Here We Go! Days 42-50 (OMG 50 DAYS?! HOW IS THIS SUMMER SO LONG?)

We spent our last full day on Sao Miguel doing a little exploring of the last part of the island and completing our circuit of THE ROAD that goes around the island: EN 1-1A.

Coffee in this cute little square in the cute little town of Nordeste.

Stopped by a couple of viewpoints, with well-maintained gardens and rest-areas (Miradouro da Ponta do Sossego, Ponta da Madrugada), saw a couple of new-to-me flowers and some nice views of the northeast coast. I think the sign in the middle says "don't pee in the garden". If it doesn't, I'm not interested in correcting my translation.

Weren't looking for it, but Rani spotted Cascata da Ribeira Quente, a hot waterfall, between these two tunnels in the road!

Ate a giant octopus in Ribeira Quente.

Then, having traveled this (is)land well, we headed back home and packed up. Ridiculously early flight the next morning, all of the expected frustrations of a small airport and a suggested check-in time that is way before people get up and show up to work, and we were off on a short flight to the island of Santa Maria, where we were faced with an even-smaller airport! Got a car, met our next Airbnb host, and took a nap before checking out some beaches (COLD water here, but fun waves).

St. Lawrence Beach, with just a little bit of sand, and a pool built in to the coast.

Santa Maria a different flavor of island. It's small, about a fourth the size of Sao Miguel, and less developed. We're staying in the center of the island, and everything is about 20 minutes away. There's not a lot to do here, which is great, especially since we have a really nice place to stay.
We came here mostly because of the diving, which was pretty nice. On our first dive, we just hung on a line in the middle of some beautiful blue water while a school of giant mobula rays circled us. We made the trip out to the middle of the ocean to Formigas, which is just a bunch of rocks with a lighthouse on them. Two hours travel each way by rib-boat (cold and wet). But the water here is beautiful, and there was lots to see, including some close encounters with giant groupers.
We don't do photography on dives anymore, which I'm pretty happy about. I like just concentrating on the view and my place in the water. Not having pictures of our dives also adds to the dream-like experience of diving: alien creatures in an alien landscape, quiet and blue. We dove this week with a family of professional photographers, and I am a little sad we didn't get their contact information to see what a professional would make of the dives we did.
The rest of the time we've been enjoying being in a very comfortable house on a beautiful hillside overlooking the village of Santa Barbara, cooking (mostly) our own food, reading, Netflix-ing, and recovering from diving (still having some trouble with my right ear).

View of Santa Barbara from our patio.

Today, we make one last stop at the beach, tidy up the house, and get ready for our last stop in the Azores: Pico Island tomorrow!