We like islands.
We like their smaller sizes, unique cultures and, oddly enough, the quirky weather. So, it's not a big surprise that an archipelago in the Atlantic would bubble up to the top of our list.
Welcome to the Azores ... islands oozing with Portuguese magic!
So pour yourself a big glass of fun, find a shady spot to sit back and relax, and come along on a trip to green volcanic islands—presented in easy-to-read picture-n-caption format!
Don't forget to click the link to the photo album at the end!
Let's begin, shall we?
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| An Azorean horse, of course! I didn't want to lead off with a geologic diagram of São Miguel Island because that's kind of dry, so let's go with a horse! This gal was laying in her pasture on a sunny afternoon, minding her own business, when I stopped to shoot her (with my camera). No sooner had I gotten out of the car than she slowly stood up and casually walked toward me. I think she'd done horse modeling before. Alas, I had no apple to share with her. Next time, I promise. |
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| And now ... a little background The nine islands of the Azores are really out there—900 miles from mainland Portugal and 1,220 miles from Newfoundland, Canada—sitting atop the mid-Atlantic ridge where the North American, Eurasian, and African tectonic plates converge. And they didn't appear instantaneously. The diagram shows that the largest of the islands—São Miguel—was formed during six periods of volcanic activity ranging from 4.2 million to 50 thousand years ago. That's a pretty big spread. In more recent history, the islands were visited by Norse/northern European seafarers but weren't permanently inhabited until the Portuguese settled here in the 1500s. Today, 240,000 people call the Azores home, but outward migration and an aging population have slowed growth. In fact, there's a sizeable expat population living in North America. Of course, tectonic and volcanic events continue to this day. If you live here, a little "shake & bake" is part of the deal. |
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| Size is relative São Miguel Island is about 40 miles long and 10 miles wide. The view above shows one-half of the island stretching west into the distance with the capital, Ponta Delgada, on the left, and Ribeira Grande on the right. The two are situated at the thin waist of the island, so are just about 5 miles apart. Don't let the seemingly diminutive size give you the idea that getting around the island is a snap. It's not! While there a few "fast" roads, most are narrow two-lane affairs that twist and wind, up and down, all over the place! Still, it's actually fun to drive here ... albeit that the Azorean behind you, who knows the road much better, will drive right up your exhaust pipe ... and then some. FUN FACT: São Miguel Island is home to 140,000 of the archipelago's entire population of 240,000. |
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The best pineapples in the world? The islands are lush, green, often damp, but not tropical; they experience significant seasonal weather fluctuations. Nevertheless, after the collapse of orange plantations in the 1860s, pineapples from South America were imported as a new crop. It's not warm enough to grow them outside, so they're grown in greenhouses across the island, and the effort has paid off. Some claim they are the best pineapples in the world.* We didn't have much to compare them to, but the fresh pineapple fruit, pineapple sherbert, and pineapple liquor we sampled at the Augusto Arruda Pineapple Plantation were excellent! A fine, balanced meal, good for the entire family. |
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| Speaking of STEW! Nothing could be more Azorean than the Cozido das Furnas. This hearty stew is a concoction of beef, pork, chicken, chorizo, blood sausage, sweet potatoes, taro root, and cabbage—all layered in large pots and then cooked in steaming, malodorous volcanic soil. Hours later, local restaurants retrieve their pots in time for dinner service. We stopped at Tony's restaurant in Furnas late one afternoon and were lucky enough to be served this meatalicious dish early. We ordered one serving ... and it was HUGE! The image above doesn't do justice to the size of the plate. We tried to empty the plate; we came close. To see the stew's creation in action, view this Anthony Bourdain clip, beginning at the five-minute mark: Geothermal Cooking in the Azores | Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Wanna make it yourself? See Cozido das Furnas: History, Recipe and Where to Eat. Of course, to be completely authentic, you'll have to dig a hole in the ground until you hit scalding hot jets of geothermal steam. That part could be tricky. |
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| My girls! There's no question that cattle dominate the landscape; they're scattered here, there, and everywhere. From what we saw, they enjoy a pretty nice life munching on nature's green salad. In return, the cows produce milk ... a LOT of milk. In fact, the nine islands account for 30% of Portugal's production. Above, four cows took great interest in me or my camera ... I'm pretty sure it was me. I have that effect on cows. |
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| And then there's CHEESE! With so much milk production, it's no surprise that cheese is a thing on the Azores. According to Portuguese Cheese Down Under, half of all Portuguese cheese comes from the Azores. Natalie and I stopped at the Arco da Velha restaurant in São Miguel for a late afternoon libation and snack. Rodrigo, our host at the restaurant, insisted we try something authentic to the islands. How about CHEESE! Our cheese plate was made up of samples from five of the islands (though all nine make their own cheeses), as well as different breads and jams. Rodrigo explained what bread/jam paired best with which cheese. Natalie was able to keep up, but I was soon confused, so I went rogue and made random combinations. Later, and in a cheese coma, we thanked Rodrigo and waddled back to the car. OH!, which cheese won our taste test? Without doubt, the cheese from São Jorge. |
