Touradas & bullfights

Vanessa, Ranjan, Fei fei, Aisha, Natalie, & Matt

Friday, June 24 was one hell of a day... there were bulls all over the place! This past week the city of Angra has been celebrating Sanjoaninas. First we went to a Tourada, which is when they release bulls into the streets. They blocked off the road and made a track and released 6 full grown bulls into the streets. People were standing on the sides of the barracades, behind them, in trees, and standing on top of freight containers. We were on top of the containers and had a pretty awesome view of the bulls and the people running with them. We watched for about an hour or so before we decided that we wanted a better look at the bulls. The Azorean men were all very concerned for our safety and told us to go back up the containers where it was safe lol. I'm pretty sure that If one of the girls had decided to run after the bulls they would have been tackled by the Azorean men and dragged back to safety.

Nonetheless we crossed the street and stood on ground level with the bulls and watched them. At some point they got really close so we all scooted behind a wooden barricade. The bull had to have been 20ft away from us! Pretty amazing!

We also went to a Portuguese style bullfight! It was INTENSE! There was 6 different bullfights and 3 different Cavaleiros (horsemen). The Portuguese style bullfighting is very interesting because they do NOT kill the bulls. According to our friend Alex who is from Terceira, the bulls ran the Spanish out of Portugal and so they honor, love, and respect the bulls. Therefore they let the bulls run in the streets as a remainder of how the bulls ran off the Spanish from taking over Portugal. The first 3 bullfights were amazing and perfect. The Cavaleiros did a fantastic job and the crowd was very pleased.

Then we had an intermission and the 4th bullfight started. After the first phase the Forcados come out and challenge the bull head on and let it hit the front man... the other Forcados then tackle the bull and subdue it. They bull hit the Forcado so hard that he fractured his horn and become very disoriented. It was really sad to see the bull running into the walls and bleeding all over the place. Eventually his whole right horn broke off and he fractured his left horn. It took a good 30mins to get him into the back to be treated. The 5th bullfight went off perfectly and then the 6th was going well until the Cavaleiros jumped off the horse unexpectedly. It almost looked like the horse was doing a trick but then his body stiffened up and he fell to the floor. A bunch of people ran to the horse and tried to restart his heart by jumping on his chest but it was unsuccessful. It was a sad and intense day.

Chlamydia Beach?!?!?!

So today we went to the beach in Angra... and session 1 interns have dubbed it Chlamydia beach. Claudio, the doctor the hospital interns have been working with, told them that a few years back everyone who went to the beach at Angra was getting Chlamydia... well that's grand!

Beach on Angra aka "Chlamydia beach"

Well the upside is that no one gets Chlamydia from the beach anymore! However I was not feeling adventurous so I didn't change into a bathing suit or get in the water. The sand was great though! Since the Azores Islands are made from extinct volcanoes the sand is black and super fine. So pretty and thankfully Chlamydia free!

1st day

Today was my first day in Terceira and it was awesome! We arrived on Terceira around 10am after a 1.5hr delay in Boston due to inclement weather on the Islands that would have prevented us from landing. But... we made it! AND I got my first stamp in my passport! YAY! When we got off the plane we went through customs and took a taxi through the country from the airport to Angra do Heroismo.

We checked into La Residencia where we will be staying for the next 7 weeks and met up with Session 1 Atlantis Project members. We had lunch at a cute cafe/sandwhich shop where I got an equivalent to an Apple Turnover Tart... it was delicious. Something that is strange about the Azores is that unlike in the US where tap water is ALWAYS free... water (whether it is tap or bottle) costs money... and what is stranger... is that cold bottled water can sometimes cost more than warm bottled water! However tipping is not required which is pretty interesting as well. Total, my apple tart and water costs 2 euros ~ $3.

After lunch we explored around the city and decided to go hiking! We hiked Monte Brasil, a small mountain outside of Angra. We had an amazing view of the city and its small marina. It took us a total of 2 hours to reach the top and back. Great work out and great view.

For dinner we ate at the mother of the founder of the Atlantis Project's house. Senorita Toste was very nice and inviting. We started off with wine, sweet bread, another sort of bread and 4 different cheeses. The cheese on the island is amazing! Love love love love it! Then we had an equivalent to the split pea soup, a beef stew, and lastly sweet rice. We all ate ourselves to the brim. Tastiest food I've ever had

New Camera!

Yay for a new camera! I've been fiddling around with my new Nikon D3000 and trying really hard to figure it out before I leave the States. So far I feel like I'm doing a pretty decent job and can't wait to get shooting away in the Azores! Here are just a handful of pictures that I have taken.

Bella... my sister's dog

Bailey - my pup pup

Julius Lorimer (18mos) - my beautiful/adorable baby nephew

Flowers in my front yard in CLT

"Shark bait ooh ha ha"

It’s official… less than 2 weeks before I leave for the Azores. I’ve been preparing myself for the beach by spending 5 days in Hilton Head with David and his family. We went shark fishing! We caught these little “schooling” fish that our Captain called Pogies and used them for bait for the smaller sharks. We caught about a dozen Sharp Nose sharks that we used as bait for LARGER sharks! Eeekk. I volunteered to cut off the heads of the smaller sharks for bait which was really exciting. The Captain said that I was the first person he has had on the ship who has wanted to cut up the sharks and by far the first girl. Guess I’m just special. We caught several Black Tip sharks which ranged from 50-70lbs and then one 270lb Tiger shark! It was HUGE and kind of scary but beautiful nonetheless.

Now that I’ve gone shark fishing I feel like I should try my hand at deep sea fishing for… well fish. I’ll have to save that experience for the Azores. I CAN’T WAIT! I’ve been keeping tabs on the interns on the Azores right now and all their pictures look amazing… 2 more weeks!

Come on June 20... get here faster!