Islandscape on Camera: Terceira, Portugal

I can't believe I only have two more posts after this one to finish up my European Extravaganza recap series. I know I've been recapping this trip for quite a while (since July 23, to be exact), but there is still way too much to fit on any blog. I am so grateful I was able to take this trip, especially with my fiance and siblings by my side. :) Anyway, enough sappiness. Like I said, I still have two posts left! Today, I'm sharing photos from my time in the Azorean island of Terceira.

image via @mcstroup on Instagram

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Azores, I like to refer to the islands as "the Hawaii of Portugal." This archipelago is composed of nine islands and located about 900 miles southwest of Lisbon in the Atlantic Ocean. Jonathan's parents were actually both born in the Azores and emigrated to America. His dad was born and raised on the island of Terceira, our first stop in the islands. (His mom was born in Pico, which I'll share with you next week!)

We were lucky to be in town for one of the island's street bullfights. Basically, the town takes a few bulls from a local farm and releases them one at a time down the street. The men in white hold the verrrrry long rope attached to the bull to make sure he doesn't get too far out of bounds, and local men and boys (that was just my observation; I didn't see too many women) chase the bull up and down the street and try to aggravate it. Yes, I did feel a little bad for the bulls—it's not like they were hurt in the "fight," but I figured the bulls had to be annoyed and frustrated—but it was neat to witness such a cultural experience firsthand.

The island is fairly small, so you can drive around the entire island in a matter of hours. And drive around the island we did! Here are a few of the gorgeous views I captured:

One great thing about my pictures from the Azores is that I have so many pictures of Jonathan and me! We stayed with his dad's cousins on Terceira, and they were always more than happy to snap a photo of us together, which isn't always easy to do when traveling. :)

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