AZORES // NOVEMBER 2023
- TRAVEL DIARY -
After our trip this summer, my soul felt liberated and in shock. Soaring like a rocket from the depths of the ocean, erupting from the surface toward the sky, reaching yet another dark, outer space. Other worldly, it felt and seemed. Orbiting, in twilight. In a new place.
Despite the fears I had felt about making the trip with my limitations after cancer, I set out to reclaim something that had been lost, knowing exactly the privilege it is to be able to afford in health, finance, freedom, spirit, mind. A great privilege I had previously not really realized, processed, or embodied. The way I took this perspective for granted before. And, never hope to again.
Place to place, I kept remembering lines from The Undying, by Anne Boyer, “I am like a baby being born into the hands of a body made only of the grand debt of love and rage, and if I live another forty-one years to avenge what has happened it still won’t be enough.”
Then a line from Maggie Smiths book, You Could Make This Place Beautiful echoed in my mind. “I bless everything there is to bless.”
As my joy overwhelmed me and the pulses of life force met my veins, I cried every place we arrived and left. And, I could not help but share the time of beauty and blessing despite the reality that these things often bring me to silence. A quiet that I’ve learned is a place of reverence. This second chance at life can feel like more than one deserves.
“I’m so grateful. I’m so grateful,” I would barely be able to utter while choking back a tsunami of emotion. I’m so grateful. Survivors guilt and gratitude intermingle poignantly. And, I thought, I will choose to love this life. I will choose to take on this complexity. I want to avenge it all.
Now here we are in the Azores and I blame my soul for sponsoring this indulgence/challenge. I’m here nurturing my heart, praying to the waves that suffering end, soaking in the sulfur, trying to take care and heal, that I might again regain my capacity to care for others. I am here trying to sit with and write through the worst of what has taken place, and the best of it too. It’s all woven and wrapped around itself, waiting to be blessed.
Here's a list of our destinations you can explore on your trip:
STAY:
White Exclusive Suites & Villas - Classic white stucco and stone hotel perched on a volcanic cliff overlooking the ocean.
Octant Furnas - Immerse yourself in the endlessly soothing streams in their private thermal pools and spa services.
Santa Barbara Eco Beach Hotel - A sustainable garden/beach hotel in the picturesque beach town of Santa Barbara.
EAT:
A Tasca - A charming restaurant serving local cuisine.
Restaurante Terra Nostra - Enjoy delicious thermally cooked meals amidst the beautiful surroundings of Terra Nostra Park.
Bar Caloura - A beachside bar offering refreshing drinks and tasty snacks.
Louvre Michaelense - A cozy bistro serving a fusion of local and international dishes.
O Cordeirinho - A quaint restaurant known for its mouthwatering seafood delicacies.
Oestrela Bar & Restaurante - Perfect beach bar with fresh catch and cheese with dramatic views of the ocean surround.
DO:
Poça da Dona Beija - Relax and unwind in the rejuvenating thermal waters.
Ponta da Ferraria - Experience the unique opportunity to bathe in a natural hot spring, right by the ocean.
Centro de Interpretação Ambiental da Caldeira Velha - Located in the center Caldeira Velha, up in the mountains, an area of outstanding natural beauty.