Praia da Vitória and Lajes airport

Back to the USA

Lukus’ grandfather suffered a severe stroke on June 2. Over the course of the following week, as his daughters gathered by his side, he continued to decline before passing away peacefully in his home on June 8 at age 95.

We departed on a flight to Lisbon early in the morning of June 10 (because it was a national holiday – Portugal Day – there were only limited flights off the island), and after a 5-hour layover in Lisbon we boarded a flight to New York – JFK. Arriving at 9 pm, we spent an uncomfortable night in the airport before departing for Detroit at 6 am. After 30 hours of travel we arrived back in Michigan – the first time in almost 10 months.

Grandpa’s funeral was held in central Michigan on June 12. The service was beautiful and we were both glad to be there to say our goodbyes. It was great to see so much of Lukus’ extended family, even if the circumstances were sorrowful.

In honor of Grandpa, we joined Lukus’ aunts for an evening of Bingo at Soaring Eagle Casino. It had been their weekly tradition to play Bingo with both Grandma and Grandpa, until Grandma’s passing 11 years ago, and with Grandpa in the years since. Sitting at their table and joined by their ‘lucky’ stuffed animals, the four of us pooled our money and had a great time winning round after round! It certainly helped to offset our air travel costs.

Summer’s Arrival

We stayed in Michigan for a total of 10 days, celebrating our wedding anniversary and both of our birthdays with Raymond’s family before returning to Ilha Terceira. It was a relief to be back here and experience our first summer solstice on the island. The orchard is doing great: the fig is bigger and has developed a few side branches, the new mango tree is doing well, the passion fruit vine is getting taller, and various bunches of bananas are still developing. In the garden, we have harvested the last of the fava beans and potatoes, and are patiently waiting on the leeks, carrots, and beets to mature.

Nature and Wildlife

L to R: the bathing area near our house (now officially open), waves crashing over the lava flow, Raymond in the stream at the edge of our property, a European eel in the stream (‘critically endangered’ and one of five we saw that day!), and the pair of Eurasian Collared Doves that we’ve been feeding near the house (they tolerate us being near them and even come flying when we call to them!).

Sanjoaninas Festival

We were excited to experience our first Sanjoaninas Festival on the island. It runs from June 21 – 30 in the capital, Angra do Heroísmo, and is the largest festival in the Azores. The festival corresponds to the birthday / feast day of St. John the Baptist and consists of sports tournaments, bull fights in the arena, street decor, parades, music stages, and food & drink kiosks. The city was a beautiful sight and it was amazing to see all the people out and about (the festival is quite the tourist draw).