Praia da Vitoria

Mateus dropped us off in the centre of town which is about 4 km from our house. It’s a very pretty town with a population of 21,000, making it the second largest on the island. We walked throughout town but when we got to the Church of Santa Cruz the minister had just arrived. He welcomed us in, turned on the music and all the lights. He gave us a short tour and explained all the damage that was done in the 1980 earthquake....7.2 on the Richter Scale, killing 61, and injuring over 400. We left a donation. Quite the contrast to the church lady in Angra who wouldn’t allow us in if we didn’t pay, which didn’t seem like a godly approach. Every community has small churches, called Imperio, scattered throughout town for a quick prayer at any time of day. Some are prettier than others.

I stopped at a small local handicraft shop and bought myself a cork necklace with a small flower made of fish scales. Sounds atrocious but it is actually very delicate. We ended our day trip at a pizza restaurant that had wifi hoping to connect with the world but it wouldn’t connect, which was disappointing. It was a quick 80 cent bus ride home.Read more