Day 14: Beach Day - Lajes

We took a drive to the other side of the island today to Lajes (a short 30 minute drive). Our main goal was to see if the swell produced any surfable waves on the south side of the island. The drive through the middle of the island was beautiful - we had to pull over for a  family pic at one of the lookout points. Love the 'guard rails' here (when they have them) – hydrangea plants!

We arrive in Lajes. Todd and Griff jumped in the water faster than we could unpack the cars. We had paddle boards and surf boards and everyone took turns trying to catch the best waves. Jim found his ‘surf legs’ after a bit – it’s only been about 10 years for him (that should be a sin considering where he grew up). Tyler successfully surfed his first wave – he was thrilled. Ashley wins for best wipe out – and probably won’t be too anxious to try surfing again anytime soon.

The rest of the kids did their usual – swimming in the water and climbing on the rocks. Always fun to check out a new swimming hole!

My view today… another tough one.

After a full day of surfing we stopped at the whaling museum. Whaling was a huge industry in the Azores and the museum had an amazing collection of aritfacts, scrimshaw and even a short film (in English!). It was a brief history lesson for the kids (and some of us adults too!).

We began the drive back to Sao Roque around 5:30pm and were obediently following Griff’s van on the coastal road – through small towns called Santa Barbara then Santa Cruz (funny). Out of nowhere we see a building on the side of the road – dinner! Great food. Great views and yes – that is 9 scoops of ice cream on Ashley’s plate for dessert! Well deserved today!

Tomorrow we are heading out on the early ferry for a weekend adventure in Horta! Festa time! We'll check back in on Monday. Boa noite.