Sete Cidades, population 793, is located in the center of a massive volcanic crater three miles across containing appropriately named, Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde. To enter the town one must pass over the crater rim which offers amazing panoramic views of both the lakes and the ocean in three directions. Located within the parish is the Igreja de S. Nicolau, constructed in 1857 and surrounded by beautiful gardens.

With water in such great abundance, as evidenced by the lush vegetation, I was left to wonder why so many ancient aqueducts could be found on the island.

Located on a migration path for whales and dolphins, the Azores are one of the best places to see these magnificent creatures in their element. Pictured are a pair of striped dolphins, one of three species we encountered during an afternoon outing on the water. Swimming next to our catamaran in the following image is a bottlenose dolphin.

While returning to port we paused to circumnavigate the offshore islet of Ilhéu de Vila Franca which features an ancient caldera that now provides an idylic  salt water swimming pool.  Visitors are limited to a maximum of 400 per day so as not to degrade this truly unique setting or to disturb seabirds nesting in the cliff rocks which wrap the islet.

Mosteiros, the westernmost town on the island, is arguably the best location from which to enjoy the setting sun. Our final destination for the day, we relaxed while golden light illuminated the rugged coast.

With the four hour time shift, our flight into Sao Miguel, the largest and most populated of the nine Azores islands, arrived at 7am. After collecting our rental car our first priority was locating a cafe for breakfast. We did so in historic downtown Ponta Delgada where the gates of the City Gates (Portas da Cidade) welcome visitors to the administrative hub of the islands. These three arches, dating from 1783, stand at the edge of the square of Praça Gonçalo Velho, across from the seafront.

For those in search of white sand beaches, a vibrant night life, and plenty of shopping there is little to recommend the Azores. If quaint old European hamlets set in lush and rugged terrain with natural beauty at every turn is more your speed then here you will find much to enjoy.

The greatest tragedy to befall the Azores occurred on October 20, 1522, when a violent earthquake hit the area of Vila Franca do Campo, then capital of the archipelago and most important Azorean settlement. During the earthquake and subsequent landslide, 5000 people were killed. Our Lady of Peace Chapel (Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Paz) dating back to 1764, overlooks the town today.

 

Jeanine and I leave for the Azores Islands this evening. A four-hour, overnight flight will have us in Ponta Delgado on Sao Miguel by early morning. Maya will be staying with friends for two days before she heads to Paris for a little longer than a week. Clothes for 7 days, two of three cameras, an iPad, and a tripod made a tight squeeze into/onto my 28L backpack. Even though we will be staying in a hotel, I have grown accustomed to traveling with a backpack. We plan to do a lot of hiking so it will come in handy for that as well. Even as I write this entry I am struggling with a deep desire to bring along a forth camera. Sometimes I envy those who just pull out their smartphones for a perfectly fine photo. That said, it occurs to me that I will have my iPhone with me as well, thereby incrementing all prior camera totals by one. In all likelihood, I will not be updating the blog until Wednesday of next week when we return.

Jeanine has finally persuaded me to start biking. It is an activity we can do together and I am thinking it will be my next sport after soccer has used up my knees (not that I see that day on the horizon yet). Looking for any excuse to avoid completing my tax filings, I decided I would buy a new bicycle today. I spent the morning doing some research and determined that I would be best served by a hybrid design (good for on and off-road use, ideally suited for neither). After test-driving three different models at two different stores, I decided to buy a bike helmet instead and call it a day. The engineer in me needs to study the options a little more thoroughly before I make a decision and I will need the helmet in any case. Maya was kind enough to photograph me while I was modeling it for the family.

It is hard to imagine but Jeanine celebrated her 52nd birthday today. She claims it has never rained on her birthday and today was no exception. She spent the better part of the afternoon on a mother-daughter shopping outing ensuring the latter would be well dressed for her trip to Paris next week. The three of us dined at Bullfinchs in Sudbury before returning home for a strawberry cheesecake that I prepared.  Such preparations included the slicing of strawberries and careful placement on a store bought cheesecake, not the from scratch fabrication that would have been employed by any other member of the family.

