Already on the plane, I met a Portuguese guy named Carlos, who was going to visit his friend Tomás, who lives on the island. In the end, Carlos, Tomás, and I traveled around the island together, exploring different places and discovering what life on Terceira is really like.
Life on the island is completely different. Terceira is far out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and since it’s not the main island of the Azores, there weren’t that many tourists either. Because of that, I was able to focus much more on the local life, history, and culture. And since I met mostly local people, I had a much better chance to see what everyday life on the island is actually like.
On my first day, I met the local vice mayor, and we had a really nice conversation. He showed me around the city hall and told me more about how the city works and what life on the island is like. He also introduced me to Andre, who later took me to a surfing lesson. Thanks to that, I got to experience the ocean from a completely different perspective and try something that is such a big part of island life.
And on my last day, I added another letter to my project — this time, the letter E.
Those three days on Terceira were incredibly intense. So many new people, experiences, and opportunities to discover the local way of life that it honestly felt like I had spent much more than just three days there.