Sailing trip in the Azores
When last year one of my friends, looking around in Terceira, told me that she would like to go for a sailing trip in the Azores – I smiled. I thought it was a great idea – but who would organize it? The number of yachts charters is next to nothing and the Atlantic Ocean is not the most sailor-friendly. And apart from that – who would find a group of people wanting to cope with the waves and the ocean and get to know the Azores from the sea perspective? Who could do it all? Tomas Piotrowski turned out to be such a person. On a daily basis Tomas is a photographer, you can find him on his site on the Facebook, and a few times a year he puts on the captain’s hat and goes with his crew for more and more interesting sailing expeditions. One of them was a sailing trip in the Azores. Tomas with his crew, including my friend Kate who had dreamt about the sailing trip in the Azores the previous year, got to know the Azores from a perspective that I don’t know them from. I was fascinated by their trip, I wanted to tell you about it. Of course the person who can tell the most about this trip is the captain. So feel welcome to the interview! Hello Tomas! Thank you that you agreed for this interview. Tell me – are you rather a photographer or a sailor? I’m a photographing sailor. I work as a photographer and I combine it with sailing at least a few times a year. What is your experience as a captain? Still too small. There are still so many seas to discover. Luckily every year I get to know new destinations and my “list” is getting successively shorter. The Azores were such a small step forward. In sailing usually you measure your experience in nautical miles sailed and hours spent at sea. I’ve spent so far around 100 weeks on the sailing trips during which I sailed 30 000 nautical miles in 6 000 hours. What attracts you to sailing? I’d like to say that it’s wind, sports and freedom. However, for a long time it’s been pleasure of travelling by such a beautiful means of transport as yacht on an uneven, uncertain, often unpredictable surface for tourism purposes. Sailing can be sports, tourism or a combination of these two disciplines. Lately I’ve been focusing on sightseeing and travelling, and a yacht is a perfect choice for that. Depending on a region, you can see another place every day, another port/city/bay from a different perspective than it’s available for landsmen. You can for example move e.g. between the islands on a ferry or a plane but doing it with a crew definitely gives much more satisfaction. Why have you chosen the Azores? The Azores had been on my sailing list for a long time. A few times I was sailing close to it (Madeira, the Canary Islands) but I never really visited this region. The decision about the sailing trip was taken on a previous trip with the same crew. Somebody said: “the Azores”. Everybody clapped their hands with joy. The Azores seem to be far away, but close. Whenever you come across any mention about the Azores, everything is presented in a positive way. It’s probably the only “perfect” tourism-sailing destination in the world! 😀 At least the only one that I know. I’ve been to many beautiful places in the world. But there is always some “but”. A Polish person can always complain. Too many tourists, too got, too expensive, etc. Here it’s perfect 🙂 Beautiful views, fantastic people, islands’ diversity, amazing cuisine (steaks are my favourite, but the sea food is at the highest world level), interesting places to see, not too many tourists. One can say that a small downside is the uncertain weather. But this weather is changing. That’s why you can experience beautiful views, different every day, even every hour. Fog, rain, full sun. As you can read about the Azores everywhere – here you can experience 4 seasons in one day. How did you gather the crew? An old, proven team. It has almost gathered itself. Which islands have you visited? São Miguel, Terceira, Pico, Graciosa and Faial. What were you taking into account when you were determining the route? The crew’s preferences. A part wanted to sail and thereby visit the western island Flores and Corvo, but moderate sailing and a lot of sightseeing and activities have won in voting. What are your and the crew’s impressions from the Azores? Everybody was more than happy. After hearing opinions, reading travel guides, forums we had very high expectations. Nothing has failed. It was even better! Only positive experiences crowd in. What has captivated you the most? It’s hard to decide. Personally I adore nature – views and fauna and flora are a knockout. It’s a combination of the familiar forests from the temperate zone with tropical rain forests. Lush vegetation, everything green and the all-year-round growing season create incredible views. Each island offers something different, but the nature, people and cuisine is what connects them all. The community is very nice and friendly to the unknown tourists. Treats are waiting for us in restaurants with sea food and steaks. It’s impossible not to mention wonderful cafes with various pasteis. And what has surprised you the most? The weather. It was supposed to be often rainy and windy, and sometimes unpleasant for sightseeing or sailing. Almost all of these stories gave us a wide berth. How did the Atlantic Ocean welcome you? I’ve been to the Atlantic Ocean many times. Thus this ocean is familiar to me. Some of the crew members have already tasted this water region as well. That’s why there were no surprises. The sea has welcome us quite kindly. Only the first passage from São Miguel to Faial has rocked the crew a bit.
