On this day in Santa Maria, the sun colored our photos and our memories.
The first group set out for a strenuous walk from Pico Alto. They experienced the gradual dissent from the highest part of Santa Maria through what felt like a cloud forest, to the warm kiss of the sun as they arrived at the lower altitudes at Ermida de Nossa Senhora do Pilar.
Another group started at the Church of Santo Espírito and ended at Maria’s by the Sea. They witnessed the amazing Aveiro Waterfall and the star-shaped yellow flowers of the endemic Aichryson santamariensis.
The people who preferred to explore the island on the scenic tour visited a multitude of places. They saw tiny churches, like the Ermida de Nossa Senhora dos Anjos, and several miradouros (viewpoints). A bonus was hearing an incredible chorus of Iberian green frogs at a pond, acoustically amplified as it was set within a local quarry.
In the afternoon, we enjoyed presentations by Gemina Garland-Lewis on whaling and whale watching in the Azores, and Dr. Douglas Nowacek spoke on underwater pollution and cetaceans.
To conclude our day, Rafael Carvalho, a local master musician, graced us with his Azorean guitar.
