Hi Vivian, I went to the Azores this summer and had a great time. I didn't go to São Jorge so can't speak to that. But I can tell you a couple of other things that might be helpful.
You don't need to book flights through a travel agent. It's pretty easy to do online. And one day in Lisbon is definitely not worth it. I was there for four days and it felt like not nearly enough. Take the advice offered by others, and spend that extra day in the Azores since your time is so limited. I believe all pre-1900 Pico records are at the archive at the library in Horta, on Faial. But my experience there was not so great. They were nice, but language was a barrier (I'd had ten Portuguese lessons, and only one woman there spoke a little bit of English). Also, they would not let me look at any of the actual record books. Instead they let me use a computer that was linked to the site with scans of them. I can see why they don't want people handling them, as they look to be falling apart. Many of the scans were illegible, and they do not have all of the record books scanned yet. You can access that site from home just as easily, and without a time limit on computer use as there is at the archive. But I liked Horta a lot, and would recommend a day trip even if you don't go to the archive. It is a very short ferry ride between Madalena on Pico and Horta on Faial - maybe 30 minutes. On Pico I met a very nice female cab driver who spoke great English (she lived in Canada) and I hired her to take me on a tour around the island. Very friendly and smart and knowledgeable. If you want her info I'll be glad to share. And I stayed at a really interesting, nice place outside of Lajes do Pico called Aldeia da Fonte. It's not too far out of a town - I walked from there to Lajes in about 30 - 40 minutes. May should be nice there. I went in late June/early July and did not experience any terrible humidity. But I live in Seattle, so I'm used to it. Have a great trip! Steve Peters On Nov 12, 5:20 am, Vivian Christy <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello All, > > My sister and I have decided we would like to spend one day in Lisbon and > then the other 6 days in the Azores. We want to go for a week sometime in May > 2012. > > Since our family is from Pico and I would need to get copies of birth, > Marriage and death records from Lajes do Pico. Would I get them there? > > I only would have a week there so want to make the most of the trip. > > Does anyone know of a travel agent that would be good to use. My sister > wants a more structured trip. > > I mainly want to make sure I can get copies of the records in Lajes do Pico. > The dates and names of our relatives I have and they were born and died in > the 1800's & 1900's. > > I know that some of you have said if the records are old you would have to > get them from some other place. I remember someone said if they are over a > hundred years they have to come from the Archives in Portugual and not the > Azores. Is that correct? > > We also wanted to take a ferry over to Sao Jorge for the day. We may want to > go to one of the other islands also. > > Since I have never been I want to make sure I get the most of the trip. What > is the best way to do that? > > Any suggestions: > > Thank you in advance for all your help, > Vivian (Silva) Christy -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
