The Archipelago of the Azores is an autonomous region of Portugal formed on the tips of barely submerged underwater mountains, the nine islands boast crater lakes, hot springs and spluttering geysers.
The population of one quarter of a million residents live on these islands but more than two million live overseas, primarily in the United States (Channel Islands), Canada, Brazil, and mainland Europe. These nine volcanic islands are situated in the northern Atlantic, about 1,500 km (950 mi) from the western edge of the Iberian Peninsula and about 3,900 km (2,400 mi) from North America. Seismic activity, though rare, still occurs on occasion.
The archipelago is between 37° – 38° 55′, the same as Lisbon. It has a tepid, oceanic, subtropical climate, with mild annual oscillations. Weather can vary in one day from bright sunny, to rainy and back to sunny. Daily maximum temperatures 15 – 25°C.
Ferries between islands. With nine islands, travelling between them by ferry can be time-consuming. Exceptions are the Triangle Group – Faial, Pico, and São Jorge and the Western Group – Flores and Corvo, both with ferries year-round. Atlânticoline.
SAO MIGUEL
Ponta Delgado. Museu Militar dos Acores, Forte de São Brás de Ponta Delgada, Monumento ao Emigrante, Igreja do Santo Cristo, Igreja Matriz do Sao Sebastiao, Mercado da Graça,
Sete Cidades. Drive (Camping. Sete Cidades Parque de Campismo) Vista do Rei viewpoint. Sete Cidades. Trail: Mata do Canário – Sete Cidades
Ponta da Ferraria. Mosteiros swim, Casa de Pilatos
Ribeira Grande. Museu Casa do Arcano, Caldeira Velha. Lagoa do Fogo. Salto da Farinha waterfall. Ribeira dos Caldeirao Natural Park.
Furnas & Nordeste. Farol do Arnel. Miradauo da Ponta Sossego & Mirodouro da Ponta da Madrugada viewpoints. Hot springs of Caldeiras (tiny geysers, hot water creeks, strong sulphur). Terra Nostra Park. Furnas Lake.
TERCEIRA (regular flight at 20:05). Hostel. Central Zone of the Town of Angra do Heroismo WHS.
Monte Brasil*. Overlooking the city of Angra do Heroismo, this 7.5km loop trail starts at St John the Baptist fortress, Santo Antonio chapel, Pico do Facho viewpoint, Vigia da Baleia viewpoint and Pico das Cruzinhas viewpoint to the top. Do sunrise.
Museu de Angra do Heroismo, Se Cathedral Horta, Church of Santa Barbara
July 17. ferry PICO (Purple Line ferry leaves Praia Da Vitoria (on the east side of the island) at 13:40, and arrives in Madalena at 20:00, there are no direct flights)
Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture. World Heritage Site. Village of Criação Velha. Whaling Industry Museum, Gruta das Torres. (lava cave, up to 15m high and 5.2 km long).
July 18. Climb Mount Pico (2351m). Casa da Mntanha (1200m), the starting point, GPS tracks location constantly. Fee 10E + 2E Very steep hike, weather can be anything – warm sweaters, jackets, gloves and toques. 47 numbered poles.
Fly to Ponta Delgada (2 flights at 17:25 and 18:30).
July 19. Fly to Capo Verde
July 14 2021. Flights. Westjet Comox to Toronto 07:15. Azores Airlines: Toronto 20:45 – Ponta Delgado 06:30 July 15. Rented a car at the airport for 2 days and drove clockwise around the island. Distances are short, roads narrow with lots of turns.
SÃO MIGUEL
The largest and main island. Where most flights arrive. I rented a car at the airport for 2 days and drove clockwise around the island.
It is like driving through a botanical garden – verdant green, narrow winding roads lined by big eucalyptus and rows of hydrangea in bloom. The small fields have hedges of hydrangea. Along the roads are many pullovers, picnic tables and free BBQs can be found all over Sao Miguel, especially along the coastal roads at the Miradors or viewpoints with gardens, toilets, cold water taps, picnic tables and benches and piles of free wood for the BBQs. It is a great way for both locals and tourists to get together and eat out in the open air.
