RIAC & AtlanticoLine Boat Planning Annoyances

I LOVE boats.  My great-grandfather was a whaler (or so I'm told).  I am planning to travel to Madeira, and would prefer to travel by boat.  Apparently, you have to go from Lisbon and it is VERY expensive. Even if I can't do that, I'd still like to visit Faial by boat, where my Mom & her family grew up.  I visit AtlanticoLine, the only boat option.

There is a special offer. The Blue Sea Pass, 3 islands Roundtrip for just 108 Euros.

"GREAT!" I think to myself, I'm going to spend time on the water & understand what it is like to approach the islands like the ancient sailors did.

I'll go from Santa Maria (where I am now) to Sao Miguel (it's a different boat) to Faial.  And when I come back, I'll stop at Sao Miguel (to take the plane to Madeira, the only direct option) and come back to Santa Maria.

Frankly, I've done the boat trip before, even done a cruise of the islands, booked a room onboard & everything.  I am already aware that the boat doesn't travel everyday & that there are stops that last for hours on some islands.  It is not the easiest means of travel or the most flexible.  I am aware that one leg of the journey will be 13 hours. And coming back will be 23 hours. (LONG stops included)

(You are welcome to stop reading here.  The rest of this post is a detailed rant about just how difficult it was to buy the ticket.  I LOVE the islands, why doesn't the RIAC/Atlantico Line Office want to take my money??)

Apparently, the online system makes it too difficult to purchase this package.  I can purchase ONLY a round trip deal for 2 different dates.  If you are visiting 3 islands, does it not make sense to also include a way to indicate the arrival/departure dates for the 3rd island where you WANT to stay?

The online system also returns results in a confusing order. I ask for August 10th and get results listed as
14-8
10-8
12-8

Why would the date I request be the first result anyway?  Wouldn't I rather travel later? (the website seems to think so)

So I went to the RIAC office itself.  And just spent an HOUR trying to figure out how to buy a ticket for what I actually want. The Very Patient Woman behind the counter put my entire schedule into the system.

My proposed travel itinerary for 3 islands:

Santa Maria>Sao Miguel>Faial>Sao Miguel>Santa Maria

The Very Patient Woman helped me to figure out THEIR required itinerary for me to pay 108 Euros for the "3 Island Special":

Santa Maria>Terceira>Faial>Sao Miguel>Santa Maria

How many islands do you see above? 4, count 'em, FOUR!!!!

The annoying part, it is EXACTLY THE SAME BOAT trip. The schedule includes a stop in Terceira for 12 hours. 2pm until 2am, no matter where you want to go, you have to get off & spend money in Terceira.

Unfortunately, even with this modified version, the computer system didn't allow the purchase.  The "Purchase" button that SHE was seeing was grayed out.  She called twice & seemed embarrassed, but asked that we come back tomorrow, while she tried to "massage the system" (it sounds better in Portuguese).

At the end of the hour-long visit, I still didn't have my tickets.  I was also annoyed that the AC didn't work.  Frankly, I was frustrated enough NOT to visit any other islands. Or if I did, it would be by airplane.

==

Afternoon Update: Price on SATA:146 Euros, Sao Miguel to Faial, with a stop in Terceira!

2nd Day Update: They called, told me (in English) that everything had been figured out and I could go back to purchase the tickets. We spent another hour in the office, looking at a grayed out button.

3rd Day Update: They called me again, at 11:45, when they close for lunch at 12.  I returned later that day. I gave up fighting. I paid my money.  I got my ticket. I went to the beach.

I plan to write a letter & call to complain.  After my trip is over.  I don't want anything else to go wrong!!

Planning Your Visit: Less Than A Week to Go

I am VERY lucky to have so very many amazing cousins and aunts and uncles looking out for me and my travels.  They are built-in tour guides, hoteliers, and all around wonderful hosts.

Additionally, sometimes I can invite myself along on their family vacations (and sometimes not) and as my aunts & uncles get older, I get more sensitive to their needs and try to stay away from being the annoying guest.

When they are in the US, I work hard to be the good host, too.

Here's my basic guide:

1. Be pleasant and enthusiastic.  ALWAYS. 
Granted, there will be moments of being tired on the road. But unless you are injured or clinically depressed, try to be on your best behavior at all times.  (And if you are injured or clinically depressed, you need to work harder at this)
Your family might cut you some slack, but when you are dealing with strangers at a hotel-it helps to be extra nice to them and request as little as possible.

