Tag 11: Pineapple Plantation and Beach Time

July 15, 2020

The muscle soreness this morning is intense! We can hardly move.

Accordingly, today's program is also relaxed. Apart from chilling by the pool and beach, we are not doing much.

Since we still have not received any feedback regarding our second test appointment, we are sending another email requesting a callback. Additionally, we are leaving our phone number on an answering machine, the message of which we unfortunately did not understand.

Let's see. On 11.7. we would have had to take the test, and today is already the 15th.!

Normally, I would be relaxed, after all, we have done everything we were told. But since we still want to fly to Pico, the second test would probably be better after all.

In the morning, we drive to Ponta Delgada and visit the small pineapple plantation of Santo Antonio.

Just before we reach the plantation, the mobile phone rings. It is actually a doctor from the health center, who is quite confused about our request for a second test, because:

we are NOT in the system!!!

How can that be!?! We were tested upon arrival and also received a negative result!?

He cannot explain it either and now seems to be in no hurry for the retest. We agree to have our second test appointment in the Ribeira Grande health center tomorrow at 12 o'clock.

Well, we have taken care of everything ourselves now - so we have no guilty conscience because the test will now take place on day 11 instead of day 6.

The pineapple plantation of Santa Antonio is very manageable. After an introductory video in the small shop, we get a private tour of the various greenhouses and are told that due to Covid-19, the operation was unfortunately shut down for several weeks and therefore we cannot see any pineapples (we did see a small one in the distance though), because they could not be watered and 'smoked'.

Okay, too bad, but it is also interesting to know that it takes almost 1 year to 'grow' a single pineapple and they are usually 'ripe' around Christmas, as pineapple is a traditional Christmas fruit in the Azores (which must not be missing from any festive table).

At the end of the tour, we buy a small 'organic pineapple' (those who believe that you can get pineapples here at Aldi prices are greatly mistaken: the small pineapple costs 5 € - but it tastes fantastic and unlike the pineapple available in Germany, you can eat the core here, nothing is woody or hard!) and 2 small bottles of pineapple liqueur (€ 3 each).

After visiting the plantation, we drive back to the resort.

The muscle soreness is still intense and we don't really feel like walking. We agree to chill at the beach, with our son daring to venture into the waves with dad, with and without a bodyboard.

Afterwards, we lazily lay by the pool. I swim a few laps and have the pool all to myself. Very nice :-)

After dinner, we stroll along the beach to the TukaTula Bar without the kids (they prefer to chill)

Here too, the tide has now washed up a few specimens of the feared 'Portuguese Man O' War' jellyfish.

Fortunately, our surf and bodyboard sessions in the sea have never been affected. We have not seen a single one swimming in the water so far, whereas on Terceira Island, these creatures were everywhere in the sea and rock pools.

The way to the beach is just under 1 km long and correspondingly exhausting due to muscle soreness.

We are rewarded with delicious cocktails.

As the sunset approaches, the wind picks up and it gets quite chilly. Instead of having a second cocktail, I opt for an 'Irish Coffee' - for warming up (and it does :-))

On the way back (along the beach again), there are lots of little jumping creatures.... sand fleas!?

These creatures seem to have found a very special delicacy this evening:

the Portuguese Man O' War jellyfish!

We see them sticking to the dead jellyfish in large numbers.

Gross... but well, at least this is how the jellyfish naturally disappear from the beach.

Later, I see on the internet that there is a new government resolution regarding the closed thermal springs and swimming pools.

So far, we have skipped highlights like Furnas, as all the pools have been closed until today.

Unfortunately, the situation will not change until August 1st - the government has extended the closure. Too bad :-(