Our First Trip to the Azores

It won't be our last....

In the summer of 2020, we were living in California. Like nearly everyone else at that time, we were watching a lot of television. An episode of Mediterranean Life set in São Miguel piqued my interest in Portugal.¹ And the rest, as they say, is history.

I wish I hadn’t been driving. On our first day, we turned a corner and saw the exact scene pictured on the side of the Azorean milk carton we always buy. Everywhere you look there are cows.

The Azores…os Açores

In this post, I will refer to the Azores, an archipelago of 9 islands in the Atlantic Ocean 1,400 km (870 mi) west of Lisbon, using the “English” spelling. Like Madeira, it is an autonomous region (deemed such after the Carnation Revolution). These regions are politically and administratively autonomous while maintaining the sovereignty of the Portuguese State. Approximately 235,000 live on the 9 islands, of which 140,000 live on São Miguel.² We stayed in Ponta Delgada, the capital with a population of approximately 45,000. While agriculture, dairy farming, and fishing are the main industries; tourism is in fourth place and is clearly on the rise. Nearly everyone we encountered spoke English fluently.

It took us just 2 1/4 hours to fly from Faro to Ponta Delgada on SATA Azores Airline. They also have flights originating in Lisbon and Porto, and even fly to the US.³ We rented a car as we wanted to explore as much of the island as possible during our 4.5-day visit. We also rented an apartment in the center of Ponta Delgada. What follows is a review of our first two full days. Next week, I’ll share the rest.

I know it says Do Not Enter, but we did.

Heading West

A friend had told us to check the onsite cameras before heading west toward Sete Cidades. We didn’t heed his expert advice and ended up in pea soup. It made visiting the abandoned hotel, Monte Palace, spookier (and more fun). Across the street from the abandoned hotel is a famous viewpoint. Unfortunately, for us and the hotel, on most days it looks like this:

On a rare sunny day, one lake is green and the other is blue allowing you to see something like this photo we found on Tripadvisor:

Regardless, in and around this area there are miles of hiking trails. After you have worked up an appetite, you will want to pop over to the village of Sete Cidades to explore its shops, tour the church, enjoy some watersports (paddle boards and kayaks are available), or have a snack. After Sete Cidades, we drove a short distance to Mosteiros to have lunch and visit their beautiful black beaches.⁴ From there we drove along the southwestern coast back to Ponta Delgada.

Mosteiros

Next Stop Furnas

On our second day, we drove east to Furnas … a popular spot because of its unique food and baths. Both exist because Furnas is nestled inside the crater of an active volcano that last erupted in 1630, and is still bubbling!

En route we visited a park by a lake, Marta Jardim José Canto. There you will find a lovely garden and a Gothic church. If you hike for a bit, you will also find a waterfall.

We also stopped by the Parque Terra Nostra where a beautiful garden and bathing in steaming sulfuric water await you.

We didn’t choose to bathe here, instead heading to the center of town to visit the Caldeiras de Furnas where the locals take advantage of the earth’s heat to cook their meals.

Truth be told we didn’t have the local delicacy.

After lunch, we visited the Poça da Dona Beija, perhaps the most popular bathing spot on the island. ⁵

Back in Ponta Delgada, we ended our day enjoying our best dinner of the trip at Louvre Michaelense. (We recommend you make a reservation.)

Na próxima semana, o resto da nossa visitana

Nanc

1. First, yes I realize the islands are in the Atlantic Ocean … not the Mediterranean. Second, you may recall that Denise said we couldn’t live on an island. So the Azores were not considered in our move. However, I will note that there are 3 golf courses on São Miguel Island. You can join as a full member at all 3 for only 950€ a year. Had I known that, I might have fought her a bit harder.

2. Today, the U.S. military is based at Lajes Field on Terceira Island which provides logistical support for US and NATO operations. Perhaps the current occupant of the White House can destroy this relationship by finding a far-right propaganda video to show the Portuguese President if he ever visits the White House.

3. Imagine spending a few days in São Miguel before flying back to the States.

4. We ate at Restaurante O Chico. It doesn’t look special on the outside, but our lunch was delicious.

5. Denise and our traveling companions loved the warm pools. I choose to abstain.