Last day on the Azores

Today is our last day on the Azores. It’s quite windy today, the waves are high and we are reminded of Wellington. We had some really nice days over here. We went swimming, walking, kayaking, shopping and yesterday even fishing. The fishing was very relaxing yesterday. We caught many fish, though they weren’t really too big, to be honest (Ingegerd was laughing all evening). Karin caught the biggest fish and Joseph the most. We were both happy with the result, though it was a lot of work relieving those tiny buggers from their fishbones before eating. With us were Staffan and Gerby (a friend of Staffan’s). All the equipment was Gerby’s, so we were happy he took us out.

It was Gerby, who even took us (Karin, Joseph and Lisa) out on a Kayaking trip one of the days. Gerby is a guy from Holland who has been living on the Azores for about 18 years. He is a friend of Staffan’s and really likes the open sea. According to him, every day not spent close to the sea is a wasted day. Kayaking on the open sea was fun, though after a while, tiring. It was the first time kayaking on the open sea for Joseph. Karin had done it before, on the Baltic Sea. We went around some cliffs out in the sea and spent altogether three hours out there. And even though we had blisters on our hands and aching backs when we got back, it was an awesome trip, which even worked in favor of our tans.

Christmas itself was very cozy. After the bath in the hot pools and after we got the Christmas tree, we all spent a family Christmas around the nicely decorated tree. On Christmas day, we went for walks and read books, whilst enjoying the sun, whenever possible. The food throughout these days was extraordinary and delicious too. We had everything from turkey, “julgröt” and Christmas ham to chicken soup, fish and apple pie. With other words, we weren’t exactly starving.

So tomorrow, we fly back home. We enjoyed getting away from everyday life for a short little while, to a sunnier place, not thinking of work or studies too much. Having the family around you was nice too. Now it’s back to dark and wet Malmö, though our batteries are charged now. With other words, we are ready.

Now we just hope that all of you are going to enjoy New Years Eve. Happy new year, everyone!

BTW, these nice pictures were taken by Staffan. You never know who’s watching, if there are bird watchers around… ;-)