http://www.da.online.pt/news.php?id=88016&w=juan%20carlos
Spanish monarchs visit today freguesia of the Furnas
Regional N. C. /Lusa 29/07/2005 08:07:8
The private visit of the Kings of Spain is it stir up a huge curiosity in the Azorean population. After they will have state in the islands Third, Faial and Peak, today the monarchs finish to their visit of vacation in Saint Miguel, having stayed lodged in a hotel of the Group “Bensaúde”, as well as the President of the Republic. This morning, Juan Carlos and Sofia dislocate itself to the freguesia of the Furnas, famous by the fumarolas volcanic that serve for concoct the traditional stew, one of the most known typical plates of the archipelago. Yesterday, the Spanish monarchs were in three of the nine islands of the Azores, beginning the day in the Faial, with a visit to the Coffee Peter¦s, world famous by be a point of meeting of velejadores that cross the Atlantic one, where took a gin tónico, and visited the Museum of Srimshaw (painting in bone and tooth of whale). Around two hundreds of persons did question of see the kings of Spain and of I applaused them to their arrival to the coffee, and was in this localities of stop that, by the first time, the kings conversed with the journalists. Juan Carlos, that spoke in Portuguese, underlined that is it like very of be in the Region, recollecting that the father already to have visited the islands in 1958. It spoke also of the emotion of be with Jorge Sampaio, his big friend, and expect to come back to the archipelago for other vacation. Already in Spanish, the Queen Sofia also manifested his enjoyment by step to soil Azorean and classified the islands visited as “marvelous”, expecting also come back a day.
To short visit of the monarchs to the city of the Garden, always accompanied by the President of the Republic and by Maria Joe Ritta, was surrounded of security measures fortresses. The parking in the localities was prohibited and some vehicles even were towed by the PSP, before of the arrival of the monarchs. After the convívio, the kings of Spain followed for the Marine one of the Garden, where will embark in the "Cruiser of the Conduit", one of the embarkations of passengers that links the islands of the Central Group, in order to will follow for the island of the Peak, where is situated the point more high of Portugal. During part of the journey that separates the two islands of the Azores that stayed more near between itself (five maritime miles), the embarkation in that followed was "escorted" by a set of ten of rowboats baleeiros, the mesmos that were utilized, to there are two decades behind, in the hunts to the whale, however prohibited in the archipelago. Several embarkations of recreation, around a set of ten of kayaks and some launch of support accompanied also breaks of the journey of the kings of Spain to the Peak, island that saw the landscape protected of the culture of the vine to be classified like Património World to the night, already in Thin Tip, were them invited of honor of a supper offered by the president of the Regional Government of the. Open the supper, the president of the Azorean Government, Carlos César, the president of the Republic, Jorge Sampaio, and the Spanish monarch drove itself to them invited, in short interventions of toasts. The Kings of Spain were always accompanied by the President of the Republic, Jorge Sampaio, having watched in the Wednesday to a bullfight to the cord in the city of Cove of the Heroism, one of the main cultural manifestations of the island Third, to that also watched the leader of the Azorean Executive, that interrupted the vacation for receive the monarchs. This was one of the points that filled the first day of the private visit of three days that the King Juan Carlos and the Queen Sofia are it perform to the archipelago of the Azores. The Kings of Spain watched to the bullfight in a varandah of a private house in the Square of Saint Blessed, where were applaused by some of the hundreds of persons that were driven to the localities with hours of advance. During the bullfight, organized specifically for the visit of the Kings of Spain, were run four bulls created in the island Third by ganadeiros local. Before of the bullfight, the King Juan Carlos and the Queen Sofia strolled for the center of Cove of the Heroism, classified like Património World since 1983, where conversed with the population, including a Spanish doctor that work in the hospital of the island Third, with around 55 thousand inhabitants. During the late, that was still taken advantage of for a visit to the Church of the Mercy and to the Convent of Saint Gonçalo, the kings, always accompanied by Jorge Sampaio and Maria Joe Ritta, did a pause in the walk, remaining in an esplanada during some minutes. The visit to the Third awoke some curiosity in
the population, that tried to accompany to journey of the Spanish monarchs, that were, for times, applaused. Interesting was the fact of the terceirenses will have received D. Juan Carlos and Owner Sofia with bedspreads in the window, a sign of respect and consideration.