Beautiful Azores Islands

Superb fresh, local fish-shellfish-beef-cheese-wine-bread, all the essentials of life except coffee and chocolate, are to be found in the Azores Islands, where I spent the last week. The Azores are like Hawaii only better food, better wine, friendlier people, and a lot less crowded. Hiked on the new land of the Capelinhos volcano on Faial, which drove many Azoreans to the U.S. in 1957-1958. Hiked on the flanks of the 2,350-m Pico volcano, the highest point in Portugal. Visited a beautiful caldera with cows, two lakes, and a small village on Sao Miguel (the human and cow waste is sent outside the caldera through a tunnel so the lakes stay healthy.) Got out on the water on Terceira and saw many Cory’s Shearwaters and a turtle, feeding I think on jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war. Photos are of Horta on Faial, swimming area, Capelinhos volcano, and Cow on Caldera. The Cory's Shearwater and Portuguese man-of-war photos were stolen from the web.

University of Coimbra

I visited the University of Coimbra (the second oldest university in Europe) for a couple days to meet with some colleagues and give a seminar. Coimbra, two hours north of Lisbon by train, is a picturesque town with the university up at the top of the hill. Here is a picture (stolen from the web) of the amazing Biblioteca Joanina, the most ornate library imaginable, with an over-excited architecture. They have to cover the library tables at night because of the bats that fly around inside (just like Buckland). Outside the Institute for Marine Research, a couple of fully-costumed student effigies were hanging. Apparently something to do with student rebellion against the old university dress codes (black robes, etc.)

The Jardim Botanico and Leonardo

Coming back from the organic market in the Praco do Principe Real, my knapsack stuffed full of fresh vegetables, I wandered into the nearby Jardim Botanico (Botanical Garden). That was, in the middle of Lisbon, an oasis of green and quiet with tall trees and singing birds. After a pleasant spell sitting on a bench, I set out again to my apartment, when I came upon another distraction, a special exhibit on Leonardo da Vinci. At the exhibit entrance, you got a little mirror, so you could read Leonardo’s writing, which he did from right to left in mirror image. I’ve seen a few Leonardo things here and there but this one was primarily working mockups in wood and metal and leather of many of the gadgets from his notebooks and sketchbooks (the codex). They ranged in size from table top to full size and in subject area across Leonardo’s incredible devices from scientific instruments to military weapons to industrial machinery to flying devices to a design for the perfect city to floating skiis and poles for walking on water. There were also several of his precise anatomical sketches and big-scale reproductions of paintings such as The Last Supper. For the first time, I realized that there was a Thomas and an Andrew at that supper. A section on the Vitruvian Man, the naked guy that stands inside a circle and a square in perfect proportion, had a movie on all the dimensional relations. A true genius.

Visit From The Director

I had a visit from The Director. The first photo shows The Director looking for something to direct in her Atlantic Ocean domain from the perspective of the eastern side. We took the train to Cascais, then got two of the free bicycles for a ride along the 10-km bike path out past Cabo Raso. Very pretty, like biking the coast of Marin County, CA. Stopped by the Mouth of Hell (like Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park), but it wasn’t spouting anything. Nice sandy beach at the end of the path. Then we met Stella (an Argentinian compatriot of The Director who is now retired from the UN and living in Cascais) at a seaside café for sangria and—Swedish meat balls. Oh well, everything else out there is international.

Estoril Open

An office mate had an extra ticket to last Sunday’s Estoril Open, a little west of Lisbon. We saw Roger Federer (currently #1 men’s player in the world) play Nicolay Davydenko (#4). The luncheon buffet outplayed them both with awesome eye-popping displays of Portuguese meats, fishes, fruits, vegetables, breads, desserts, and cheeses. And plenty of wine of course. The seafood paella was good. Also the roasted piglet. I think some people never got out to see the match.

Night Train to Lisbon

Here’s a statue of Pessoa, the Lisbon poet, outside the Café A Brasileria. And another shot of him in the esplanade of the nearby Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos, where I took in a matinee of The Tales of Hoffmann, sung in French. I’m reading a dangerous book, Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier. It’s about a teacher of classic languages in Switzerland who one night, prompted by an enigmatic Portuguese woman and a provocative novel by a Portuguese doctor-poet, abandons his staid, orderly, comfortable life and takes the night train to Lisbon. Hmmmm.

My New Boss

Lest anyone think I’m having too much fun, here’s a photo of my new boss. As you can see, he’s into ocean stuff. This was at the Pena National Palace high above Sintra. The sides of the gateway are made to look like a coral reef and include shells.