2. Do your homework about any of your technology.
Before you leave, find out what plugs you need for your devices.  Do you also need a voltage converter? (110V in the US vs 240V in Europe).  Recent laptops & phones have built in converters, but you might want to have one, just in case.  Are you sure you have the correctly shaped plug for where you are going?  Call ahead and try to get a picture of what a plug looks like.  I did this with my cousin and he laughed at the plug I had purchased.  He Facebook Messaged me a bunch of pictures of the plugs that he uses.

FYI: This is the plug for Santa Maria & the Azores.

3. Find out what your carrier charges for international calls & data.

Sometimes there are ways around surprise fees.  My Sprint carrier charges $4.99 for an international plan and calls are $.99 a minute.  Texts are $.50, but I use Whatsapp, which allows free international texting.  The Sprint people showed me the steps to turn off "Data Roaming" (complex!) so I won't be charged.  Wifi will be a godsend, but it's not just a matter of keeping it on "Airplane Mode" the whole time.

4. Pack extra things you really need.  Especially in your carry on.

Pack like you will be stuck on a desert island.  Or worse, an airport whose shops are closed.

Afraid to be stuck without aspirin? Your favorite sunscreen, SPF 70? Do you get hangry? Toss in an extra set on undies & your toothbrush. Maybe one of those wrinkle-proof shirts/dresses.

This is great if your luggage gets lost, your flight is delayed or you are just looney after a long trip.  Better than having to dig through all of your bags to find your essentials.

5. Pack a smaller day bag.  And something that even Ryanair would let you fly with.

Even if you don't know all your smaller trips in advance, you'll want to have ways to carry your stuff without lugging everything around.  Also remember that you'll be buying stuff, so that you should bring stuff that you can leave.  Presents for cousins or books; I have a friend who brings old clothes on her trips & gives them to any homeless people.

Also the cheap airlines charge extra for suitcases. Like Ryanair, which is going to get me from Santa Maria to Lisbon for $90 roundtrip.  Easyjet is another great airline that services the Azores, but they just revealed that nobody at the company knows what Portugal looks like.

Why You Should Go, Or Not

I have a friend who considers herself a traveler.  She ticks off countries like she's hoping to visit every spot in the world before she dies.  She only stays at LUXURY places where she can go shopping for EXPENSIVE things.  She has the exact SAME experience everywhere she goes.  No different from going to a McDonald's, you know you'll get the same hamburger, with mildly regional variations.

I have another friend who has to find a new animal sanctuary every year.  A place where protected animals can be visited and petted by tourists who have enough money to visit them.  She went to the Galapagos Islands recently, and was annoyed by how many other humans were around her, and how the birds and sea creatures are being crowded out.  This person also complains about how much Jackson Hole, Wyoming has changed in 30 years since she started coming every summer. She doesn't seem to notice that she's part of the problem.

If either of the above is you, I might ask you to stay home.

Or, better yet, GO.  But leave behind the above expectations.  Talk to the people on the islands.  Understand that there IS a culture there and that it goes back centuries.  That it connects to the earliest Portuguese sailors, and Fado music and the idea of "Saudade" (a longing for something that never existed).

YES.  It is pristine and gorgeous.  And YES, you can find almost any sport, activity, scenery that you want to imagine. If you want to hang out by the beach all day, with or without alcohol, you can do that too.

But it's not Disneyland.  It's not about hikes or rappelling down into ravines and volcanic variety that would make a geologist drool.  (Okay, it IS, but it is still MORE)

You can go island hopping; there are 9 of them, each different.  But spend time getting to know how they are different.  I've lived in NYC for years, and I describe visiting exactly the same way.  "It's a great place to LIVE, but I wouldn't want to VISIT there,"  The travel is the part you might remember more if you don't get enough hours on the ground to actually experience it.

It is like the most amazingly attractive, sincere, delightful person you have ever met.  The more you get to know her/him, the better it gets.  Except this is like 500,000 of them.

I've been there a bunch of times and I still haven't figured out how to define the magic of the Azores.

Okay, here is a link to some of the fancier pictures:
HuffPo's Version of the Azores as the Best Kept Secret, with Jaw Dropping Pictures

PS If you go to just one island, my vote is for Sao Miguel.  Start there. I'll tell you why in a future post.

The Countdown Begins: I leave in 21 days for Sao Miguel!

My cousin visited from Santa Maria a month ago.  I realized that it was time for me to visit, again.  I have family all over the place & I try to go every 4 years.  I got my ticket on SATA, after much internal debate. But deep down, I knew I'd be going.

I'm excited to tell everyone that I'll be gone for the summer.  I say that I'm going to Portugal, then correct myself for them.

