Adagio - How do you top this?

One of the dilemmas I faced about signing up for the ARC Europe Rally was the fact that during the time we were to be saling across the Atlantic Robin and I would be celebrating pour Tenth Anniversary. Now, usually I try to make a pretty big deal out of our Anniversaries and there have been times set aside for special trips or events to commemorate our years together. This year, however, presented a special challenge. My thinking was; "How do I get away with something like a special time together, a great weekend getaway, or a special event kind of thing when we are already going to be traveling to the Azores???" I mean, come on .. do I try to pass this off as "Hey sweetheart, I've been trying to figure out a really special place to spend our Anniversary ... How about I take you to the Azores!??" .. well, since we are heading that way anyway ... "

It's already a romantic and exotic spot, and we're already going to be there with the Rally, so how do I to top that??

Well, luckily for me, Robin was up for some adventure so we rented a car. With our crew mates Steve and Lynn we set off to explore some of Sao Miguel, in spite of the drizzle, wind and low-flying clouds that prevailed that day. After driving to the west end to NOT see the Sete Caldeiras lakes we drove around, almost ran off a sharp dead-end at the light house and then went to where the volcano heats the ocean to not take a swim on the big breakers and driving wind. Later we drove east and climbed the steps to Our Lady of Peace church where we were treated to a slight break in the clouds and a nice view. Then we went to Furnas, had a great pizza and toured the Terra Nostre Botanical gardens.

The next day, following our most excellent bus tour with the Rally group, Robin and I returned to Furnas and checked into the Terra Nostre Hotel. For the record, it is a first class facility and gave us unlimited access to the Gardens even after hours. We drove around the town of Furnas thoroughly enjoying the the sights and found another location, pretty much right in the middle of town with steaming vents and bubbling, gurgling pools of hot sulphur water.
We enjoyed a great meal of several meats and vegetables cooked in the steam pits of the nearby caldera and then went for a swim in the yellow-water pool late at night where we had pretty much the entire park to ourselves.

The hotel treated us to a wonderful breakfast and we returned the rental car later that afternoon. It could not have worked out better.

I said it on Facebook and I'll repeat it here. There are a lot of slick looking brochures and hyped up advertising for vacation destinations around the world. I believe that the Azores certainly does not have to hype up anything. It is the real deal, stunningly beautiful with amazing attractions and totally unassuming and friendly people. It was quite hard to leave when the time came and I'll definitely be looking to come back when there is more time to deeply explore the land, customs and kind folks of these islands.

Happy Anniversary to my lovely wife and fellow sailor; Robin. I can't begin to express what these last ten years have meant and I can't wait for more :)

Gary
Adagio
-------------------------------------------------
Do not push the "reply" button to respond to this
message if that includes the text of this original
message in your response. Messages are sent over a
very low-speed radio link.

The most concise way to reply is to send a NEW message
to: "S/V Adagio"
If you DO use your reply button, be sure to delete
the original message text and these instructions
from your reply.

Replies should not contain attachments and should be
less than 5 kBytes (2 text pages) in length.

This email was delivered by an HF private coast station
in the Maritime Mobile Radio Service, operated by the
SailMail Association, a non-profit association of yacht
owners. For more information on this service or on the
SailMail Association, please see the web site at:
http://www.sailmail.com