Camping on Sao Miguel. There are five campsites; two free and three low cost, about ten Euros a night for two people in a small tent. Two of the campsites are in the craters of volcanoes with spectacular views and the other three are near the coast, with beaches. All have showers (cold in the free ones) and free BBQs supplied with free wood.
Day 1. PONTA DELGADO. The archipelago’s capital and largest city.
Museu Militar dos Acores inside the Forte de São Brás de Ponta Delgada. Not worth entering. Museum about the 1961-75 war between Portugal and the three African countries for independence. 3€. Fort can be seen better from the outside.
Igreja do Santo Cristo. The Cult of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles (Culto do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres) is a religious veneration associated with an image of Jesus Christ, depicted in the events of the New Testament (Luke 23:1-25). The wooden image of Christ, by an unknown artist, in a Renaissance-style representation of the Ecce Homo, represents the episode of Jesus of Nazareth’s life when the martyred religious figure was presented to the crowd following his whipping, and includes a crown of thorns, uncovered torso and bruised/beaten body. Narrated in the New Testament, the artist represented in grande artistic style the contrast between violence on the body and the serenity of the expression, emphasized by the gaze from the image.
Normally, this statue and piece of art is on display in the Sanctuary of the Lord Holy Christ, in the Convent of Our Lady of Hope, but annually leads a procession through the streets of the city on the fifth Sunday after Easter, and terminating on the Thursday of Ascension. The celebrations attract thousands of Azoreans, Luso-descendants and peoples from the various islands of the archipelago to São Miguel.
The lower walls are lined with tiles.
Igreja Matriz do Sao Sebastiao. 15th parish church and the Azores’ most colorful “Imperio,” a small chapel that is central to the religious festivals of the Holy Ghost (Espirito Santo) popular throughout the archipelago.
Mercado da Graça. A roofed market with vegies, fruit, meat, and cheese. In downtown PD.
Monumento ao Emigrante. The monument consists of concrete steles, stone mosaics and three life-sized bronze figures, showing an emigrant family that starts off into a better future. The father of the family points hopeful to the west – towards America.
Drive West to Sete Cidades.
Google Maps took me over the centre of the island with great viewpoints.
It is an easy walk around the shores of the two lakes or along the top rim of the volcano. The village has cafés, tea shops, bars and restaurants.
Miradouro da Boca do Inferno (Boca do Inferno Viewpoint). Spectacular wider view of the entire crater.
Sete Cidades – huge caldera with two glittering twin green and blue lakes. There are plenty of walking trails to hike around it – Vista do Rei on the crater rim is one of the best if you’re after views of the lake.
Trail: Mata do Canário – Sete Cidades. Unfortunately, I didn’t do this trail because of my shortened time in the Azores and the trail requires a shuttle to take you back to the trailhead.
Sete Cidades is a tiny town. Pineapple plantation, the only ones grown in Europe.
Miradoiro de Santa Irea. Promontory with great views in both directions.
Mosterios. Casa de Pilatos, Seville. This rather ordinary-looking house is a self-catering accommodation. It sits above Mosterios with panoramic views.
Miradoiro de Picao Mafro has great views over town.
Ribeira Grande
Museu Casa do Arcano. Created by a nun born in 1779 after all the monasteries in the Azores closed in 1832 until she died in 1855, it consists of 3,971 figures placed in dioramas telling bible stories. It all sits in a great wood “case”. Unfortunately, the lighting is a little dim. The museum was her house. Free
Salto do Cabrito. Walk down a steep cement road 6 minutes to the waterfall. Some drive down and there is a large parking area. The falls drop through a narrow defile in two drops into a large pool. Many were swimming on this hot July day. Most of the water is diverted to a power plant.
Salto da Farinha. Located between Achadinha and Salga, park at Miradourdo do Salto da Farinha. Recommend parking and walk down the road with the waterfall visible the entire walk. There was barely a trickle of water.
Ribeira dos Caldeirao Natural Park. Near the road, this is a historical park with a creek, diversion channels and 3 water mills fed by the channel and then dropping vertically through shafts into the mills. One waterfall comes off the east wall of the valley falling into a large pool.
