During our 5-day stay on Sao Miguel of the Azores, we checked out 3 hot springs or caldeiras on the island. With the air temperature being in the high 60s / low 70s (18-20 Celsius) and the weather varying between mist and pouring rain on the mountaintops, we knew we had to dip our sore post-hike bodies into some soothing hot springs.
Poca da Dona Beija | Furnas
Price: 4 euros (all day entry! so you can leave and come back if you wish in the same day)
Includes: Entry, changing room, restrooms, and a frightful drive on the mountain highway. Additional: 1 euro for a 5 minute shower. We brought our own towels because we read elsewhere that some hot springs do not rent towels and instead force you to purchase 20 euro towels from their gift shop. Parking: There is a designated parking lot for this spring that is right in front of the entrance. Website Imagine a cool morning, with overcast clouds and slight mist in the air. Now imagine stepping into a private 39 Celsius natural hot tub in this cool ambiance in the early morning before a hike. We HIGHLY recommend this hot spring and in fact went twice in a day because we enjoyed it so much. Per another great recommendation from our Airbnb host, we arrived to the hot spring around 8am (it opens at 7am) to enjoy semi-private springs before any other tourists arrived. Here is a video from our experience below and some photos. There were very few people at the hot springs when we arrived and they all tended to be older (and clearly, wiser) couples who knew when to come to enjoy the experience. Caldeira Velha | Ribeira Grande
Price: 2 euros (all day entry)
Includes: Entry, changing rooms, really damn cold showers (I think you have to pay for warm water but we were so unimpressed by these springs that we just wiped ourselves down, changed and ran out of there) Additional: Towels must be purchased, not rented Parking: There are small parking lots along the road that leads to this spring. These spots fill up pretty quickly. We arrived right when they opened and there was already a crowd. By the time we left, there were huge tour buses and people were forced to park all the way down the mountain road and walking their way up to the entrance. Website Freezing. Cold. Okay, well, the larger pool (pictured below with the waterfall) was very cold. Behind that smiling face was a disappointed over-optimistic gal who got into the water way too quickly. After experiencing the 39 Celsius that we had a couple days before, we had high expectations future thermal springs. Unfortunately, we did not take note when we saw that this larger pool was empty. There is another small pool that is around 37 Celsius right by the changing rooms, which is where the picture of Andrew and I was taken. On the other side of that camera was at least 15 people, including children, wading about. I have video footage that still needs to be edited, showing the crowd that had coalesced. Meanwhile, groups of older tourists came by snapping photo after photo of the condensed situation, so that made it slightly more uncomfortable. Termas da Ferraria | Ginetes
Price: N/A; there were no attendants and we did not go into the water
Includes: Entry to the outdoor pool, changing rooms, and restroom Parking: Large open parking lot at the bottom of a windy and narrow mountain drive (second photo pictured below). I was honestly nervous that our Opel Corsa rental would not make it back up the steeper curves of this windy road. We contemplated having Andrew getting out of the car and walking up the mountain to reduce the load but thankfully, the car made it up...after rolling backwards only a couple of times. Website This "hot spring" is really just an inlet of water from the ocean that happens to be warmer during low tides. Unfortunately, when we went, it was early morning and there were high tides meaning that the water was just the temperature that one would expect the Atlantic Ocean to be on a cold April morning. Needless to say, we did not end up going into the water for that reason and also because the changing rooms were a long walk from the actual pool of water. There was, however, an actual heated swimming pool attached to the spa but that did not sound appealing to us at the time. On the bright side, the views were magnificent and the walk was peaceful. We did see a few teenagers get out in full swim attire and nonchalantly walked towards the ocean pool so maybe we were just being a couple of wusses.
Other noteworthy mentions include Terra Nostra (also in Furnas and near Poca da Dona Beija), which we attempted to go to after one of our hikes around Furnas, but we finished our hike too late. Terra Nostra closes at around 7pm so we missed out on that one.
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1/16/2017 0 Comments Harlem on a SundayA lot of my friends ask me what they should do or check out in Harlem, since I have now been living here for over a year and a half. There are countless things to see around this neighborhood in Manhattan so it's hard for me to condense it into a day... but here is my best shot at how one can spend a fun day strolling up and down Lenox Ave. First stop: North Central Park, duh! Get off of the 2/3 subway line at the Central Park North 110th St stop or the A/B/C Cathedral Parkway 110 St stop. I personally adore this section of Central as I feel that is highly underutilized and as such makes for such a peaceful and beautiful morning stroll. You will rarely get any tourists here as they tend to flock towards the bottom of Central Park and along the major museums on both 5th Ave and Central Park West below the 90s. In the winter time, Lasker Pool becomes Lasker Rink and open to recreational skiing and frequent hockey games on the weekends. In the summer time, it is a huge shallow pool that lies next to the (mostly) beautiful Harlem Meer. The reason I say mostly here is because it can get pretty mucky around the rainy season but the ducks, flowers and tons of turtles nevertheless make up for it. After taking a walk around the Harlem Meer and through part of the North Woods, one will likely have worked up an appetite....so onto the next destination!
