Hello Bill, I remember that I wrote to you last year before you went with some advice for taking young people to the Azores....I see now that we must have just missed you as we were on the flight that left one day early OUT of Oakland to Terceira (July 20) and were on the Atlas Air plane. We got a call mid-week that our plane would not be leaving on the Monday but on Sunday....which took a little shuffling. We did end up enjoying the extra time on Terceira but on the way back home, our plane started to have mechanical problems when we were way out on the ocean....I have never been so scared! We had to turn back and then circle for quite awhile to burn off fuel. Sata put us up in a great place Quinta do Martelo, so there was a silver lining, but not sure if I am over the scare yet! Some of us fell asleep after the plane took off and woke up to the realization that there was something very wrong. Our little ten year old grandson smiled and said "Oh yeah, we are going back!!".....the bliss of youth! I hear that there are other airlines going in there now which I think will be a good thing!
Good tips on the SIM card, I have never figured that one out. It would have been nice to have a phone sometimes. We just accessed our email and the web when we were in the hotels or anyplace free wifi. We had the same experience with American Express....almost no one took it. Our Visa was usually good except sometimes my husband was convinced that it was not that it did not work, but that they really wanted cash instead:) I think the bulls on a rope pretty much run all summer, not just in Altares....you just have to find out what town will be having the festivities. We have always managed to see one on the several trips that we have made. Finding a safe place to view this can be tricky....we have had help from both taxi drivers and twice from a wonderful guide that we hired, Mario Rego, on Terceira. As you say Bill.....you just have to hang loose and be flexible....it all works out in the end:) Susan Vargas Murphy On Apr 26, 2015, at 11:32 AM, 'Bill Boyd' via Azores Genealogy <azores@googlegroups.com> wrote: > Thanks Joao! Hope all is well. To add to your comments.... > > The Portuguese side of the ATMs may not charge, but I did get charged on > withdrawals from non-credit union banks (Banco Espírito Santo is my example). > As to the extra functionality, you are correct, I was unable to charge my > phone at the ATM and needed to go to a store. Which is a good point > concerning the phones. If you do get a Portuguese SIM, it can be charged at > the original store or you can go to many stores advertising the service. You > will want to keep your packaging with the SIM number on it for easy reference > when charging. > > Concerning the planes, my basic message is to take the delays with patience. > We flew in and out of Terceira and had delays both ways. Many of the > seasoned travelers simply accepted the delay as a part of flying with SATA. > The delay on departure from the Azores was due to mechanical difficulties > with the plane and they had to contract for another plane from Atlas Air. It > was a much larger plane and made the trip from Terceira to Oakland without > the Toronto fueling stop. We enjoyed the flight much more and got to spend > almost two more days on Terceira. Oh, we were able to see the bull fight in > Altares with the extra time. One of the unplanned highlights of our trip was > working with the taxi driver to figure out where the event was (way out in > the country) and then enjoying all of the people in the mountains with a view > of Graciosa in the background. So, things can work out even with the delays. > Just set expectations appropriately. Here is a description of Altares if > you happen to be there during their bull fight: Altares - Wikipedia, the free > encyclopedia > > > > > > > > > Altares - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia > Altares is a civil parish in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo on the > Portuguese island of Terceira in the archipelago of the Azores. The > population in 2011 was... > View on en.wikipedia.org > Preview by Yahoo > > > Best Regards, > > Bill > > From: João Ventura <j...@venturas.org> > To: azores@googlegroups.com > Cc: want2beuni...@yahoo.com; lisahb...@aol.com > Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2015 12:25 AM > Subject: Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Azores Trip > > Just to complement on what Bill said. > > In Portugal, because all the banks were Government owned in the 1980s when > ATMs started to show up, they decided to create a separate company to run the > ATM network. As a result, all the ATM machines in Portugal belong to this > network, so the concept of "charging for widthdrawals" is simply alien to the > Portuguese. There's no such thing, period. As a side-effect, these machines > are also the best ATMs I've ever found in the world (yes, the average ATM in > the deep Azores will probably be a lot better than the one from your US bank > in the midst of SIlicon Valley). However, you'll probably not notice it, as > all