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My Travel Adventure to the Azores

by Neven Humphrey

 

In Canada, there are now travel agencies specifically for blind or partially-sighted people. That wasn’t the case about 20 years ago, when I was doing research for a book on biographies of contemporary blind or visually-impaired role models. (I found two at the time, both in the UK, and both run by blind people, of which I did biographies.) For myself, I don’t travel using agencies, for the blind or not, since I usually have a list of specific places I want to visit when I travel somewhere. And I’ve travelled all over Canada and parts of the United States and Europe--and always alone, despite having a visual disability. My latest trip was to Terceira Island in the Azores.

 

Before we continue, a bit about myself. I am in my fifties, and I have only one working eye, (having lost my left eye soon after birth due to retinoblastoma.) I have congenital myopia in my right eye, as well as pre-glaucoma, (for which I put drops in my eyes every day, and I visit the Retina Centre in Ottawa every two months for treatment.). Nevertheless, I live totally independently in my own apartment. 

 

Now, back to my trip to the Azores. And where exactly are the Azores? They’re a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1600 kilometres west of Europe. They were first settled in the 1420’s by the Portuguese, and served as a supply station for explorers such as Vasco da Gama, the first European to reach India by sea. After falling to the Spaniards in 1583, they were retaken by the Portuguese in 1640, and are still a Portuguese colony today.

 

And so, on April 6th, 2024, I took the bus to the Ottawa Airport, and then checked in. After passing through security, I sat down at my gate to wait for the plane. Now knowing the airport in Ottawa quite well, I didn’t request any assistance there. However, I do request it at all other airports, especially after getting lost at the airport in Brussels in 2009. The assistance usually means being wheeled from one spot to the other. I have a love-hate relationship with that. On the bad side, it’s a bit degrading, and you’re left to wait for your plane in a small waiting-room, often near the washroom. But on the good side, they don’t then watch me like a hawk, so you can walk around. And I much prefer being wheeled on the tarmac to my plane than having to wander around, trying to find it.

 

After reaching Toronto Airport, I was wheeled to the correct terminal, (They didn’t strand me this time), and after a LONG layover, I was brought to my plane for the Azores. The following morning, I arrived at São Miguel Airport and was wheeled to the aforementioned waiting-room. About an hour later, I was brought to my plane for Terceira Island, (and I must say that viewing the ocean from a small passenger plane was quite fascinating). An hour later, I arrived at the airport on Terceira Island; and after being helped with my luggage, I was brought to a taxi to take me to my hotel in the small city of Angra do Heroismo.

 

What does Terceira Island look like? The first thing you really notice is that it’s not very inhabited outside of the villages and towns; and bordering each country road, there are stone walls, (The locals say that if all the stone walls in the Azores were placed side-by-side, the length would match the Great Wall of China.) And once in a while, you see the ruins of a house abandoned after the deadly earthquake of January 1st, 1980. The towns are mostly all along the edges of the island, thus the roads there can be steep.

 

Another challenge for people with visual impairments is that, in many places in the towns, there are practically no sidewalks, and people park on the street. So it can be a real obstacle course walking around. Also, since Terceira is less touristy than the neighbouring island of São Miguel, there are no bus tours available. However, taxis are available and relatively cheap; and since the Azores are to Europeans what Florida is to Canadians, lots of people speak English there.

 

I walked around most of the downtown section of Angra do Heroismo, and visited some of its churches and museums, and even visited the inside of an extinct volcano. But there’s one experience I had there that was ideal for a person with a visual disability. It’s called Asinus Atlanticus, and it’s a very special donkey farm.

 

One morning, I walked from my hotel to the Asinus Atlanticus laboratory-factory--though I could have taken a taxi to get there). After a few minutes in the waiting-room, I was met by my guide, Roberto, and he brought me to his van. He then drove me to a field just outside the nearby village of São Mateus da Calhota, where they kept their pregnant and non-gestating jennies (female donkeys). On the way, he explained that the farm had been started in 2012 to save a local breed, called the Graciosa Island donkey, who were disappearing due to motor transport and the mechanization of farms. And instead of slaughtering them for sausage, they milked them, then used the milk to make soap, shampoo and skin cream. 

 

After we reached the field, I got to interact with the donkeys. And contrary to popular belief, donkeys are not stubborn and prone to knock your head off with one powerful kick. Instead, they’re quite calm and friendly, and love to be petted. I was also told that, since Graciosa Island donkeys don’t give much milk, (500ml per day), they had to add to the heard, breeds from Spain and Portugal that can give up to two litres per day.

 

I was then brought to a farm just north of another nearby village, called Ribeirinha, where the jennies who had recently given birth were kept and where the milking was performed. Now, jennies can only be milked once their foals reach two months of age and have started eating solid food. And so, every morning, the foals are separated from their mothers and kept in an adjacent stall until both milkings--morning and evening--are done. The proximity is because female donkeys can’t give milk unless they’re kept close to their foals.

 

After interacting with the foals and their mothers, I was brought to the milking shed, where I got to sample some of the creams. And then, the milking began. How it works is this: two donkeys enter the milking room and led to stalls with a feeding trough at one end. Between both stalls, there is a sunken area where the milker stands. After cleaning the udder with soap and water, the milker places teat cups on both teats. And depending on the breed, it can take one to three minutes to milk.


I was invited to try milking if I wanted, (of course, I did.) Now, milking by machine was easier than I thought; I just touched the teat with the cup, and it went in. But I also tried to draw milk from another donkey by hand and into a glass. That was a little tougher since, unlike cows, donkeys have relatively small teats, so you have to squeeze higher up to get some milk. Once all the donkeys were milked, I was brought back to the laboratory, and that was it.

(P.S. What does donkey milk taste like? Like almond milk.)

 

Once my trip was over, I took a taxi back to the airport, and I got assistance all through my return trip. There was a bit of a logjam in Toronto, but I did manage to catch my plane to Ottawa.

 

I probably won’t need to consult a travel agency for the blind in the near future, but it’s great to know that they’ll be there when I do.


FEATURED IMAGE ALT TEXT: Photo of Neven milking a donkey.

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