Sao Miguel Island Day 1

After the plane Landed.I waited for my luggage.I didn’t see my bag for quite a while, and started to get concerned that someone grabbed it, but of course, it finally came out.I tried to get some Euros from a machine at the airport, but my card got denied, so I don’t know what’s going on there.Got a taxi to take me to the Hostel.I dropped off my bag in their staff room as they agreed, and had the taxi take me to the scooter rental place.The weather was not the best and it was raining a little. After I picked up the scooter, I headed out to visit my list of places.First stop is Gruta do Carvao Cave complex arriving at 10:00am.Pretty close to the hostel.It started raining again so I stopped under a bridge and put my parka on.Arrived at the complex.Needed a reservation and of course, Euros.My card got denied again, WTF.I called Wells Fargo before I left to make sure it was active overseas.I will have to call them later.The girl said she could fit me in at 10:30am, but I needed to get Euros.So, she fit me in on Saturday at 2:30pm.She was very nice.I have the ATV Ride starting at 10:00am, and I am not sure if I will be back in time to make it.So I headed to town of Furnas which is about 40 minutes away.I wanted to get that visit out of the way because it is one of the furthest locations from the hostel.There are several things in that area to see.After arriving in Furnas, I went to the next stop on the list, Caldeiras Vulcanicas.I arrived there and parked up the street.Pretty cool little area with sulfurous water and boiling mud pools.Walked around and took pictures.Boy you could smell the sulfur.There might have been more to the area but my leg was bothering me a little, so I decided to move on.Next, I headed to Terra Nostra Garden and Pool.I arrived and paid the admittance with AMEX luckily.There was this huge pool of thick tan colored water that was supposed to be great to bathe in.There were quite a few people in it.The info said to bring an old bathing suit as it would get stained.I didn’t go in the water.Walked around part of the garden, but it was a huge area to walk around in, and my leg was still bothering me.I was also still a little frustrated about the cave thing.I tried to find directions to the next two things on the list, Caldeiras da Agoa das Furnas and Our ladies of Victories Chapel.Maps kept screwing up and got me more frustrated, plus the fact the weather was colder, windy and ugly. The wet roads were making me nervous being on a scooter.I put in directions for the Salto do Rosal Waterfall, and again map was not being precise.Decided enough was enough and headed back to the hostel.Got into town and maps was giving weird directions and I drove around for what seemed like an hour or more with maps taking me the wrong direction and constantly re-routing.Finally, I just happened to stumble across where the hostel was.The problem is that it used to be a street and now it is a walkway, so you are not supposed to drive on it. Hence Googles confusion. I did anyway and parked in front.Contacted people to come show me my room.Waited about ten minutes. Nice gal showed up.She put me on the second floor.A room with two twin beds.She even carried my suitcase up the stairs for me.Room had only a small fan.No A/C.There were common areas for kitchen, living room, bathroom, and showers.Good enough for what I needed. The only downfall was parking.Had to park in a public parking lot a 5-minute walk away.Uugghh.More walking for my leg, and of course it took me a little more than 5 minutes.Good thing I brought the cane. I was super tired from the whole plane ride and lack of sleep.I laid down on the bed and started falling asleep, and I was going back and forth in my mind about finding a place to eat.I decided to try and find an ATM and get some Euros again.First one right near the hostel was broken.I walked down the street a little more and asked a lady in a store if she knew of another one.She said just a couple more blocks.I walked past it because it was on the other side of the street.They are not marked very well.Just stuck into sides of buildings.I tried my card again and again, it got declined.I called Wells Fargo, and someone didn’t authorize it for International Travel like they were supposed to.The guy fixed it, so I tried again, and yes, EURO’s.I walked back to the pathway in front of the hostel and walked further down it and checked out a restaurant close by.It looked okay, and of course, everything was listed in Portuguese.I asked the guy at the counter if they had hamburgers and fries.He said yes.Then he asked me if I wanted a bun with my hamburger.I guess people order without buns?It was a pretty good burger and good helping of fries.Two older couples showed up, and the woman was taking a picture of the other three at the table.I offered to take a picture of all four of them.One of the guys recognized me from the flight from Newark.They asked me how I got hurt and I told them how my hip was fractured in three places from being thrown from my horse.They were surprised I was getting around, since it was only 6 weeks ago.After I finished eating, I went and grabbed my camera to take pictures of nearby objects to check off my list.There was a cool church right across from the restaurant. The Portas da Cidade, (city gates), was right there also.Took some pictures of the streets and the buildings and then I walked across the street to take pictures of the harbor where the boats were.I headed back to the hostel.I sat in the living room and typed in my journal and watched part of a 007 movie, actually in English, with Portuguese subtitles.I finished and took a much-needed shower. I laid down on the bed, watching the rest of the movie, yes, there was a TV in the room, about the size of a computer monitor lol.I was starting to feel tired and it was almost 9pm, so I decided to go to sleep.