Island hopping... Sao Miguel, Terceira, Pico, Faial. Ah, how beautiful are the Azores, where the weather comes from😀. Mostly seen on TV weather reports, Azores high or low, you often hear that, but where is it and what does it look like there?
From Frankfurt, you can fly directly to Ponta Delgada with SATA and from there you can reach all the islands by boat or propeller planes.
The Azores are nine islands of volcanic origin, of which we visited 4. Each island is worth a visit and different. Deep blue crater lakes, meadows lined with blue hydrangeas, black lava stone, the wild Atlantic with possible whale watching. These islands invite you to bike and hike, but also to indulge in delicious food, great fish dishes, where else, if not here. The accommodations on the islands range from hotels to quintas and small holiday homes, we have been preferring the latter for years and always feel comfortable spending our holidays in owner-managed small units. We always try to avoid mass tourism and large hotels.
...a small car is recommended, it can be quite narrow... black, green, red are the dominant colors, the car fit perfectly. Our first island was Terceira with the capital Angra do Heroismo, a beautiful place that you should visit, even though the nature around it is very tempting. Translated, the island means the third, because it was discovered as the third of the archipelago. We stayed at Quinta dos Merces, not far from Angra and close to a small fishing port with a restaurant.
I call them pipe cleaners, they somehow look like that 😝
Mata da Serreta, a picnic spot, like something out of a fairy tale, fairies could dance by..... You can hike from Raminho to this enchanting place, then the picnic tastes even better. The Gruta do Natal, a 675-meter-long cave, a mass is held here every Christmas. Have you ever stood in complete darkness in a cave? We did with our guide, after a few minutes you lose your orientation, you only hear the dripping from the walls and see nothing, absolute darkness and silence. It was eerie and an interesting experience, one that we will never forget. From here, there is also a hiking trail that crosses the bizarre landscape to Lagoa do Negro, very nice to walk. Biscoitos, a place with 1300 inhabitants, a beautiful chapel, some restaurants and shops. There is also a wine museum on site, where the history of wine growing on Terceira is told in an illustrative way. The photo above was taken on the black lava tongues that extend into the sea, large bathing pools have been created with stairs, and you can splash around here wonderfully. Furnas do Enxofre
Sulphur, it steams, the first contact and the realization that it boils under the earth, but on Sao Miguel it is much more extreme, although the walking path on the boardwalks in this natural park was beautiful and pleasant.
It is always difficult to decide whether to stay longer on one island or not, because on Terceira there are some hikes that would have been tempting for sure. But then we moved on to Pico, with a small SATA plane after returning our rental car. Check-in is quick, everything is very manageable and relaxed.
Pico, that's the name of the island and also the name of the mountain, the highest in Portugal by the way, at 2351 meters. I thought it was the most charming island with this mighty volcano and its peak, which was often covered by clouds and then playfully reappeared. You can also climb the volcano, but the ascent is said to be very difficult and is best done with a mountain guide. We were very wary of it, especially since the weather wasn't so great and clouds kept coming in.
We stayed in a very nice place on Pico, O Zimbreiro in Piedade, a family with its own pottery and huts, as well as rooms in the main house and a pool. They completely rebuilt the property and restored the old typical huts. Very beautiful..... from the terrace you have a view of the neighboring island of Sao Jorge and can watch dolphins, or simply relax.
Because Pico offers the best whale watching trips in the world, we booked a tour in advance.
Whaling is a topic everywhere, and it is very interesting to visit the museum and get an idea of how people went out to sea. Normally, they worked in the fields, and when the whale caller, who was always in position, spotted a whale, they quickly got on the wooden boats. An adventurous undertaking and it's good that today the whales are shot with cameras, not harpoons.
Whale Museum in Pico Monument at the harbor with the former halls for processing Splashed wet on the boats and searching for the animals with sonar. The animals are not observed from close range, Talassa pays close attention to that. Before departure, there is also a briefing and if you want, you can take a 'motion sickness pill' against nausea. The ride on the Atlantic is great fun, we drove with quite a lot of speed and spotted a few whales, but it was hardly possible to take photos, the rocking was too intense. Volcanic landscape... crossing the island, almost unreal.... Our third island was Faial, with the marina Horta, the first address for transatlantic sailors, and the town of the same name with the legendary bar 'Peter Cafe Sport'. La Quinta das Buganvillas was our accommodation, right next to the runway, which we discovered the next morning during breakfast. But on this mini island, the noise from the planes is very limited. The island is also called Ilha Azul, because of the blue hydrangea hedges that bloom in full splendor in the summer. In the last century, it was a stopover for transatlantic flights and the center of telecommunications between the old and new world. Many inhabitants of the Azores also emigrated to America. Memories at the quay of the transatlantic sailors, there are already works of art that tell the story of the crews of the sailing boats and yachts. Maize cooked in sulfur springs... the Caldeiras Cooking spot for the traditional stew, which we naturally tasted. It is cooked for several hours in the ground, wrapped up, and gains a special flavor from the minerals released, and then it looks like this:Cozido, beef, pork, chicken, sausage, potatoes, yams, and cabbage. It was another vacation filled with impressions, we have not yet visited the mainland of Portugal, but we visited Lisbon some time later. The Azores are beautiful islands for active holidays, hiking, biking, and also golfing. We were there in June, had a bit of bad luck with the weather, but that didn't matter because the temperatures around 20 degrees were ideal for hiking.Friendly people, good food, the colors of the Atlantic with the green of the plants and the black lava rock are super beautiful and not nearly as crowded as Lanzarote. I hope I could inspire you with these impressions.🌈🌴
