was really fun! We walked around, had a little picnic in the park, rented rowboats and had an aesthetic paddle around the pond, and then Natalie, Ari, and I got Acai and a Golfeado from a place nearby.
  • 8:00 Last Cristina dinner for a while! We had gnocchi, spring rolls, bread, salad, and a kiwi. Then Natalie and I had our usual post dinner hallway talk
  • 9:30 Look at my homework. (Not me having two final assignments due before midnight and not having started EITHER ONE)
  • 10:30 Shower
  • 11:00 Chill
  • 11:20 Start Photo Project Assignment, which is actually way less work than I was expecting THANK GOODNESS. Also say my goodbyes to Natalie :(

(We switch over to Friday, April 15th)

  • 12:25 I was a little late to submit the photo project assignment, but not too bad (Well… maybe a bit bad because it was a group project)!
  • 12:30 Packing stage 1: Set everything out on my bed
  • 1:00 Brush teeth, pajamas. Then cozy up and work on my Psych Written Final for a bit. I was so tired and all I wanted to do was stay in my bed and go to sleep…
  • 2:00 Pajamas back off, packing stage 2: Put things in my backpack. I packed incredibly strategically to be able to fit: 5 days of clothes, girl scout cookies, host gifts, an umbrella, a cinnamon roll, my school stuff, and all my other random stuff
  • 2:35 Walk out of the house and completely miss the bus I was going to take.
  • 3:07 Wait a reeeaaally long time at the bus stop for the next bus that Google Maps was really not sure was even going to come. But it did!
  • 3:35 Changed to the N17 Airport bus. My timing was so perfect
  • 4:05 Arrive at the airport. Go through security, find my gate, work on my assignment more, blah blah blah.
  • 5:30 Board the plane
  • 6:00 Take off! I had the window seat and actually slept pretty well.
  • 7:20 Land in Lisbon. Had to wait almost a half hour for the jet bridge.
  • 7:30 Find my next gate, eat my cinnamon roll, board the plane
  • 8:15 Take off! Had the window seat again and slept even better this time!
  • 9:45 Land in the Azores! Specifically, at the Ponta Delgada airport on the São Miguel Island (largest of the 9 island archipelago).
  • 10:15 Chris, Pavel, and Faith graciously pick me up at the airport. Faith and I scream and are reunited. It’s a beautiful moment :)
  • 10:30 We drive into Ponta Delgada and I get to know my new local heroes a bit better. Chris is from the U.S. and Pavel is from Bulgaria and they met when Chris was in Bulgaria and fell in love and moved to the Azores. They got married and have been living here happily ever after for 2 years with Chris’s sister Stephanie. They renovate old ruins into modern homes for a living on the island. Chris is one of those people that you immediately like: easy going, funny uncle vibes, can make a story out of virtually anything, and Pavel is very sweet and funny as well. As far as how I got so lucky to meet- and stay with- these lovely people, it is thanks to Faith’s mom. Before the Azores, Chris lived in Minnesota for 20 years and met Faith’s mom and dad working at the Stages Theater Company. When Faith’s mom told him that her daughter was studying in London for the year, he said he would be happy to have her visit the islands and bring a friend! And boom, that was me!
  • 11:00 Welcome breakfast at a local café in the capital (Ponta Delgada). Chris and Pavel knew everyone in the cafe- of course- and had lots of entertaining stories to tell Faith and I. We all got bacon, eggs, and toast, and it was actually really satisfying.
  • 12:30 Chris and Pavel head off and Faith and I, armored with loads of tips and recommendations from them, headed off to explore the capital.
  • 1:00 Walk along the harbor. Examine a giant cruise ship and a really beautiful golden church.
  • 2:00 Walk up this really old tower that feels like its going to crumble underneath our feet and enjoy the view from the top.
  • 2:30 Buy apples and water from a local grocery store. Figure out what to do next, then ATM stop.
  • 3:00 Military museum! We kept stumbling across new exhibits and passageways just after we thought we’d explored it all. Personally the underground tunnels were the coolest part, but there were also some pretty nice views from the roof.
  • 4:30 Walk over to the Botanical Gardens and we are blown away! We thought we were entering a nice city park. But no. We were stepping into an enchanted jungle world of moss covered bridges and flowers and caves, plopped right in the middle of the city. We frolicked and took a lot of pictures :)
  • 6:00 Garden closes. We could’ve stayed longer. Illegally hop the fence to leave, then walk over to another botanical gardens a few blocks away. Just our luck- they were also closing
  • 6:15 Walk to a mall for dinner.
  • 6:30 Decide on this fast food Italian pasta place for dinner- we ate in the mall food court!
  • 7:00 Run to the grocery store downstairs to buy provisions (breakfast) for the week. I bought: 2 apples, yogurt, and these english muffin bread things that looked really good.
  • 7:30 Meet Chris back at the food court and drive back to his house in Fenais de Ajuda (Fin-aysh de A-joo-duh). It’s a solid 40-50 minute drive into the interior of the island. Their house is gorgeous, with the backside and giant balcony overlooking the ocean. And they renovated it themselves!
  • 8:30 Settle in, give everyone their gifts, chat with Faith, do some homework, etc.
  • 11:30 I am continually falling asleep as Faith and I are laying in bed and talking.

Well, from 9AM Thursday morning to 11:30PM Friday night, that was my epic mega day. I slept better than I maybe ever have on a plane and ended up on a tiny little patch of land in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. I am so excited for my time on the island and forever indebted to Faith and her mom and especially Chris and Pavel themselves for making it happen! And being our drivers, tour guides, and day trip planners. Without them I might not have even know these islands, where I now want to move one day, existed. Special shout out to all of these special individuals for making me feel so at home here.