Two of the most fun things Daniel and I did on São Jorge Island were fishing and watching my cousins milk their cows. I happen to have an awesome uncle who goes fishing almost every night apparently the island has abundant fish. We caught lots of chicharros (horse mackerel) and one garoupa (blacktail comber). It was the first time Daniel and I had gone fishing, but it was pretty cool.
Jumping fish in the bucket (poor things, took forever to die!)...
Success! And the cat doesn't care.
Other than having a really cool uncle, I have three really cool cousins who milk cows. We went to see how two of them do it. In the Azores there really are happy cows. And these two cousins of mine really take care of their cows as if they were pets. They know all 55 by name, and choose to milk them out in the pasture, where they have to bend over, instead of in a milking house, just because it's better for the cows.
The cows love it. They are fed while they are milked so they line up (they know their order) and even push other cows out of the way, trying to go for a second time.
I had no idea cows can be like dogs if treated with care... friendly and wanting to be petted. I petted one named "Frou Frou" and she came back next to me a few minutes later to be petted again. She wanted to be petted by everyone and she even leaned her head against Daniel and licked us! It was incredible.
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