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| Sometimes you drive, sometimes you hike The Azores are the tops of volcanos sticking out of the Atlantic. This means they typically have very steep slopes, but every now and then, there are flat spots—called fajãs—where lava flowed into the sea. Flat spots make good places to build villages. Sometimes you can drive to them, but other times hiking is the only option. Pictured above, a very steep (but paved) road took us to Fajã dos Cubres where we enjoyed a lunch of rabbit and a walkabout. The poor bunny was delicious! Ah ... this reminds me of the classic childhood song, Here Comes Peter Cottontail. Sing it with me now ... "Here comes Peter Cottontail Hopping down the bunny trail Hippity-hoppity, landing on my PLATE!" Tastes like chicken! |
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| Ah! That's better The hike to Rocha da Relva was simple enough. Hike 1,200 feet down a narrow, paved path to reach the stretched-out village and hike back up. Established in the 15th century, Rocha da Relva is known for its unique microclimate perfect for vineyards and other small-farm crops. Today, about 50 small homes are dotted along the trail. How did they transport building materials to do any of this? Azorean Donkeys! FUN FACT: Rocha da Relva also served as a refuge to escape the plague! NOT SO FUN FACT: Azorean donkeys were brought to the islands by the Portuguese and became an endemic breed—Burro da Ilha Graciosa. They once numbered 8,000 but today are slowly recovering from a decimated population of just 26 in 2001. |
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| The reward! There's a pot-o-gold at the end of every rainbow ... or a waterfall at the end of every trail. In this case, it's the Salto do Prego waterfall at the southeastern corner of São Miguel. The hike featured steep sections, areas of tall bamboo, and hordes of very colorful free-roaming chickens. Not a bad day's excursion. We took a loop trail back, and that's when things got interesting ... in a good way. |
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| Quick! Somebody call Century 21! Halfway down the loop trail, we came to the lost village of Sanguinho. Established in the early 20th century as a small farming community, Sanguinho's population reached 200 at its peak, but by the 1970s, the wave of emigration to the U.S. and Canada drained the village of its inhabitants ... and nature began the reclamation process. Today, Sanguinho is slowly being repopulated with an emphasis on eco-tourism, so if you're looking for an opportunity to open an eco Airbnb on the Azores, there are some deals here. Go ahead, call Century 21 to find out how you can get in on this real estate bonanza! |
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| Guess who's from England? When we first arrived at the lost village of Sanguinho, we saw nothing but real estate opportunities. But then we saw a few people. And then we saw the Bar Loj snack hut ... and it was open and doing brisk business. Like all other smart hikers on the trail that afternoon, we thought an adult beverage and salty snack was a very good idea. The snack hut was so unexpected. Also unexpected was Marco, the snack hut's proprietor. Marco is a Portuguese name, but this Marco was definitely British ... given away by his accent, teeth, and "Keith Richards" style of dress. |
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| The road down The loop trail back to our starting point at Faial da Terra had other steep sections, like the section here. This is the "road" to the lost village of Sanguinho. We did not want to be on those pavers in rain. And we would never want to be Azorean donkeys hauling supplies up it! |
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| Looks can be deceiving It seems like a nice enough day. Fog up high? No worries. Partly sunny down low? Yes. It seemed like a perfect day for a hike around the Caldeira do Alferes. After multiple visits to Atlantic and North Sea islands, we should have known to anticipate things like wind and rain. Though this image portrays a pastoral scene from afar, have a look at this brief video shot at the same time. We were happy with our decision to not take that hike. And then a mother-daughter team from Belgium came into view, hiking the caldera's trail in the wind and fog. OMG! Are we wimps now? |
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| A much better view when it's not in the clouds Two days later, the weather at Caldeira do Alferes looked a lot more like the plethora of similar images on Instagram. Finally, I could get my photo of the same scene. It's pretty cool though: Caldera lakes and the ocean in the background. Determined to discredit any evidence of being wimps, we took on three short hikes in the Sete Cidades Volcanic Complex (above) and crushed them! But by the end of the day, my right knee decided it didn't want to play this game anymore. While it had been a wuss off and on for months, the knee was now in full protest mode. For the rest of the trip, it gave me daily reminders of how much humans need knees. Stupid knee! |
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| Read THESE tea leaves! Gorreana Tea Plantation is Europe's oldest tea growing and production facility. After 140 years, tea harvesting in the fields is mechanized, but the indoor processing part is still very old school, complete with people hand selecting leaves from piles on tables. Seriously—selecting tea leaves by hand ... 33 TONS a year ... BY HAND! You can see them in action here! |