the advanced features require a Portuguese bank card. Foreign cards will > probaly allow you to widthraw money and maybe charge your phones (and also > maybe to buy train tickets - I highly doubt it will allow you to buy concert > tickets). I highly advise against AMEX. Don't bother bringing one if you're > coming to Europe. Make sure your card is Visa or Mastercard and you should be > OK with our ATMs and in-store payment terminals. > > As to SATA, the delays are really not their fault. Those are islands in the > middle of the North Atlantic, if the winds go above a certain level, for your > safety and theirs, they will simply not take off. Have some flexibility in > your plans, and make sure that you make it to the island of your US return > flight a few days in advance. Flying to and from Terceira is easier as the > runway there is one of the largest in the Azores (it was designated as a > Space Shuttle abort landing site), but do account for possible delays in your > São Jorge / Pico connections. > > João Ventura > > > > On Wednesday, 22 April 2015 06:03:37 UTC+2, want2beunique wrote: > Lisa, > > I took my first trip to the Azores last year in July. We went to Graciosa > (home island) and Terceira. Here are some of my tips: > > Finances: > Get a credit card that does not charge foreign exchange fees. One that has a > chip is also advisable. I got the Chase Saphire VISA and have been happy > with it ever since. We did not use travelers checks and I would not > recommend them. Also, do not buy "Euro" loaded VISA cards (pre-paid VISA). > I researched them and found them very poorly reviewed (unable to be used and > drained of funds). Be sure to talk to your bank. Ask them if your ATM card > can be used in Portugal. Give them your travel dates to ensure you have no > problems when traveling. Also do the same for your credit card. I found > agriculture credit unions on Terceira and Graciosa which did not charge for > withdrawals. Your bank or credit union may be able to help with ATMs which > you could utilize without charge. > > Phone: > We got our iPhones unlocked by Verizon. With them being unlocked and > enrolled for global usage, we could use them in the Azores. This would, > however, be expensive. We ensured data was turned off (cellular data off). > Upon arriving, we went to a Vodafone store in Angra. We were able to buy a > pre-paid SIM card and put it into one of our iPhones. This gave us a phone > in the Azores with a local number from which we could call a taxi (we had our > favorite drivers) and relatives. In many cases, you can call someone and > hang up after one ring and they will call you back. This worked very well in > Terceira. > > Accommodations: > We used Home Away to book a great house on Terceira. It was only 70 euros a > night. Here is a link to the house ( http://www.homeaway.com/ > vacation-rental/p1309665? flspusage=fl ). It was a great location out in the > "country" in Porto Martin. Not the center of activity, but we liked the > quiet and access to the water. > > Sata: > Schedules are simply concepts of when a plane might arrive or depart. Be > flexible and be sure to contact Sata directly checking for delays. The web > site and phone can give quite different results. We were delayed on arrival > and missed a connecting flight. We were then delayed by more than a day on > departure. It all worked out, but staying flexible is key. > > Hope this helps! > > Bill in Northern California > > From: lisahbskt via Azores Genealogy <azo...@googlegroups.com> > To: azo...@googlegroups.com > Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 8:39 PM > Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Azores Trip > > Hello, > > I am planning my first trip to the Azores in mid to late August for about > 8-10 days. I am planning to go to Terceira for research and to visit the > ancestral homelands on Sao Jorge (Calheta and Topo areas) and Pico (Lajes do > Pico areas). > > I'd love to hear any suggestions on places to stay, places to eat, drivers to > hire, renting a scooter, not to be missed sights or events, research tips, > using the archives, wifi connection, cell phone tips, use of travelers > cheques vs credit cards, gifts to take with me and recommended items to bring > back etc. > > Also, if anyone else on the list is planning a trip around that time, it > would be fun to meet up. > > Please feel free to post to the list or email me privately. > > Lisa Caetano Harley > Southern CA > LisaHBskt at aol dot com > -- > For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail > (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/ group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right > that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Azores Genealogy" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to azores+un...@ googlegroups.com. > > > > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/ group/azores. > > > > > > -- > For options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail > (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. 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