Posted on November 8, 2017
Janet has just returned from her fifth visit to Quinta da Terça in Azores. Being right in the middle of the Atlantic this little island does get just about every weather pattern heading for the British Isles, which this year meant some quite wet weather during October.
But Janet writes that “despite the wet weather we managed a full programme and Elizabeth, Jackie and myself even swam in the Terra Nostra thermal pool in the rain! I met a very nice Australian lady in the pool who seemed to be doing ‘Europe’, she was in the pool in a lovely golden bikini….. unfortunately she told me it was white when she entered! Rua from the Quinta keeps telling us that swimming in the pool is reputed to make you look younger, we keep trying but it does not seem to make any difference.
Flowers in bloom at Terra Nostra
Camelia in bloom (in October) at Terra Nostra
In different parts of the Island different flowers were out. In places the hydrangeas had finished flowering but in others they were in full bloom. In the Terra Nostra gardens some Azaleas and Camellias were out!
Riding by the Water Aquaduct (in the rain!)
Due to the heavy rain and thunderstorms that we had had during the week (fortunately mainly at night) it was not possible to ride around the Sete Cidades crater rim as the steep track down was unsafe and there were trees down, Also it was covered in mist/low cloud so we would not have been able to see the lakes from the viewpoint.
Riding by Sete Citades
However we rode not only around the lakes but along tracks in the area that we had not been on before.
Every time we return to the Quinta we have a warm welcome from Christina and Claude and all the staff and they always manage to vary the rides and find some new tracks for us to go along.
We also visit different places. This time we asked to go back to Terra Nostra as we enjoy the pool and the gardens and we still have not yet managed to see all of the Botanical Gardens. We visited a ceramic factory this time which we had not been to before. But unfortunately we could not go whale watching as the conditions were not right with the sea very rough at times.
All the horses are so lovely, have great temperaments and are forward going. There is one to suit everyone from novice to experienced rider. The meals are always very good and the picnics! We all felt we had benefitted and learnt a lot from the instruction/lesson given by Christina and also Rodrigo in the indoor school (the picador). We had an extra lesson as one morning it was pouring with rain so we asked for a lesson rather than a ride or sightseeing and it was well worthwhile.
Everyone at the Quinta is so good and helpful. We cannot wait to return the Azores again in April and just hope the weather is better.”
Fortunately it didn’t rain every day. A view from the North Coast ride.
Thank you, Janet, for this lovely report on the Azores.
Quinta da Terça is a wonderful holiday and we also hope very much that you have better weather next year.