Author: Kay

Getting around with Gui

We’re accustomed to traveling independently but without a great guide book or a lot of study it’s easy to miss a lot, even on a small island like Terceira. But a bus tour didn’t appeal. So…

We hired our first-ever private guide, Gui Bruges of Azores 38N, the very best thing we did during our stay. Gui was informative, upbeat, and a lot of fun. And most of the time he was at the other end of the van above, driving.

We could have driven ourselves but we’d never have found the overlooks and beautiful spots like this that Gui led us to. Not to mention that we’d probably still be wandering, lost, on the narrow, unsigned roads that lead to the best places.

We toured with Gui for two days, exploring the Terceira coast and its history and the volcanism that created the island. The farmlands above are notable in that the lines you see are rock walls that divide the fields. These walls cover the island, hundreds of miles of them.

The Azores were formed by underwater volcanoes sputtering to the surface of the Atlantic, spewing lava. As with other rock strewn lands, when the land is cleared the rocks have to go somewhere.

The island is dotted with small coastal villages that are surrounded by agricultural lands – a lot of dairy and beef farming.

Churches in Terceira

It didn’t take me long to become fascinated with the churches in Terceira Island. They are a central feature of all the villages we saw. Their forms and colors are striking.

In the small city where we stayed, Angra do Heriosmo, most views encompassed at least one prominent church, and often many more.

This is Se Cathedral, located in the center of Angra, originally built in the late 1500s but partially destroyed by an earthquake in the last century and since reconstructed.

Sao Sebastiao, the oldest church on Terceira, was built in 1455. Original frescoes have recently been discovered inside and are being restored.

The Church of Mercy in Angra dominates the waterfront.

I came home with many pictures of beautiful churches dominating the view in neighborhoods throughout the island.

Imperios

As we traveled around the island of Terceira we passed a number of these tiny gems called imperios. We learned that they are used during the annual Festival of the Holy Spirit.

The imperios are also used to store reliquaries, penants, and symbols related to the Holy Spirit faith and celebrations.

The Portuguese love of color is evident in these fascinating little buildings.

Click here for an article about the Cult of the Holy Spirit associated with the Portuguese Catholic faith.

Where’s Kay?

Here’s one of the first views we had of our main travel destination last month. This is the city of Angra do Heroismo (Bay of Heroes). It’s on the island of Terceira. If that doesn’t place it for you, Terceira is one of the Portuguese Azores islands, about 1,000 miles east of Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean. We arrived there after a four hour flight from Boston.

The city of Angra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with narrow, cobblestone streets.

There are beautiful and colorful churches.

It’s an all around interesting place. We spent a week on the island of Terceira; these are shots from my first day. I’ll show you more of our explorations in the coming days.

Hometown history

The Sequim Museum and Art Center‘s new location allows for better viewing of an exhibit about one of Sequim’s unique claims to fame, the Manis Mastodon.

In 1977 local resident Manny Manis was digging on his property when he unearthed a large tusk. As his wife Claire tells the story, his first thought was that he’d found an elephant. Together, however, they had the good sense to find research archaeologists. A team from Washington State University excavated a mastodon whose age was subject of controversy until more current technologies aged it to over 13,000 years old.

The Manis Mastodon is of particular importance because there is evidence of scoring on the tusk from a human tool as well as a spear point embedded in a rib bone. It is evidence of one of the earliest interactions between humans and mastodons in the Americas. The site is also one of the oldest in North America.

The dig site was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and was donated to the Archaeological Conservancy in 2000.

Click here for more information about the Manis Mastodon Site. It’s an interesting story. The exhibit at Sequim Museum and Art Center tells the story as well, along with a large rendering of a mastodon with some of the unearthed bones.

Hometown heroes

Last Saturday we went to the Sequim Museum and Art Center. The museum is now located in a new facility that opened last July. It was a quick visit but I’ll share highlights. I’ll show photos of the facility in another post later.

In addition to information about local industries and other general Sequim history, the museum highlights a couple of our local heroes. One is Joe Rantz, shown in the center, above, with other members of his University of Washington crew team. Joe, a Sequim resident, was extensively profiled in The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. Joe’s team, comprised of a group of gritty working class students, excelled against all odds to win a berth at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Then they won an Olympic gold medal. The museum has an interesting exhibit and information about Joe and his team, including a video showing their extraordinary victory. A rowing shell by the famous builder George Pocock is also on display. (Whether or not you’re interested in rowing The Boys in the Boat is well worth reading.)

Matt Dryke, a skeet shooter, is another Sequim resident with Olympic gold to his name (1984). He also has numerous golds and silvers from many championship competitions. A list next to Matt’s photos lists 20 competitions from 1979 to 1992 with top honors, including world records and a three trips to the Olympics. Matt and his family operate the local Sunnydell shooting range. Matt is honored locally by a bronze bust at Carrie Blake Park. I posted a photo in 2013 here.

I’ll share a unique piece of Sequim history from the museum tomorrow. Then I’ll get back to some of my November travels.