Santa Maria island, Azores - The celebration dinner at Hotel Santa Maria and the photo exhibit at Asas do Atlântico - The 4th of December 2014

Despite not having attended the meeting on the 40th anniversary of the ICAO signing up of the Chicago Convention held at NAV in Santa Maria island, I was nevertheless invited to be present at the ceremonial dinner taking place at the hotel I am currently staying at.

 

 

There is no doubt islanders and especially Azoreans  are masters of the Art when it comes to welcoming others and making them feel at home. The celebration dinner was second to none with quite a few Azorean cuisine specialities and an overall atmosphere that very much resembled a gathering of old friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a brief look at the old photo exhibit, officially on display as from the following day, at Asas do Atlântico where we headed to after dinner to have a drink in what ended up being a rather special evening

 

Santa Maria island, Azores - On the way to Vila do Porto and back - The 5th through to the 7th of December 2014

Livin in the city doesn't allow us to feel nature the same way one naturally does when strolling around smaller boroughs where rural and urban landscapes mingle almost magically to bring out the best of both.

This is what has been happening in Santa Maria island, where I have been privileged enough to feel the smell of grass and "talk" to horses and cows on the way to Vila do Porto, a few kilometres away from where I am currently staying at. 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the gloomy like weather there have been spells of sunshine and light rain that change the already variegated colours in just a couple of seconds. It is often said the Azorean islands can display the four seasons throughout a single day, which I feel to be one of their main unexpected attractions. I wish we had a bit of that in mainland Portugal ... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santa Maria island, Azores - The Refresher courses - The 1st through to the 4th of December 2014

 

Amidst the tight schedule and the rather unsettling weather I have had time to photograph the beauty that has been staring at me from just outside my hotel room door and on the way to the Airport, just ten minutes walk from where I am at.

Azorean islanders seem to have a stronger connection to the english Language than the Portuguese who live in mainland Portugal due to the fact that many of their relatives live or travel across the Atlantic to Canada and the USA mostly on a regular basis, the two day courses have therefore been more of a revising type of training than a mere Aeronautical oriented English or Linguistic one. We have worked hard but equally enjoyed ourselves in doing so. It has been an added pleasure to be together again with former students I hadn't seen since 1982 and more so during the Christmas season.