"Actually, it's the Azores," I say, "a bunch of islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean,"

Most people react well to "Portugal"; they generally have a sense of where it is ("Europe, right?" Yes, Europe) and what language they speak ("Spanish, right?" No, not Spanish.  You're close, though!)

I say, "most people" when I mean, "most Americans".  And even then, there is a giant difference between where I live now, New York and where I grew up, Waltham (outside Boston).  People in New York may not know about the Azores, have never had heard the word, but they won't admit it. We are all immigrants on the island of Manhattan.  Outside Boston, there is a chance that someone *knows* someone who is from there, or has visited, or both.  It works for New Bedford, Fall River and Providence.  And certain parts of California.  I've heard that there are so many Azorean immigrants to California that they have completely taken over the dairy industry.  If you get your milk from a West Coast cow, chances are pretty high that is speaks Portuguese.

That was a joke.

Most people have NO CLUE about the Azores.  And maybe it's better to keep it that way.  I feel slightly as if I'm betraying the selfish part of me, the future me who wants to keep it all a secret.  It's like I have inherited a Van Gogh painting, something breathtaking, and I keep it locked away in my basement. I want to keep the endless beaches and scenery all to myself.  But sharing is what makes anything worthwhile, right? I want to encourage people to come, but I don't want it spoiled, okay?

To all the future tourists who come to visit, especially because of any of my writings, be warned.  This is not just another vacation. These islands are pristine and unspoiled by uber-tourism.  These mountains and views are treasured & holy.  My family lives there, and has lived there for centuries.  Be respectful.

You are coming to my home.

Traveling Advice in The Islands

On Facebook, I see lots of postings by SATA, which is the major/only airline that flies to the Azores (although I think they are partnering with Jetblue to get you there from anywhere in the US, as long as you can fly through Boston or Newark).  Today, they posted a review from Fodor's, the travel site.

The title includes "Lovely Lovely Experiences".

Understanding that the travel industry is great at trying to target the "Tourist" population (vs the Returning Natives and Families), but I always find myself caught up between the two worlds.

My Mom is from Faial, and I return every 4 years or so.  I've been to the mainland (Portugal) and all of the 9 islands.  And I never understand why someone who has been there would recommend spending "a day by car"

I can appreciate that the "Adventure Tourists" are hikers, bikers, sailors and other "sporty" types.  This group also has a lot of crossover potential into the "Nature Tourist" group, who are birders, botanizers, ecologists and nature lovers in general.

Both groups would HATE to be put into any kind of "Tourist" group at all, because they despise anything that may have that label.  They want to experience the "purity" of a location, despite what negative environmental impact may be occurring-see The Galapagos. They want to avoid any other people who speak the same language as they do, even if that means missing out on "local natives" who happen to be sophisticated enough to speak English and have the ability to hold up their end of an intellectual conversation.  Any store that sells magnets emblazoned with the name of the location MUST be avoided at all costs, even if they contain books or objects that may intrigue the most sophisticated traveler.

I'm also a big fan of Walden Pond (which has its own flavors of tourists) and I'd recommend exactly what I recommend there.

Go.  Be.  Enjoy yourself.  Walk around, get up close.  Look for flowers/birds/people that you wouldn't encounter at home.

==
The above was inspired by the following review on Fodor's:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/visiting-the-azores-islands-portugal-lovely-lovely-experiences.cfm#comments-open

My comment (as GirlsRock) on Fodor's site.

"I was intrigued by your title "Lovely Lovely Experiences", yet it seems as if you spent your time trying to cram in each island and then "easily tour it by car and see everything really in one day".  I wish you could offer up an example of one of the "Lovely Lovely Experiences", so future travelers don't get overwhelmed by the complex logistics.

That is NOT the point of the Azores.

This is the one spot on Earth where you don't have to rush.  Take as much time as you can afford.  Pick one or two islands.  By all means, make sure you travel between them by boat. Enjoy everything and let it unfold.

The views are GORGEOUS. Allow yourself to see something spectacular more than once. The flora is amazing, but anyone can easily be overwhelmed by all of the beauty and quickly lose touch with the idea of such a lush ecosystem in the middle of the Atlantic.

It sounds as if you had a marvelous time and that you have a great variety of resources to share with future visitors. Don't judge your vacations by how many waterfalls/caldeiras/hikes you can see or how many "tourist traps" you pride yourself on avoiding. This is not something to just check off your list.

If you are thinking of visiting, I'd highly recommend it.  But take a deep breath and let yourself catch up with The Place."