I’d sure like to see the Azores Island for myself. I would love to walk around the villages of Maia, Achada, and Fenais d’Ajuda where my ancestors lived and walk in their shadow of their footsteps.
But, for several reasons, I can’t. Instead, I watched this virtual tour of Sao Miguel Island.
It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Everything is so lush and green.
It makes you think that life in the Azores must have been very difficult for our ancestors to leave this behind. They were poor, they lacked proper food, they struggled.
If your ancestor went to Fall River, Massachusetts or another location on the East Coast, there is a good chance they returned at least once.
For those who left for Hawaii, there was no return. Only a handful of people made the trip back. For the majority, when they gathered with their family at port ready to leave that was the last time they’d be on their native soil.
Appreciate their courage. It must have taken a lot to sign that sugar plantation contract and leave this amazing landscape behind.
