There’s always a certain amount of administration for us to do when we visit here. We have a Portuguese bank account which is used to pay taxes on the land we own, and we have a family member here as power of attorney on it, which requires period updating or changing. Ana is a Portuguese citizen so her citizenship card and passport expire regularly, as do her parents’. All of these require trips to banks or a variety of government offices, which means we have become relatively adept at carrying out this administration, but quite used to discovering we’re missing that one document (at home, filed away) required to finish things off. Today, we made the first attempt to sort out a banking issue in Vila Franca (as the nearby branch had permanently closed about a week ago). It was a bust. We’d need to return tomorrow with Ana’s uncle Manuel to sign a document.
After the banking, we took the folks on a little island tour. As we passed by our land in Feteiras, we saw a healthy crop of 12 foot tall bamboo cane growing on it, which we should be cutting down for the neighbour’s sake, but we discovered a few years ago that if we let it grow, the municipality will eventually cut it down for us, haul it away and they don’t charge anything. Each time we visit the Azores we are faced with a decision on what to do with this land. And each time we decide to do nothing. The land has a sweeping view to the south overlooking the beauty and terror of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a large lot, perfect for building a house we could use for ourselves or to rent. It is located in a quiet part of the island, but still only a ten minute drive from the airport and fifteen from downtown Ponta Delgada. The only drawback is the town. Feteiras is nice, but it is very sleepy, and there is not much of interest to walk to. It is a perfect getaway location to reconnect with your inner thoughts and think about life and all that, but you need to drive or take the bus to get anywhere interesting or see mammals other than cows. We’ll see.
We drove to the western end of the island along a series of winding and scenic secondary roads, passing through the towns of Relva, Feteiras, Candelaria, Ginetes, and finally to Mosteiros, and after a little tour around the coastline, went to the restaurant we always visit here, but it was unexpectedly closed. So we found another, which turned out to be just as good, and had a terrific view over the ocean. John and I had the local swordfish, which was delish, Ana had a pork dish, and Maria ordered this breaded chicken platter that came with enough food for three people. The Portuguese like to slap a fried egg on top of their meals (which I think you should eat first), and Maria kept moving her fried egg around on her plate. It originally sat on the chicken and was plump and plucky. She moved it off the chicken and atop her fries then ate a piece of chicken. Then she moved it atop the rice and ate some fries. Then she plopped it right on her salad and ate some rice then some fries. When she was about to put it back on the rice to eat some salad I intercepted it with my fork. By this time it was punctured, limp, and melancholy so I ate the whole thing in one bite and put it out of its misery. She seemed relieved. I was happy to assist.
Back at base camp a manageable fam jam with some of the cousins ensued, and I learned that the nature of fresh potatoes here are such that even the slightest mashing motion turns the fragile and tender beauties into thick unsightly paste. To divert attention from my disastrous potato dish, I made a joke about the old folks using the potato paste to stick in their dentures instead of the Polygrip. For some reason the Portuguese elders here all regularly remove their teeth to eat, which doesn’t make any sense at all, but in any case my joke fell flat. Maybe I butchered the delivery. Maybe they couldn’t hear me. Or maybe I’m JUST NOT THAT FUNNY. But I think it was a language thing.
At around 10:30 pm Ana received a call from her aunt’s best friend and caregiver Ana Margarida. The news was that her aunt’s conditioned had worsened considerably and she was back in the hospital. Ana and I drove there immediately to see her and could see it would not be long. I returned home at 12:30 and Ana stayed with Ana Margarida to be with Tia Ana throughout the night.
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