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Cruzinhas – Doze Ribeiras – Santa Barbara – Cinco Ribeiras
Before reaching the village of Doze Ribeiras, the road passes the tiny hamlet of Cruzinhas, whose only importance is that it is here where a major road to the nature attractions in the centre of the island branches off. Doze Ribeiras has, besides a church and a Holy Ghost chapel dating from the end of the 19th century, the Casa Rural das Doze Ribeiras, a small ethnographical museum where rural life on Terceira can be witnessed, and an old windmill flanking the museum on one side. This peaceful village also boasts a nice bathing area and a natural belvedere, located above the village near the bifurcation to the volcanic massif, providing splendid views over the southwest coast where small fields and pastures are spreading.
Continuing south on this beautiful route through idyllic surroundings, the next village reached is Santa Barbara with its small, whitewashed houses, enhanced by the characteristic cylindrical chimneys capped with a painted cone, which can be seen particularly in this area and remind of the first settlers from the Algarve region. Besides its parish church, originally dating from the times of the village’s foundation, there is also an ‘império’ with a pretty yellow and white façade and a small chapel, housing a 16th-century stone figure of ‘Our Lady of Help’, which made this chapel a popular pilgrimage place for the islanders.
Next on this road along the southwest coast is the small village of Cinco Ribeiras, worthwhile a stop not only for its small ethnographic museum Casa Eco-Museu Dr. Marcelino Moules featuring typical rural life and buildings before the devastating earthquake of 1980. The original building dating from the 16th century, the present museum is composed of three parts, all grouped around an inner court, comprising the main house, featuring some beautiful antique furniture, a traditional kitchen with an old bread baking oven and a photographic exhibition, the atafona (mill drawn by hand or horse) and the barn displaying an ox-cart besides other agricultural utensils. Like most of the villages on Terceira, Cinco Ribeiras has also its church and its Holy Ghost chapel, both dating from around the last quarter of the 19th century. For everybody interested in the making of cheese, it is possible to have a guided tour round the cheese factory Queijo Vaquinha, located in the village. East of the village lies the Ponta das Cinco, a small headland with a tiny chapel, where, to its east, the Porto das Cinco Ribeiras, an old fishing port with good bathing possibilities, is hidden behind rocks. Near the port is a recently installed camping site, which provides all necessary facilities and is open all year round.
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