Day 17: Flight to Pico and the 'Bend' by the Sea

21.7.2020

This morning we have to get up very early. The alarm goes off at 5:30 am.

At 6 o'clock we have everything packed and ready to go. We get a doggy bag for breakfast from the resort.

Before we go to the airport, we stop at Hotel Marina Atlantico, where we will spend the last night. Here we can leave our bodyboards and a suitcase that we no longer need on Pico. Very practical.

At the airport we check in and then have an hour to spare. We have breakfast outside on the picnic benches and then make our way to the gate.

Unlike our last two domestic flights from Terceira, the plane is now much busier.

The plane is about 2/3 full and we take off with a 15-minute delay.

Just like on the departure to Terceira, Sao Miguel bids us farewell with rain and thick clouds.

The flight takes about 40 minutes, and then we land on Pico. Unfortunately, we (again) sit on the wrong side and don't see the Pico or the island during the landing.

Maybe we'll be lucky on the return flight.

Pico doesn't welcome us with sunshine, but at least it's not raining.

We get our luggage quite quickly, as the number of tourists with luggage here is very manageable.

At the car rental counter, however, it takes forever. We rented a station wagon from Ilha Verde Car Rental again. The nice lady at the counter seems to have a lot to say, and it seems that all the passengers on the plane have booked a rental car from Ilha Verde...

We wait for a whole 30 minutes outside the airport building until my husband finally comes through the door with the key.

Our rental car is parked across the street, a silver Ford Focus station wagon with 50,000 km on the clock, lots of scratches all around, and a very nasty 'car air freshener' smell inside.

Okay, let's roll down the windows and off we go - welcome to Pico!

We continue along the road, past the runway, towards the sea and the lava cliffs of Cachorro.

We continue to 'Central de ondas do cachorro', where the 'dog rock' can be seen in the lava rocks.

After exploring the lava cliffs and surroundings, we visit the Casa dos Vulcoes, the 'Volcano House'.

A brand new and highly recommended little information center, where we can take a journey to the center of the Earth in a 'time capsule' and then climb an earthquake simulator - exciting!

The visit here takes about 30-45 minutes and is definitely worth it!

Our holiday home on Pico is located in Santo Amaro, about 30 km away. Therefore, we decide to visit the sights along the coast while we're going in that direction.

The next stop is Parque Florestal da Prainha, a park with barbecue areas, windmills, viewpoints, and animal enclosures.

Unlike on Terceira and Sao Miguel, we find a large picnic area here with a huge barbecue house and a bread/pizza oven.

The park is nicely laid out. In addition to the barbecue area, there is a small museum, a windmill opposite, and not to forget: an animal enclosure with 2 deer (at least we didn't spot any other animals).

We continue to our holiday home for today. Actually, we wanted to stay near Sao Roque, but the owner canceled our house at the end of June because we are traveling with children. The owner believes that children do not adhere to the Covid-19 rules and are carriers of the virus, so he doesn't want children in the house.

Oh well - but lucky for us, because without this cancellation, we would have never booked and visited our current fantastic holiday home!

Our holiday home 'Atlantic Window' is located in Santo Amaro. We find it immediately thanks to the description.

The location is really great!

We have an unobstructed view of the neighboring island Sao Jorge - not only from the terrace but from almost EVERY room!

We can't get enough of the view, it's simply amazing!

From the terrace, we can see a bathing area / rock pool and decide to pack our swimwear and maybe go swimming later.

We want to drive along the coast to Farol da Ponta da Ilha lighthouse and stop along the way at the Miradouro da Terr'Alta viewpoint, where there are stone heads to admire again

At Manhenha, we stop at the rock pool and briefly consider whether we want to go swimming here, but since there is little space to lie around the pool and we actually want to continue, we don't go swimming here (if only we had...)

We continue to the lighthouse, but unfortunately, it is closed due to Covid-19.

On the way, we see this funny road sign, which we first saw 2 years ago in Australia...haha

We continue along the villages towards our holiday home, where we take a detour to the only sandy beach 'Praia do Canto da Areia' on the island

Unfortunately, the sun is already gone and there's nothing really enticing us to go into the water here. We take a quick look around and then continue to the bathing area below our house.

While my husband puts on his swim trunks, I want to test the water temperature in advance and walk (with flip flops) to the first concrete slab next to the ladder to dip my foot into the water.

When I step on the slab, it happens:

my right foot shoots forward like on slippery soap (covered in slippery algae), I twist it and fall on my left foot, which bends backward.

Sh...................................!

I hear a loud crack, followed by a sharp and burning pain.

The first reflex: foot in the cold Atlantic water.

While I cool my foot, I watch as the ankle swells and becomes swollen and bruised. Oh no, please not!!!!

Please no accident on vacation - on an island with limited healthcare....

While my husband calmly goes swimming, I don't move my foot from the water, not even a millimeter.

After half an hour, somehow, with his help, I manage to get into the car and limp into the house, where I immediately continue to cool, apply Voltaren gel to my foot, and keep cooling.

Ibu400 relieves the pain, so for now, I try to calm down and wait to see how it feels tomorrow. Right now, my foot is swollen and bruised, and I can't put weight on it. I'm afraid I'll have to see a doctor tomorrow :-(

Of all days, we also booked whale watching for tomorrow morning. Damn...hopefully tomorrow will be better.

With the hope of 'spontaneous healing', I sit on the terrace with my foot in an ice bucket, watching the sunset.