Third stop: Mt. Olivet Baptist Church I stumbled into this church after hearing amazing gospel music one day while walking down the street. After peering through the doors and being captivated by the songs, I was invited in by the friendly church organizers and seated in a pew. I must admit, I am far from being religious in any sense but do respect other's beliefs. It was an interesting experience as one could see the clear divide between actual churchgoers and tourists/drop-ins like myself. Most of the people who looked like they commonly attended this church each Sunday was dressed to the nines, sat closer to the front, and readily donating money each time the silver pans came around. Whereas, visitors like myself sat towards the back in more of an observation mode. Be warned, you are not allowed to take photos at all during any time of the service as it can be perceived as extremely rude. Unfortunately, some of the tourists did not heed this advice and were quickly called out for their disrespect. Black gospel church is beautiful and is such a large part of Harlem culture. Fun fact: one of the pivotal scenes in Marvel's Luke Cage was shot here - FYI: Service begins at 11am on Sunday. Fourth Stop: Studio Museum Harlem
This super quaint museum is hidden between shop buildings on the bustling 125th Street. Great news for the cheapos out there: it's free admission on Sundays! This museum generally focuses on art produced by artists of African descent and showcases a wide genre and media types. Here's a shot I took of one of their pieces - featuring a live person in the exhibit! To be honest, it was weird but weird in the best kind of way. When I went, there were many art pieces contrasting the Harlem of 20-30 years ago versus the Harlem of today and I found the juxtaposition especially fascinating in light of the rapid gentrification I've witnessed in Harlem in just the 1.5 years I have lived here now. New York City, particularly Manhattan, is a public transportation and walker's haven and because of this, it is probably one of the worst places to have deal with a broken ankle and crutches. Granted, the doctors and hospitals are great but the public transportation is ill-fitting for those with handicaps or disabilities related to walking. Here are some things i learned while roaming (slowly) around the city on crutches to and from work. Not all subway stops have elevators or escalatorsAnd even if they do have elevators or escalators, there is a high chance that they are going to be 1) out of order or 2) filthy or 3) both. I had to do my research (http://web.mta.info/accessibility/stations.htm) prior to going anywhere to determine whether it would be worthwhile for me to attempt stairs while PWB (partial weight bearing) on crutches. Women are more likely to offer you their seat on the subwayWhen I get on the subway car, it's usually a 50/50 toss up of whether there will be readily available seats and these chances are especially slim when commuting to work during rush hour. I've noticed that about 80% of the time, other women are more willing to offer me their seat whereas many men tend to avoid my gaze. I definitely try not to pressure anyone or ask anyone if I could take their seat as I am getting better bearing weight on my broken foot and feel like I need to practice. But it is a nice gesture when someone does offer and I appreciate it immensely. Service like Uber and Lyft far surpass their yellow cab competitorsSince I live on a more residential street in the city, it is not so easy to flag down a yellow cab and so I find car sharing services such as Lyft and Uber to be much more convenient as they pick me up directly in front of my building. For some reason, Lyft drivers are the most accommodating and helpful, some even going out of their way to help me into their cars when I was in the earlier stages of recovery. (You don't know how hard it is to close and open a car door when NWB (non-weight bearing) until you have to do it.) Uber drivers generally try to get you as close to your destination's door as possible as well. Yellow cab drivers could not care less about your predicament and live up their reputation of being rude and offensive. I'm constantly rushed out of yellow cabs by the cab drivers who do not care that you are handicapped even if you explain or apologize. Seamless and food delivery apps are blessingsHaving no energy to cook or strength to purchase groceries, falling back on food delivery services was an incredible option to have and one of the greatest benefits of living in a place like NYC. I'm thankful that variety in my neighborhood is pretty good, however, the healthy options could have been better. I've used more than my fair share of Seamless, UberEats, GrubHub, and my favorite Vietnamese shop.
October 15, 2016I went out for the first time on my own today! Took an Uber down to brunch on the UWS to meet a visiting friend from California. This helped cure some post-op blues and remind myself that life will continue past this injury. October 28, 2016 - Post Op Followup #26 weeks post surgery and I have been cleared to bear weight! The doctor did not give me a detailed protocol but essentially said to bear weight as tolerated and to begin physical therapy as soon as possible. My dorsiflexion is currently terrible which gives me quite a limp as I walk around. October 29, 2016 - Physical Therapy Session #1November 1, 2016This is my first day back in the office in the Financial District in Manhattan. I had forgotten how crazy the subways were during rush hour and unfortunately had someone step on on my foot while on the train. NYC subways are not the most ADA-accessible. Very few have working and clean elevators so I was forced to use the stairs climbing in and out of the subways. November 5, 2016I walked outside with just one crutch today to go to physical therapy! Managed to take the subway back just fine. 7 weeks post op and I'm feeling stronger every day. I have to be careful about over-exerting myself as a long day can lead to extreme swelling in my ankle. I find myself coming home after work and laying down straightaway for at least an hour. It will only get better in time. Stay positive folks!
10/15/2016 0 Comments Travel after ankle surgeryI've had these burning questions on my mind since breaking my ankle -
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