[work in progress]
Needing a bit of a break from the world, Kathy and Ben decided to head off . . . somewhere. After thinking about it and doing a bit of research, we decided on the Azores, in particular, São Miguel. We managed to convince old friends, Mike and Pam, to join us. We found flights (nonstop from Boston!) and accommodations on Expedia, got advice from guidebooks and from Francisco, an Azorean friend of M&P’s, on things to do and places to eat, and off we went.
There is a nonstop flight from Boston to São Miguel, only 4.5 hours. Sadly, our flight on SATA airlines was delayed two and a half hours, which is apparently not unusual – we saw one guy walking around Ponta Delgada (the main city on São Miguel) with a printed T-shirt saying “Waiting for SATA”. So we picked up the rental car and went over to the hotel, who greeted us with open arms, though our rooms were not yet ready (it was about 9am). We walked into town, and the first thing we noticed were the sidewalks. In all our reading about the Azores, nobody had thought to mention that they were black and white stone mosaics, each street with a different pattern. I took many photos of these, seen below.
Sidewalks!
Full album can be found here.
Day 1, Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada is a charming little town with narrow streets and lots of fun shops and restaurants. We had a lovely brunch at Louvre Michaelense (after having stopped for “breakfast” pastry at Pão do Rei). In the evening we had a fabulous dinner in the tiny Tasquinha Vieira, small plates beautifully prepared and presented. A complete review of our wining and dining can be found here.
Full album here.
Day 2, Whale Watching & Island Tour
We started the day driving to Vila Franca do Campo for a whale watch. A couple of dozen of us on a zodiac that I clocked (using GPS) at around 40 MPH. We were out for several hours, getting lovely views of Ilhéu de Vila Franca do Campo, and finding a large pod of dolphins, but sadly no whales. Still, it was great to be out on the water on such a beautiful day. We had lunch at the marina, then joined our guide, Alexandra, for an afternoon tour of the island, including Lagoa do Fogo, Salto do Cabrito (little goat) falls, Santa Bárbara surf beach at Ribeira Grande, with WWII bunkers nearby, Caldeira Velha, where we all took a dip. A wonderful, beefy dinner at Casa do Abel in Agua de Pau ended the day.
Full album here.
Day 3, Kayaking Sete Cidades
After another wonderful breakfast at our hotel we set out for Sete Cidades on another beautiful morning. This is a pair of connected lakes in two large volcanic craters. We had arranged to meet our kayak guide there, and right on time Rodrigo showed up and took us out on the lakes. We paddled around Lagoa Azul and came around to the tunnel that leads out of the lake to the coast, then we continued back under the bridge to Lagoa Verde and paddled around there for a while. Both we gorgeous! After changing back into civvies, we drove into town and had buffet lunch at the local restaurant named after the blue lake. As buffets go it was pretty good, but not nearly as good as the other meals we enjoyed on the trip. We then stopped for tea and dessert at the newly opened Tea House “ O Poejo”, which was excellent. After lunch we drove up to the abandoned luxury hotel and took in the spectacular views of the lakes and ocean. On the drive home we stopped to watch the sunset from the Miradouro do Caminho Novo (“miradouro” means “viewpoint”, and there are dozens around the island, beautifully maintained with marvelous views, indeed). We went back into Ponta Delgada for dinner, failing to get seating a A Tasca, which had been recommended, so we went back to Louvre Michaelense, where the waiter treated us like royalty and we had another great meal. The waiter also kindly gave us a list of other restaurants we should try, said list having a high overlap with Francisico’s, so it appears that folks agree on the best of the best.
Full album here.
Day 4, Lagoa das Furnas and the North Shore
Pam wanted to rest in the morning, so Mike, Kathy, and Ben took a walk around the hotel neighborhood, São Roque. There is a large rock right offshore, and, no, that’s not the “roque” the saint is named for. There is another WWII gun emplacement and bunker there. We had lunch at the recommended fish restaurant, Borda D’Agua, near the harbor in Lagoa. Excellent, as usual (we could get used to this!). Then off to Lagoa das Furnas, where a rich “gentleman-farmer” erected a chapel for his terminally ill wife. No longer open to the public, it’s still an interesting sight, and there is an affiliated botanical garden there along the lakeside. We also saw the second largest Norfolk Island pine tree, which is behind the visitor center by the lake. Norfolk pines are all over the island, and are notable for the way they grow: they put out five branches, then the trunk grows up some more and another five branches come out. This has the effect of making a perfectly-formed tree, so much so that wen we saw the first of these, quite large, in Ponta Delgada we were unsure at first whether it was actually a cell tower disguised as a tree, as we sometimes see here. After visiting the lake, we drove through the little town of Furnas, which has several hot springs, and the sulphery smells to accompany them. From there we headed North and drove along the coast admiring the beautiful vistas.
