Eidechsen and plants

03.08.21

Highlight of the day: Lizards, so many lizards!

'Tomorrow I'm taking the bus to the city and looking for a diving center', that is one of my last thoughts last night before falling asleep. I have also decided to get back into my lost morning routine during the rather busy semester.

So when the horde of crazy roosters wakes me up this morning with a true cacophony of screams and I can't fall back asleep, it is probably a sign to put my plans into action. So let's go, get out of bed.

Get up, put on sweatpants, t-shirt and sweater (it's still chilly and foggy but it will definitely get better) and sit on a cushion to meditate. Then do some sports and stretching. And of course, don't forget a little pat on the shoulder from me, for myself. 'Well done, your orthopedic doctor would certainly be proud of you, Regina!'

Just as my stomach starts to growl, I enthusiastically open the door and stop. I am in the middle of dense fog, it's drizzling and my bare feet start to freeze immediately. Okay, no problem. I get socks and a sweater and go to the kitchen. Apparently, the weather here can change very quickly and the sun will surely dispel the fog once it is a bit higher.

So when I sit on the terrace wrapped in a blanket, with tea (green tea from the Azores) and toast, in addition to my sweater, and it is still so foggy at 9:30 a.m. that I can't see the road, let alone the sea, I decide to change my plan for the day.

Julia, the really special but really nice lady who rented the apartment next to mine, joins me on the terrace.

'Weren't you going to Angara do Heroisimo?'

'Yes, I was. I changed my mind, I'll just go for a walk or something later. Right now it looks like tea and reading to me', I say with a smile. Actually, I'm looking forward to exploring my new camera and the fancy book I bought with it. I'll be here for a while, the sun can't hide from me forever. :)

'Yes, the weather is really crazy this morning. I have never seen such dense fog here in the summer, and it doesn't usually rain that much in the summer either. It looks like it's going to stay like this for a while. But if you're not going to the city, maybe you'd like to have lunch with me later? The restaurant here in town has won several awards but is still quite cheap.'

'Sure, I'd love to!', I reply and Julia goes off to judo.

I make a large pot of tea, grab my camera, my book, and another blanket, and make myself comfortable on the terrace. As I read, I watch as the sun slowly melts away the fog and as the fog retreats, so does the rain. The sea slowly changes its color, shifting from pale gray to deep blue, and is only rivaled by the blooming hydrangeas, which seem to have made it their mission to shine even bluer than the sea.

As the sun drives away the fog, I peel layer after layer of blankets and the sweater until I am sitting barefoot and in a t-shirt again. The sun is shining and it is beautiful, time for an outing!

Equipped with binoculars (birds and maybe even whales on the horizon, who knows), a magnifying glass (always useful), a camera (time to put theory into practice), and of course plenty of sunscreen on my face and neck, I set off.

The hill on which the house stands is terraced with small black walls, and small footpaths lead through the grass past orange, lemon, and fig trees. I notice the orange fruits of the laurel bushes, which I only know as hedges from home. Here they are just standing around and prospering. Among all the flowers and interesting fruits on bushes that are completely unknown to me, I sorely miss a good identification book, but never mind. I will certainly have time to read up on the flora here. But what I am actually most excited about are the many lizards. I love lizards! Actually, I read somewhere that there are none in the Azores and I was terribly sad about it. But now I can definitely say: All fake news, conspiracy theories, and unwashed press lies!

They exist, lizards, and in abundance. I hear them rustling everywhere and see them scurrying between rocks and bushes. They jump from stone to stone, disappear into crevices, and even daringly plunge from the walls into the depths onto unsuspecting butterflies. (No joke, that's exactly how it was!) And so many different kinds! Small chestnut-brown ones with delicate black and yellow stripes on the sides, large gray ones with black spots on their backs and light scales. Medium-sized smooth ones with a beautiful, shiny rust-like color. But I think my favorites are the small, deep black ones with tiny blue shimmering dots and the large emerald green ones with larger diamond-shaped spots. Very beautiful to look at! I try to take some pictures of them, but I don't manage to get any really good ones. Oh well, another time.

I enjoy the amazing view from the hill down to the ocean for a while longer and then decide to take a path up the mountain towards the forest. It's really getting hot now and the high humidity after the rain makes me feel like I'm in the tropics, which of course I'm not, I remind myself. But the further I walk up the mountain and the more the path becomes overgrown, the more I begin to doubt. Blue flowering vetches are flourishing everywhere, banana-like perennials (definitely not bananas, but the leaves just look like it) bloom in lush yellow clusters and emit a pleasant sweet scent. Everything around me buzzes, chirps, and lives! And the leaves of the trees that now tower above me along the slope are glistening with moisture from the rain. Are you sure you're not in the tropics?, I ask myself. (I tend to have mini conversations with myself in my head, especially when I'm on the go)

But yes, I'm sure. I think it could be a laurel forest and I will also solve the mystery of the tropical-looking flowers. But I'm definitely not in the tropics. Good that we have cleared that up. But now I'm stuck in a dead end. To my right, behind a wide, artificially created and very adventurous-looking ditch, the forest rises, to my left is a steep wall, and in front of me is nothing but dense undergrowth. I turn around and go back. That was a really nice walk! Next time, though, I should definitely bring more water and wear my hiking shoes. My sneakers are completely soaked.

Back on my now beloved terrace, I call a diving school and book a diving tour for tomorrow. (yippee-ki-yay!!!) I quickly sort out a few things for university and then it's time to go to the restaurant where I meet Julia. (great, I'm famished!)

In the evening, I sit on the terrace again, learn Portuguese, read up on my research project, and watch the sunset. Watching the sunset is always the best part of the day.

And so another, ultimately sunny day comes to an end.