The Azores (Part one)

This is a trip I made just before I met Debi. My parents met me in Lisbon. We were going to drive back to Yorkshire, (That’s another story) but decided to take a week out on the Azores. I thought it was a grand idea, a quick hop to this Atlantic archipelago. Wrong, it’s a 2-hour+ flight from Lisbon. If you overshoot, you’ll end up in Newfoundland. I soon worked out that it was worth it. The archipelago is made up of 9 volcanic islands, although most have not had any activity for hundreds of years. On discovery, there were no animals on the islands, so before and during settlement sheep were let loose to help settlers on their way. Settlers arrived around 1433 and they brought domesticated animals and food plants with them. The main industries today are farming fishing and tourism.

Ponta Delgada

We landed in Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel and hired a car as there is no other way to get around the Islands. It was mid-morning, so we had enough time to check into the hotel and then explore the town. Although it’s the biggest town on all of the islands, (around 45000 people residing) its centre can be explored on foot. Of course, I searched for the best restaurants and music venues. I was looking for something more than Fado, which is everywhere in Lisbon. We discovered plenty and made a mental note to return in the evening. I found a Colegio 27 Jazz Club and opted to spend the evening there. The food was good and the resident band turned out to be very talented indeed. Highly recommended.

The town of Ponta Delgada is clean and tidy and most of the streets have tourist shops. Look hard enough and you’ll find the Old Town, here are the local stores up and down small cobbled streets. The Esplanade is glorious with a beautiful beach and plenty of coffee shops to look out at the Atlantic from.

The Interior

The next day we jumped into the car and headed out of town to explore the island. Nicknamed the Green Island (Ilha Verde) and covering only 290 sq miles, it is still the largest Island in the group. We headed up into the hills to look into the now verdant volcanos. The Furnas Valey to the east is an enormous crater with a mass of green vegetation and colourful flowers. There is a viewpoint on the main road (EN1-1A). In the other direction from Ponta Delgada near the Sete Citades is Lagoa Azul. Again if you take the coastal road west this time (EN1-1A) and turn inland on the EN9-1A you will start climbing immediately. Through a couple of hairpins, you will pass Miradouro da Groto do Inferno. A few more hairpins later you’ll reach the lake. The island is small and these drives do not take long. The whole island can be covered in a few days. If you wish to take an organised tour of the island we recommend: Amazing Tours.