For dinner we went back into Ponta Delgada and had our best meal of the week at Otaka Japanese restaurant (at least according to Kathy and Ben, who had the tasting menu; Mike and Pam are not big sushi fans and had cooked meals). The dishes and wines were all amazing. Paper thin slices of mullet in one dish, for example. See it all in the Azores dining page.
Full album here.
Day 5, Ponta Delgada, Tea, and Wine
We walked around Ponta Delgada in the morning and then headed up to the big, local mall just to check it out. It was anchored by a huge supermarket and we picked up some wine there – for a song. We had lunch in the food court, which featured some local companies as well as the usual mall suspects. then we headed off to check out the Gorreana tea factory, which is a small, family-run operation, one of the last tea producers in Europe. After that we drove over to the Quinta da Jardinette Winery, again a small family business. We were given excellent tours at both facilities and bought a bottle of white wine at Jardinette. This was our anniversary and we decided to have a “picnic” with our wonderful friends in the hotel dining area, so we stopped in town at O Rei dos Queijos (“The King of Cheese”) and picked up some local cheeses, then again to Pão do Rei (“Bread of the King”) for some rolls and pastry, then back home where we feasted like kings and enjoyed the wines we’d bought during the day, celebrating 43 years of marriage.
Full album here.
Day 6, In Search of Waterfalls and a Lighthouse
We headed out to check out some of the waterfalls that had been recommended to us by the hotel staff. The first one was a bit of a dud. Despite a ton of rain the previous day the cascade that should have been in full force and visible from the Mirdouro do Salto da Farinha was a trickle, barely visible from the viewpoint. Check out the photos on google maps to see what we should have seen. The next stop, Lomba D’El Rei, was supposed to be a little hike into a place to see a cascade, but we must not have gone far enough, as we only found the convergence of two small streams, and no cascade. So we headed up into the hills Cascata da Ribeira dos Caldeirões, where there are two cascades, both much more satisfying than the previous ones. From there we went off to lunch in the little town of Nordeste, oddly enough in the northeast corner of the island. After lunch we drove down to the Piscina Natural Da Boca De Ribeira, which is a spectacular swimming pool, open to the ocean. Afterward we wanted to get to the overlook for the Farol do Arnel lighthouse, but Ben drove right past the place and kept stopping at various Miradouros to see the lighthouse, to no avail. However, we found the lovely Miradouro da Ponta da Madrugada, which was itself a little park with carefully maintained bushes and flowers, several picnic ares, and a couple of dozen cats who were being fed there. Each of the cats had a clipped left ear, which we guessed meant they had been spayed/neutered. Many of the cats were quite friendly. After that Ben looked at the map more carefully and discovered his error and we drove back to the Miradouro da Vista dos Barcos,where we got the classic view of the lighthouse.
On our return to Ponta Delgada we decided to get dinner at the upscale Balcony restaurant in the Grand Hotel Açores Atlântico, but first we stopped by the São Martinho Festival next to the town gates where they had a tent set up for wine tastings. We sampled a few very nice glasses, then headed over to dinner overlooking the marina. Again, more details on the Azores dining page.
Full album here.
Day 7, The Final Day
On our last day we had hoped to get back to Sete Cidades to find the canonical overlook that one sees in every guidebook, Miradouro da Grota do Inferno. Sadly, the whole area was completely socked in, nothing like the day we’d kayaked. We did get a very foggy look at the Aqueduto do Carvão, then we headed back down the mountain to see Mosteiros. Stopped at Miradouro da Ponta do Escalvado for our first, spectacular views, then drove into town and checked out the amazing islets offshore from Ponta do Castelo. Apparently they are responsible for the name of the town, which means “monastery”, according to Wikipedia. We then went into town to get lunch at Restaurante Gazcidla (Godzilla???) where we had very good grilled fish. None of us were big octopus lovers, so we didn’t try them; Mosteiros is renowned for octopus. We then headed back to Ponta Delgada for dessert at Gelataria Abracadabra before heading over to the airport to catch our return flight.
Full album here.