Today was the morning of the religious procession through the towns of Graciosa up to a mountain top church. At least one person from every household is supposed to participate and some even walk barefoot. I chose to not participate in the procession but rather watch and photograph from the sidelines until it was out of view. Afterwards I walked around the city taking photos and exploring before sitting in the park in the city’s center.

Once the whole group was back together we walked to the Museu Graciosa which was opened just for us. The guide showed us different farming tools, wine production tools, and other cool items from history.

After the museum the tour guides asked us if we wanted to see a whale and of course the whole group said yes! Turns out this “whale” is actually a giant whale shaped rock in the ocean near a big lighthouse. It was a pretty entertaining trick. We were able to explore around the lighthouse and down to a cliffs edge that looked into an ocean cove. I sat on the wall of a building away from the cliffs edge and just took in the views and listened to the sounds of the ocean. It was incredibly peaceful.

In the afternoon we saw some dwarf donkeys that are becoming extinct and are famous on Graciosa. As we were petting and taking photos of the donkeys, the owner drove up and invited us to his backyard to see the babies. He is a famous art director that is actually making a film about the donkeys starting the following day. Once in the back, we were led to another field and shown the other small donkeys. They really loved our Prof. Anna and nibbled on her constantly.

The end of our tour was more scenic overlooks of the island. One of the stops was at another cove surrounded by natural orange rock walls. I don’t think I have ever seen that color out in nature before.