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| STOP STALKING US! The main attraction at Gorreana Tea Plantation is hiking the three miles through the thousands of rows of carefully trimmed tea plants. Above, Natalie poses with Lauren and Ingrid. Lauren and Ingrid are the daughter-mother team from Belgium whom we first met two days earlier as they shamed us by hiking in big wind and fog at the caldera. The very next day, we ran into them again at a waterfall where they were hiking (in the rain of course) whereas we took the dryer shortcut using a car ... and then this day at the tea plantation. They seemed nice enough, but I'm pretty sure they were stalking us. Beware the Belgians! |
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| Picture perfect in Velas Velas is the largest town on São Jorge Island, the second Azorean island we visited. The town isn't big, and in April, it's not busy either ... and that was just fine with us. Later in the season, when the summer kicks in, Velas is the main port for ferries coming from other islands. |
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| Curb appeal? After arriving at São Jorge, the first piece of business was to get to a grocery store to stock our villa. The Interweb's map told us there was such a place not too far away. We arrived ... but did we? We did! But Bom Dia was an odd grocery store outside and in. Nevertheless, it had the basics for a spaghetti dinner. A few days later we stopped at a much newer store in Velas, and even its exterior had a weird industrial drabby vibe. Looking for work on a remote island? I hear there's an opening for an architectural exterior designer on São Jorge. No experience needed! |
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| Stone walls It wasn't so much of a choice as it was a need: Portuguese settlers needed to clear rock-covered islands to create fields to plant crops to eat. I suppose they could have asked their poor donkeys to haul the stones off to the sea and dump them there, but after a few trips, the smarter donkeys would have just continued walking into the sea to put an end to their misery. The second option—to stack the rock into walls—was the winning solution. These rock walls continue to be used today as a means to keep animals in place and to grow crops in microclimates protecting them from wind and cold, and sometimes sea salt mists. Rock walls are still built with amazing results, but the traditional art of mortarless wall building is fading. Today, mortar is used to help keep them upright ... a nice feature to have when the earth starts shaking. If you'd like a side trip to learn more about these walls, see Basalt Stone Walls of the Azores - Azores Almanac. |
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| Not my photo (but I wish it was)! No, it's not my photo, but I needed an image for the story. The photo credit goes to Sos Cagarro – save the Cory’s Shearwaters! | Guide to The Azores). Cory's shearwaters are fine ocean birds, and I encourage you to visit the website. It has great information and also has a brief recording (below) of their very creepy and disturbing call—which you should listen to before proceeding. Reader participation required!
I'm not sure about you, but I think the Cory's shearwaters' song is the perfect addition to any horror scene. You know, like when a freaky clown is chasing you down a dark hallway? And he's getting closer ... and closer? And everything suddenly goes black! And then there's a scream and ... Sweet dreams! |
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| Coffee? Airlines have done a remarkable job of charging extra for almost everything, and here's a prime example. Our TAP Air Portugal flight back to Lisbon offered complimentary water (gosh, thanks), but coffee was on my mind. The cost? €4.00 (about $5.00). What the heck, let's go for it! The flight attendant swiped my card and then poured hot water into a paper cup, opened a packet of instant coffee, poured it into the water, and stirred. And that was my coffee. My vile, vile coffee. With a considerable twinge of irony, I noticed an article in the in-flight magazine highlighting the CEO of the company that supplies TAPs coffee, complete with a snappy picture of him holding a steaming cup of their product. I wonder if he's ever had the packet version. I'm guessing not. But when he does, he's in for a treat. A vile, vile treat. |
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And there you have it!
We got a good start to exploring the Azores—they really are astonishing. But my wanderlust kicks in when I think of the seven islands we didn't see. Maybe someday?
But this trip isn't over ...
Coming to you real soon: Paris and the Loire Valley!
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And now, a SPECIAL BONUS ...
PICTURES! ... carefully curated with you in mind.
The blog post tells just one part of the story ... the photo album fills in the rest. They go hand in hand ... like the disturbing song of Cory's shearwaters and creepy clowns chasing you!
Seriously, the photo album shows so much more.
Each photo includes a brief caption, so you know what you're looking at.
Here's how to make the most of viewing the photo album:
- Click this link to access the album.
- When the album displays, click the Play slideshow icon in the upper right corner.
- As soon as the slideshow begins to play, click the Pause slideshow icon at the lower center.
- Now you can advance the slideshow at your own pace using the right or left arrows at the bottom center of the screen.
Enjoy!
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