Yesterday’s merrymaking was of such ferocity that Ana and I decided we needed to do a morning trail walk. I had my heart set on the Janela do Inferno (Window to Hell) trail, as it sounded so metal and wicked. By the end, it was a nearly three-hour affair, through eight kilometres of such a variety of landscapes it was hard to believe. It began with a long, slowly then rapidly ascending walk along grassy and serene meadow roads and trails with magnificent vistas over the ocean and the city of Ponta Delgada and hussies of cows to the left and right. The trail markers led us across a bridge over a dry river, then a narrow but deep valley up and down steep staircases, then into a 100-metre-long dark concrete tunnel that required crouching walking and had half a foot of muck and water in some spots, which put Ana in a dark mood indeed after we emerged and the natural light exposed the filthy condition of her favourite white fashion sneakers. In fact, I took a look into her eyes and I think I saw a window into hell, so maybe that’s where they got the name.
From here we entered a forest with a few more tunnels and a huge, ancient aqueduct. The midpoint of the forest trail was the actual window into hell, which was simply a big hole in a cliff from which water spouted and, surprisingly, there seemed to be a series of water collection systems pipes that, I assume, that formed part of the municipal water collection system. The path eventually exited the forest and we were back into grassy meadows and cows, then after a while ended up on a steep downhill road, then an equally steep path that was muddy, washed out, and rather grown in, suggesting we had lost our way, but then it emerged in the town of Remedios, where we found trail markers and scrambled up and down some steep streets, then popped out right where we had parked the car at the trailhead. The good news is Ana was able to clean her shoes back at Tio Manuel’s house, bringing them and her mood back to pristine condition. I checked her eyes again and the regular window into sweet heaven had returned.
Tio Luis and Geneveva stopped in for a visit as we hoovered up some of the many leftovers for lunch. Sadly, they were unable to make the party the previous day, but they were probably still cleaning up their house after the smashing party they hosted the weekend before.
Ana had a few things to do so I found a bit of time to sneak out to the beach. I had my goggles and had hoped the ocean had flattened with the low winds so I could explore the underwater world. But it was rougher than I expected, and I was the only person on the entire beach. I walked in up to my knees, then had a flash of a rip current pulling me out to sea, or a wave rolling me over, or some other unfortunate accident, and got completely spooked. Strange, I can’t ever remember me making such a mature decision concerning the prospect of a glorious, but risky, ocean swim. Am I growing up? I hope not.
After I returned and got cleaned up, we realized we had a bit of time before yet another scheduled evening event. So Ana and I went first to Tia Ana’s local church where Ana magnificently worked through some funeral and will administration with the priest, then we drove to the town of Caloura, which is home to one of our favourite watering holes on the island, and enjoyed a plate of mussels and a drink to the sound of the ocean waves crashing into the volcanic rocks, right below the restaurant deck.
After picking up Ana’s folks we drove to Ana Margarida’s house for the final evening meal and final event of our trip. I thought maybe it was going to be a memorial sort of thing for Tia Ana, but it was just a nice meal together with various members of her family, and such a kind gesture from a remarkable lady who took care of Ana’s aunt right to the very end and beyond.
We returned to base camp sometime after 10:30 and found Natercia there waiting for us. There is nobody, and I mean nobody I have ever met who has as much energy as Natercia. Sadly, I was demolished and said a quick hello and goodbye then retired upstairs, leaving Ana and her folks to finish up the evening.
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