Souvenirs from the Azores
What are the souvenirs from the Azores that won’t occupy a lot of space in your luggage? Or even no space. Moreover, you can take these souvenirs from the Azores wherever you go. Wherever life leads you. I’ve prepared a list for you. I limited it to five items, but remember that this list doesn’t really have an end. You can add as many items as you can only imagine. So, shall we begin? 1. Slower pace. In the Azores life goes on at its own pace. When you go to a bar, a waiter will serve you only after having finished a conversation with a friend. Do you mind? Sit comfortable and inhale the smell of coffee and peace. Accept the reality as it is. Time goes slowly on the island and the interpersonal relationships are much more important here than business. If you switch on a flight mode, slow down a bit and let the island reality reorder your priorities – I can guarantee you that you will save a pleasant dose of the holiday freeness after having come back to the earth. 2. A memory of the ubiquitous greenery and sunsets over the ocean. The Azores are green. On 8 out of 9 islands of the archipelago there is a million shades of green. We owe it to high humidity and a big amount of rain. Yes, you’re reading correctly – this rain that can surprise you in every season the year is a direct reason of the breathtaking views of the fields and forests as from the scenery of “The Lord of the Rings”. The purest relief for the eyes and the heart. And the sunsets… There are never too many sunsets. One is enough for you to create a memory which will warm your heart. And each next will make the feeling stronger. Sometimes you may feel longing, but it’s worth longing such sunsets. 3. Flavour of fresh fish and sea food. Flavours are one of the souvenirs that stay with us for long years. Delicious codfish (a Portuguese national dish), grilled squids, freshly caught lapas (limpets) or boca negra (blackbelly rosefish) won’t let you forget about them. And if you add to them an octopus, cracas (not sure of an English name, probably barnacles – check their appearance at the photo below) and local tuna – you may not want to eat fish and sea food in any other place until the end of life. Maybe it’s not the best forecast for the future, but an experience – one of a kind. 4. Ocean. No, I’m not recommending packing the ocean into a backpack. But to take with you a soothing touch of water cuddling the whole body. To take its salty taste. A view of the waves crashing against the black volcanic rocks. A sound of the always alive, always flowing water. Ocean means life. Life for the marine fauna and flora, life for us. From your holidays take a bit of life with you! 5. Energy to start a new day. Regardless of the circumstances. Regardless of the plans. Of following them or making another revolution in your day. In the Azores the weather changes very often. Not without a reason there’s a saying that in the Azores you can have 4 seasons in one day. When it starts raining, nobody starts crying that they have to change their plans because of it. They just do it. And start a new activity with new energy. And it transfers to life. Changes of weather in the Azores can show you that it’s worth making plans but it’s not worth worrying when they don’t work out. It’s enough to stop for a new and make new ones. And start a new day with new energy. Or sometimes start a new phase of your life. Because if we already have a life, we’d better live it well. Even if it’s raining. There are my souvenirs from the Azores. The same that I brought from my first visit in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The same that I take with me whenever I’m leaving this place. They are with me. They help me live and enjoy life. These are the souvenirs from the Azores, which are in abundance for everybody. You just need to open your eyes and heart. There’s more than meets the eye. Have a good day! Have good memories!