Tag Archives: azores

Kayak

February 10, 2021Azores, poem, Poetryazores, poem, poetry, sea kayakThe Cheesesellers Wife

Sunlit morning, wide beckoning bay,
Our kayaks slip off the small beach into the sea
I reach and stab at the water to keep pace with my sons
Braced in the kayak, steering into the waves,
Paddling one push at a time, we head for the ocean
Waves lift us and shake us, spray intoxicates as it spatters a face
Bright sun dazzles from wave tops and the open water beckons
To port, excited shouts as surfer meets water meets rock
Here, concentration as kayak cleaves water
The rhythm of the paddle calms my fears of capsizing
And I breast a wave exhilarated and happy
Woman, kayak and ocean

There are never enough photos of Pico

June 27, 2020Azores, humour, Life, nature, poem, Poetryazores, Pico, poem, poetry, Virtual Holiday, volcanoThe Cheesesellers Wife

There are never enough photos of Pico
Says he, as he takes yet one more
The light has changed again
And the mountain looks about to roar
We’ve flown over and around her
Driven along her lower slopes
But the best view is away from her
From little Horta’s shore

The mountain slumbers on
Fuji slopes gracefully curving down
She glows rose in the dawns light
By midday she can glower and frown
Clouds drape her and embrace her
Shadowing scree and walled-in grapevine
However far we travel away from her
Somehow that volcano is always mine

And so we end our Virtual Holiday in the Azores with a poem about my favourite volcano. The first line is a quote from my Cheeseseller, as the mountain changed once more and he took yet another photo!

I hope you enjoyed your trip. The photo below was taken just after dawn, from our hotel balcony on the isaland of Faial, as we prepared to return to England.

Lava Tunnel

June 26, 2020Azores, poem, Poetryazores, lava tunnel, poem, poetry, Virtual Holiday, volcanoThe Cheesesellers Wife

In a simple field, no different from any other
Is a clump of small trees with a dark secret
Amongst their roots, we tiptoe down a rocky slope
Into blackness.
Torchlight reveals a dry tunnel, strange shelf on the walls
Chattering, we walk until daylight is extinguished by distance
We stop, simmer to quietude, and turn off the torches
Into silence
Liquid rock once ran where we now stand in black silence
The rock around us the scum that floated on that river
The apocalypse that created our tunnel has disappeared
Into history

More on our virtual Azores Holiday……This poem is set on Terceira, all the islands are volcanic and there is plenty to explore.

Terceira is also known as the party island. The locals certainly know how to have a good time.

We will be in the Azores all week — a poem a day to fly you away……

Graciosa

June 25, 2020Azores, Life, poem, Poetryazores, fishermen, Graciosa, poem, poetry, Virtual HolidayThe Cheesesellers Wife

Where fishermen once hauled nets
Shared gossip, landed fish
Dug long tunnels in the russet cliffs
To shelter their bright boats
We now stand
Pondering the blue Atlantic rollers
As they part around the sentinel stone in the bay
We delight in the spray
Run laughing from rogue waves
Our pleasure replaces their hard toil

Day 5 of our virtual Azores Holiday, we are now on Graciosa, a small gentle island.

We will be there all week — a poem a day to fly you away……

Magma Cave

June 24, 2020Azores, nature, poem, Poetryazores, poem, poetry, Virtual Holiday, volcanoThe Cheesesellers Wife

Shards of rock lie silent
As ferns lean toward the sun
Along the sides of the great vent
Cut into a perfect dome above
Sulphur from a tepid celadon lake
fills the air

From a visit to Furna do Enxofre, an empty magma chamber in the Azores. Empty of magma, not fumes….

…the painting is my own, and one of several of the vent….

Day 4 of our virtual Azores Holiday………… We will be there all week — a poem a day to fly you away……

Glass bottomed boat

June 23, 2020Azores, beauty, nature, poem, Poetryazores, boat, nature, poem, poetry, Virtual HolidayThe Cheesesellers Wife

Swaying bobbing we peer through the hull
Eagle Rays swish beneath us chasing the unknown
Light glints on a startled shoal sashaying across the rocks
Gas bubbles up from volcanic clefts
Crabs glance sideways, looking for the main chance

Day 3 of our virtual Azores holiday!

We will be there all week — a poem a day to fly you away……

Boundless blue

June 22, 2020Azores, nature, poem, Poetry, Wild lifeazores, beauty, dolphins, Ocean, poem, poetry, snorkel, travel, Virtual HolidayThe Cheesesellers Wife

The boundless blue surrounds
As we plunge into its secrets
Swimming after parrot fish
Startled by porpoise
The only sound the bubbles of my breathing
In and out of the snorkel

Day 2 of our virtual Azores Holiday!

We will be there all week — a poem a day to fly you away……

Azores Evening

June 21, 2020Azores, beauty, Life, nature, poem, Poetryazores, beauty, nature, Virtual HolidayThe Cheesesellers Wife

Moonlight has banished an ocean of stars,
pouring molten silver across the water.
Murmuring waves remember a primal ocean,
write poetry in their foam,
erase the day from a busy beach.
A harsh breeze crashes across treetops
as if breaking on a coral reef
and distant sea-birds call evenings end,
sharp disembodied sentinels of the night.

The first evening of a glorious virtual holiday in the Azores. Enjoy!

We will be there all week — a poem a day to fly you away……

Airport

June 20, 2020Azores, Life, poem, PoetryAirport, azores, poem, poetry, travel, Virtual HolidayThe Cheesesellers Wife

Airport bubble
that tinny echo
of voices

Flight delays
a drifting of time
being stuck in place

Life suspended
until our
gate is assigned

We are off on a virtual holiday in the Azores! We will be there all week! A poem a day to fly you away……

Caterpillar Dawn

January 25, 2020Azores, beauty, nature, poem, Poetryazores, beauty, dawn, nature, poem, poetryThe Cheesesellers Wife

Caterpillar dawn
creeps across the ocean
slithers into night’s domain
eating the dark

Chrysalis clouds and rain
obscure daylights return
but butterfly day
will spread her wings
ragged and soft to begin
stiffening into glory