01.06.2024

Today was our last day on Sao Miguel and we saw a few things that are definitely worth seeing. Pineapples have been grown in greenhouses here since the 19th century. There are fewer and fewer growers here because it takes two years before the fruit can be harvested. At the moment, organic producers charge €9.80 per kilo. That's why pineapples are processed into jam, beer, vinegar, wine, liqueur, pastries... They are sold abroad in this way. Without EU funding, more producers would have given up. Then we went about 30km further north to the "Gorreana" tea-growing region, where there was a lot of hustle and bustle. We hiked up the tea slopes that extend far into the mountains, everything was very neat and professional. We were spared the rain cloud that is said to rain down there every day. It only caught us in the car on the way home. The tea leaves harvested there are processed into white, green and black tea, some of which is flavoured. You could watch the processing through the windows. Not far from there, in the "Ribeira dos Caldeiros" stream valley, there are waterfalls, watermills, barbecue facilities, already stocked with wood and of course a café for the daily Galao. The area was inviting for a short hike and was again beautifully green. Some people went to the natural pool for a swim, we went to a small restaurant nearby. We can confirm the praise in the travel guide and the Azoreans also like to go out to eat at the weekend. Now we're going to reflect on everything in the hotel and hope that the return journey tomorrow goes according to plan.