Or not

The Azores seem like they would be a nice place to visit, really. See I wouldn't know since we spent our few hours there stuck on the Air Force base.

They definitely made my list of top vacation spots though.

I've made it back home and I'm almost over the jetlag too.

Pictures should be coming soon. Stay tuned

Philip Parker, World Traveler

Well we're coming home. Not straight home though because that would be too easy. Instead we're stopping off in the Azores before going all the way back to Grand Forks. Given the choice of a night in Grand Forks or one in the Azores guess which one I'd pick.

I should be back in the great metropolis of Huntsville on the afternoon of the 18th if all goes well.

-philip

Coming home...

We only have five days left.

I'm ready.

That is all.

Brown + Blue = Green

One of the peculiar things about the Riu Funana is the way in which they maintain their little oasis on this desert isle. In the mornings, since we have to be up near the crack of dawn to go do Science!, we are often having breakfast when they are watering the plants. The process is entirely automated as one might expect, with nice ground level drip hoses and a few sprinklers here and there. Nothing out of the ordinary really except for the water they use. You see, it is very apparent when the watering begins because a peculiarly familiar and unpleasant odor begins to creep into the nostrils, snaking it's way slowly into the barely functioning conscious mind. It takes a few minutes some mornings and on others it simply leaps from the palms, aloe, and creeping succulents like an angry Cottonmouth, striking without warning and poisoning the victim with all its might.

You see at the Riu Funana they are very resourceful. Water is a precious commodity on this rock. All of it that is intended for consumption is produced via desalinization, an expensive process. So, to get the most out of what they purchase the Riu Funana uses waste water to feed the plants. While unpleasant for us reluctant creatures of the morning, the plants are luscious, full, and vibrant. The Vinca are very large and flower constantly. I've literally seen the palm trees grow an inch in the space of one breakfast. Not only are they getting double duty from the water but all the money put into the various buffets is paying dividends in the end as well.

So while it may be unpleasant for the few of us who are up early enough to experience it, their brilliant water management strategy rewards the average tourist with dobs of green to go with the blue of the sky and the brown of the sand, even allowing for the occasional dollup of pink or purple from a flower to paint a rather nice picture.

-philip

Saharan Dust

Take while flying over Africa. Only minutes before you could see all the way to the ground. This stuff gets sucked into the tropical waves that come off the coast to the south and does wacky things. That's why we're here with a plane full of scientists, so... 

Mi hablo bonito uno dia

Another day off and so another two dives!

This time we went down to around 30 meters, sorry for those metrically challenged back in the homeland but I've had to convert to stay sane. Unfortunately the visibility was not that great and there weren't a lot of fish at the first spot. The second dive was much better. We descended upon Tres Grutas (Three Caves) and found many more fish and much better visibility. The eels were out in force as well; we saw all three species in about the first 10 minutes of the dive. The Tres Grutas weren't so much caves as larger rock shelves. They were big enough to fit two or three divers in without a problem. There were also a large number of trumpet fish hanging out at the top of the overhang. The effect was like waving grass, only upside down. Very cool.

Then we continued on to two other sites that were really close and managed a close encounter with a lobster. I have some good pictures of it.

In the evening Thomas (my German dive buddy) and I went into Santa Maria to May O'Leary's for drinks and music. The band was fanstastic! Some of the local songs were nice but when they tore into a few Santana covers the lead guitarist really opened up and brought down the house. So, it was a pretty early morning especially since we have an eight hour mission today but at least I have had my obligatory party-hangover out of the way now. It was definitely worth it.

I'm really starting to get homesick now. I'm still enjoying myself but I can't wait to get back.

-philip
P.S. The title for the post was inspired by my broken Spangluguese and Thomas making fun of me by quoting David Sedaris. Pompass Eurotrash!