15.05.2024

First day on Sao Miguel, the largest island in the Azores. The travel guide says you never know what the weather will be like and that's exactly what we experience. The sun was shining at breakfast and when we got to the first parking lot to hike to a volcanic crater lake, we were enveloped in damp fog. So we went "down" again and at the first viewpoint it was dry and we had a good view of the Atlantic. We changed our plans and chose a hike along the coast below the cloud cover. At the starting point, beautiful yellow camellias were blooming and the parking lot had endless free space. From Moinhos we went along rustic paths, past cows, through tall grass, always with a view of the Atlantic. Our path was lined with white lilies up to a meter high and blue-white hydrangeas up to 2m high. Another waterfall with a nice picnic area. After about 6.5 km we were back at the starting point. In the restaurant on the beach we followed the blue sign (No WiFi ...)!! Our three-course meal was delicious: Galao, the Portuguese milk coffee (frothy milk with an espresso), a fish soup, a huge sandwich (approx. 25 x 15 cm) and we had to have the brownie too. In the evening the sun was shining again, so we drove to the coast again. The thick rosettes are outside our room window, about 1x1 m each. We walked along the coast, some brave souls had already gone swimming. The large stone whale here reminds us of the factory that processed whales for their oil from 1945 to the 1970s. After enough fresh air, the sound of the Atlantic and having walked about 11 km, the little red car took us back to our accommodation, the "Quinta dos Bravos".