Bull Fight, Fence Installation, and More Island Tours

Sorry to those of you wondering where I wondered off to for the last couple weeks.  We finally moved into our house on base two Fridays ago, but we didn't get the internet hooked up and actually functioning until Friday.  Lots of fun stuff has been happening since then.  Here's the run down:


After looking at many houses off base, we finally decided that on-base housing was the way to go.  Base housing has a great location, a great view (we can see the ocean from almost every room in the house), American-style appliances and electricity, and a yard for the dogs.  We got the keys on the 17th of September and had our small, unaccompanied baggage shipment delivered that afternoon.  The dogs got to come home from the kennel, and I finally had a kitchen again after going nearly 6 weeks without!!



The dogs love the new house.  Roxie likes to chase lizards in the back yard, and both dogs have decided they need to keep watch over the front of the house from up on one of our tables.  Silly dogs!  

When we first moved into the house, there was no fence in the back yard for the dogs.  We went to the Self-Help office, picked up the necessary materials and construction requirements, and filled out some paperwork.  Because the Americans are tenants of the Portuguese Air Force on this base, any construction has to be approved by the Portuguese Air Force.  So, we waited a couple days for approval and got to work.  Of course, we over-engineered it just a little bit.  Pretty sure you could drive a truck into the poles now that the concrete is hard. 

On Wednesday, September 22nd, the Lajes Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) chapter took a tour of a local wind farm.  The wind farm is made up of 6 wind turbines and can supply up to 20% of the power for the island.  Construction of several new turbines is scheduled to start this year.  When the project is done, the island will be able to receive up to 40% of its power from wind energy!  Wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric power are the main sources of electricity for most of the islands in the Azores, as transporting and storing fossil fuels on the islands is very expensive.

The week ended with the Civil Engineering (CE) Squadron's end-of-summer picnic.  We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and played rediculous games against the other people in Chris' Squadron.  We had beautiful weather and lots of fun.

On Saturday the 25th of September, Chris and I went on the Outdoor Recreation Center's "Tour of the Northern Coast".  This tour included a trip to a local vineyard and winery, as well as stops at a folk museum, a church, and a basket weaver’s shop.  We finished the day out with lunch at a local restaurant.  The vineyard was very interesting because the grape vines on the island are not grown on a trellis as they are in other areas.  Instead, a 1'-2' think bed of lava rocks surrounds the plants, and the vines grow on the ground over the rocks.  The rocks absorb heat in the day and release it as night, helping to regulate the temperature of the grapes.  The wine typically made from these grapes is a green wine.  Chris and I got a bottle hoping that it would be really green.  It wasn't... it looked like white wine, but it tasted good.  One our way home from the north side of the island, the tour van got stuck in our very first "cow jam".

Saturday the 25th was a busy day for us.  After our tour, we joined our friends Steve and Jill for our first bull fight!  We found a nice high wall and waited for the action to begin.  For this type of bull fight, a long rope is tied around a bull and 12 men are positioned at the middle and end of the rope to help keep the bull under control.  The bull is then allowed to run up and down a long section of a local street.  People (usually just one or two crazy ones) run up and try to touch the bull or wave something like an umbrella at the bull in an attempt to make it chase them.  Then, when the bull gets too close, they jump up on one of the walls lining the streets to get away.  All the bulls wear round protectors on the ends of their horns to help keep people safe, but I still wouldn't have wanted to be any closer then we were!

Most of last week was spent talking to the cable and internet guys and filling out paperwork all over base.  Friday night and Saturday were spent decorating for the CE Haunted House and hanging out with our new friends.  There are new 7 CE officers and spouses about our age with no kids.  We spend a lot of time with each other and always have a great time. 

This weekend was also Doggie Days at the base pool.  We took Sam and Roxie hoping that they would be really excited to be in the water.  Turns out, neither of them like being in water when they can't touch the bottom.  Chris dragged both dogs out to the middle of the pool just to see if they could swim.  Sam did a great job, but Roxie's technique could use some work (watch the viedo below).  We gave up on the swimming after a couple of attempts and just let them play with the other dogs. 

This week we are looking forward to getting our car and possibly the rest of our stuff.  The boat with our car was supposed to come in this morning, and there are rumors that our household goods are on the same boat.  If that's the case, I will be up to my ears in boxes by the end of the week.  It will be so nice to have everything in one place again!

Hope everyone is doing well.  Drop us an e-mail or post a comment to say hi, and be sure to check out the new photo albums on the right!