Today began as one of the rainiest days yet so we opted out of hiking. Instead, we drove along the EN3, which travels the interior of the island from Madalena, where we are based. After a 9 km relatively straight stretch, we took a right turn and headed down towards Lajes. We’ve included a map of the island for reference.

Just outside Sao Mateus, we stopped at a little shop that sells hand crafted goods – Picoartes. A lovely woman greeted us, but quickly realized that we speak only English. As we browsed her shop, a truck arrived in the parking lot and her son rushed into the shop. She somehow let him know that his English skills were needed. He was able to explain all the items, including the history of some of the crafts.

We drove the south coast of the island, back towards Madalena, dipping down into various villages along the way. There are endless hidden treasures on this island, and you must get off the main roads to see them!

The flowers appeared to embrace this rainy weather. Photographic evidence in the slideshow.

The skies cleared on our way home and we arrived in time to soak up the sun from the balcony for over an hour, overlooking the surf while it continues to crash into the shore. We love watching these massive waves and hearing the roar that is a constant backdrop from our apartment.

Tip of the Day:

Google Maps has a feature that we’ve been using every day. Since we decided not to put extra data on our phones, or get a local phone number, when we are not connected to wifi, our data is turned off. Google Maps allows you to download the map for an area and then use it offline. We have the entire island downloaded and it’s been extremely helpful.