My soccer season opened this morning and I got off on the right foot scoring both the first and last goal of the game. Ten minutes into the match I was on the receiving end of a long cross from the wing and managed to knock it in with my knee as the keeper came out to clear it. The second was off a very nice give and go with a strong finish from 25 yards to the lower right corner.

After spending a good portion of the day working with Jeanine in the yard on what has been one of the first days remotely suggestive of spring, I spent the hour before sunset at the Great Meadows Reserve where I found this fellow getting his portion of vegetables for the day. Muskrats are not the most photogenic of creatures but this one was at least kind enough to tolerate my close approach. They spend much of their time in the water and are well suited for their semiaquatic life, avle to swim under water for 12 to 17 minutes. Their bodies, like those of seals and whales, are less sensitive to the buildup of carbon dioxide than those of most other mammals. They can close off their ears to keep the water out. Their hind feet are semiwebbed, although in swimming, their tails are their main means of propulsion.

I also had a chance to observe the bird pictured below fishing for its dinner. Although he landed quite a fine fish, it was too big for him and even after a dozen attempts to fly with it back to his nest he had to leave it behind.

For the second time this week I enjoyed dining with colleagues from iRobot. This evening Jeanine and I shared an amazing meal at the home of Christian and Isabella Cerda, General Manager of the Home Robots division along with Oscar Zamorano, SVP of Operations and his wife Angela. The conversation was as entertaining as the food and by the time we left it was one in the morning. I no longer remember what point Oscar was trying to make but I am sure it was very important.

In the last years of the 18th century, the Reverend Charles Stearns became “Lincoln’s first author of note” when he published several books of poetry and moralistic dramas. Stearns and some of his neighbors joined to form the private subscription “Social Library of the Town of Lincoln.” This small beginning led, in 1884, to Lincoln resident George Grosvenor Tarbell donating $27,000 for a handsome Victorian red brick library designed by noted Boston architect Wiilliam G. Preston as a public library for the use of all residents: The Lincoln Public Library. This afternoon I had occasion to pass by the library while returning from a meeting in Waltham and decided, despite the drizzling rain and poor light, to pause for a photo.

I had the pleasure of dining with a group of former iRobot colleagues at The Bancroft this evening. Unique to this modern American steakhouse is a glass-enclosed room for ten situated in the middle of the restaurant where our table was located. Here, you are able to have a quiet conversation while still being connected to the energy of the restaurant. Standing to my right is former COO, Jeff Beck, under whose leadership the assembled group turned an unprofitable division into the financial backbone of the company, which today generates 100% of the profits and 90% of the revenue.

I currently own four carbon fiber tripods. One small, one medium, and two large (one short with 3 sections, the other tall with 4 sections). Based on lack of use, I have decided to sell the large tall one and it can now be found on Craig’s List. When Maya leaves for college in two and a half years it will be just Jeanine and I in our very large home. We are both committed to downsizing when that day arrives and have already begun to systematically divest ourselves of things which see little use and are simply taking up space.

Located on 890 acres just outside of Austin, TX, the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a 3.4-mile motor racing circuit. It is the host of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, the Motorcycle Grand Prix of The Americas, the FIA World Endurance Championship, and the Tudor United SportsCar Championship. I photographed it during a day trip to Austin which started at 4 am in the morning and ended at midnight.

Jeanine prepared an Easter basket for Maya who was giddy as a four year old as she investigated the contents. We then were treated to Easter brunch by Alan Budris and his daughter Sarinnagh at AKA Bistro in Lincoln. A wonderful meal and even better company. Maya spent the better part of an hour driving my (her future) Audi around the neighborhood in preparation for Driver’s Education which she will be starting in June. I suspect she will be able to teach the class by the time it starts.

Although we still have a 3-foot-high pile of snow on our deck our lawn is now absent of it. Nala has been enjoying increasingly greater amounts of time outdoors and seems to be as ready for spring as the rest of us. All the local rivers are swollen and I must make a point of taking my kayak out one of these days to explore the expanded river basins.

After Kyle and I returned from Yosemite he left with Karina for San Diego where the two seem to be having a wonderful time. He forwarded this photo to Jeanine and she to me. In between excursions, Kyle went into the medical center where his strep throat was diagnosed and an antibiotic prescribed. He reported feeling better almost immediately and from the photo appears no worse for the wear.