Day 7

Today was a free day in the program, my body felt like it had gotten used to what this vacation had in store for me, so together with a group member I decided to take another hike on one of the trails on the island. In the days before we had been discussing various options and in the end we opted against getting a taxi to and from the start point of a hike and chose a trail that we were told could be reached from the hotel by walking along the coast for approximately 5 km. Our sources were right that this was an easy walk without steep elevations, but after walking at a brisk pace for 2 hours, we did start to doubt the accuracy of the supposed distance. What we ourselves probably overestimated was the availability of stores along this coastal road which was still part of the main city of the island, so although we did bring some provisions, by the time we reached the starting point of the hike we were both running low on water. Nevertheless we started the descend from the top of the cliffs to the waterline below, which was about 200 meters down. Like the previous days the weather was quite nice, there was some sun and with a nice sea breeze it was not too warm, although every step I was going down I was thinking about what the way back up would be like with the sun and probably no water. But things took a turn for the better, because when we reached the picknick place at the waterside we were both happy to see that there was a tap with drinking water constructed there. In fact we had seen provisions like this along other walking trails as well, they even often had sanitary provisions as well, although my companion of today only noticed those as she walked back from her sanitary undertaking across the large boulders that made up the coastline. The way back up the trail was strenuous again, although the sun had disappeared and I had water again to replenish all the water running down my face.
The islands have mostly left a clean and tidy impression on me. The Azores are for instance known for their well-maintained hedges with hortensias, which unfortunately had finished blooming by the end of September. My favorite flower that was still abundantly blooming was one which I had never seen before and which Antonio called tulipa. I have not been able to find it using google, but it does not have any green leaves, only a stem and flower, making it look like decorative pins being randomly pricked into the ground all around, like a balloon on a stick. The coastal way however did have quite a bit of litter alongside it, which may also have been caused by the fact that we heard later that this was not the best part of town, which could also explain the sometimes very small and impoverished houses that we saw. To do our bit, we decided to take a big plastic bag that we found and filled it up with more (plastic) waste and the occasional face mask that we came across.