I have not been to Sao Miguel since 2009; however, having been there 6 times in all, I have found a wonderful (I don't use that word lightly) person that has helped me each time I have been there. His name is Carlos Rego and he is a taxi driver. He is known as "Shapatoo" at least that is how it sounds to me. The last cell # I have for Carlos is: 96-2374966. I do not have a cell phone so if he is not at the Taxi stop, I have asked one of the drivers to call him and he comes to pick me up. Carlos also knows of many places to stay in Ponta Delgada. He has found one close to the archives so I could walk there; near a place I want to research and even within my budget when I am nearing the end of the trip! Carlos parks his taxi across from the main church in Ponta Delgada and any taxi driver can point him out to you. His English is good and he is very enthusiastic about helping you find whatever you seek. Just a small example of one of my experiences with Carlos: We had gone to one of the villages to try to locate a copy of the ancestor's baptism. We found the church and, of course, it was locked tight. I was very disappointed since I only had that day to research in that village. Carlos parked the taxi, said he would be right back, ran up and down the street yelling, "Who has the key, who has the key to the church." I thought he had gone crazy. A woman stepped out her door onto her porch, said she had the key and Carlos and the woman with the key returned to the church to let me look at the books they had there. This happened early on in my research experience and I did not know that the books for the year I needed were in the archive, not at the church. With Carlos' help, I was able to take a picture of the baptismal font where the ancestor had been baptized. (This became something I have done for every ancestor for whom I do not have a picture. I feel it connects me to the person.) Feel free to contact me if I can be of any additional help.Celeste Celeste Perry [email protected]
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