Day 3

Today’s hike would bring us to the highest crater lake in the Azores and included a climb of 450 meters, which I did not think sounded that impressive until I was told that if you divide that number by 3, you have the number of flights of stairs this equals. We started with a strenuous steep climb and after that we passed a long stretch of an almost level path alongside an irrigation canal. It was lush, green and quiet and I walked most part of this alone and in silence, something I still appreciated even after lockdowns, curfews, and isolation. The lake and the sun provided a perfect scene for lunch after which we each started our descend at our own pace. Also for this I walked quite a bit alone, but when I reached a fence blocking the road down I was walking with two group members. As the lock on the fence looked like it had been in recent use, we considered this a sign of somebody wanting us to stay out, so we continued in the only possible direction onto another ascent. By the time we were out of breath we decided to ask in our What’s App group where we should have gone when reaching the fence and then it became clear that nobody else considered this to be a sign to turn and that they had all climbed over it as we should have.
On our way back we stopped in a town with a sand beach and an ocean that looked incredibly inviting, so I joined some group members for a swim. I stayed with our stuff first and as the others walked into the water one of the coast guards got up out of his chair looking alert. Even though others were swimming as well, I decided to have a quick chat and asked if it was safe. He said that the sea was quite rough, but that we would be okay if we did not swim out too far. When I said “so the biggest threat is probably sunburn” he looked at my legs and confirmed.
Getting into the sea, I realized that the guard had not been joking as the waves and currents going along with it were high and strong, making me feel happy like a kid again. However, at one point one of our group members was swept away by a wave and after seeing that he was okay I turned around only to see that a second big wave was about to break on top of me. I was hit in the head, swept away, and dumped up on the beach and decided to call it a day and get out, upon which the lifeguard came over to inform me that I should have dived and pressed myself to the sea floor. I noted his advice, reckoned in hindsight that I actually knew this already, and went for a beer on a teras overseeing the sea. That night I noticed that my tumble in the sea allowed sand to get everywhere and since I knew we had to get on a bike again the next day I thought it wise to ascertain that all sand was removed from areas that were soon to be exposed to pressure and friction again.