I think it's become somewhat clear that I'm into my museums and history. It'll be no surprise that I had to squeeze in at least one museum visit on my Azores trip. And the Museum Militar dos Açores was well worth seeing!
A military museum is maybe not for everyone, but I quite liked it. Strangely, I kind of like all the military museums I've been to, they can be really interesting. The Military Museum of the Azores in Ponta Delgada is located in a still active military base, which is rather unique, I think, and it was a bit bizarre walking among the soldiers at times. The collections are quite extensive, with an array of military things; guns and other weaponry, military vehicles, (communication) technology, uniforms, documents, and what not. The fort itself and its corridors and tunnels are worth exploring and you get to see most of the collections in rooms that were once used for other purposes, from dining and common rooms to rooms with WWII weaponry still in their original places. Quite a few Portuguese museums/places I've now visited have displayed their past in colonialism in some way, and this one wasn't an exception. It can feel a bit iffy and sometimes I find it to be in bad taste, but this exhibition on Portuguese colonial history was more on the interesting side. But the most interesting bit for me was the Azores' military history that I knew nothing about - you don't often hear about its involvement in WWII or anything! Even if you're not interested in the actual museum, you get good views of Ponta Delgada and the surrounding areas from the fort and the fort is cute. As I visited during a bit of a rainy and stormy spell, it was also good to get indoors for a bit! All in all, it was a good time.
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