Farol do Arnel*. The oldest lighthouse in the Azores dating from 1876. 500m down a very steep cement road, best walked. Sits 15m above the water on a hexagonal base.
Miradauo da Ponta Sossego & Mirodouro da Ponta da Madrugada viewpoints. These two viewpoints south of Nordeste town are like botanical gardens with picnic tables, BBQs and large beds of flowers.
Day 2. Furnas & Fogo. In the wild and remote eastern part, cliffs, and roads are sinuous. Ancient Laurel forest and a beautiful coastal road with many beautiful mirrors.
Camping. Nordeste Campsite. I stayed my one night on Sao Miguel at this government-owned campsite just north of the town of Nordeste. Free. Busy in the peak summer months with Azorean families. The beach with an open-air pool that fills with seawater at high tide is far below in the ocean.
Nordeste has shops, cafes, supermarkets and a modern bus station with a café – a pleasant place to sit, enjoy a coffee and enjoy the spectacular sea view.
Salto do Prego. Google Maps wasn’t much help here directing well above the waterfall. Find the waterfall marked on GM and follow the steep dirt track about 1km to the waterfall. Otherwise, from here it is a circuitous 6.2km drive to Sanguinho Trail in Faial da Terra, a sparsely populated, magical little village.
Hot spring of Caldeiras* (tiny geysers, hot water creeks, strong sulphur). Eat corn on the cob cooked in the furnace. Find the upside house. Follow the creek to the camping park.
Terra Nostra Park. Historic botanical gardens were planted in the 18th century and are part of the hotel. Gardens for ferns, comilias, Azorean plants and more. 6 different hot springs – swim in the hot springs at 40°C. Don’t be put off by the murky brown water due to mineral-infused water. 8E+rental towel and locker.
Miradouro de Santa Iria. Viewpoint on north coast. Sunset.
Furnas Lake. On the opposite shore of the lagoon are fumarolas where the locals cook the famous Cozido das Furnas (Furnas stew) for about 6-7 hours. A mix of pork, veal, chicken, blood sausage and vegetables like sweet potato, kale or cabbage, quite bland and dry.
Vila Franca Islet. Home to a stage of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, popular sunbathing place in an almost full-circle bay perfect for swimming or snorkelling. Regular ferries. 8E.
Gorreana (tea plantations). Working since 1883, one of only two tea plantations in Europe. Black and green tea. Overlooks ocean. One hour to hike up to tea estate. Free tea.
Porto Formoso. Beach black sand.
Caldeira Velha. Park with 2 hot springs, both stonewalled and surrounded by lush foliage. The highlight is the waterfall spring (>20C) at the end of the park. Also a hotter 35 and shallower pool. 8E
Lagoa do Fogo. Crater Lake at the centre of Sao Miguel. Many great viewpoints from the road to see much of the central south island and all the lake. Usually cloudy at the lake but clear the day I was there.
Medium difficulty trail of 12 km. TH Praia, walk roads through farmland, forest, Levada irrigation channel, and views of the Atlantic Ocean. Pass the valley of Ribeira da Praia, and arrive at the bottom. See both the south and north coasts at the same time. 30-minute hike down to the beach but swimming is not allowed.
I returned to Ponta Delgada, had lunch in the city centre, dropped the car off at the airport and flew to Terceira (16:35, 50 minute flight, 98.50€).
TERCEIRA
Third largest island.
ANGRA do HEROISMO
The airport is located at Lages on the eastern side of the island. Besides taxis, there is a public bus to Angra de Herosimo, 1.07€ to Prais da Vitoria, 2.58€ to Angra. The bus came about 2 blocks from my hotel, which was close to the Central Zone.
From my hotel it was a short walk down to the centre, I had dinner and walked through a lot of the old town.
I returned the next day and walked up to the fort, returned to my hotel and caught the #2 bus back to Praia Vitoria. The ferry arrived at 13:40 and departed at 2.
Central Zone of the Town of Angra do Heroismo. 16th-century World Heritage village with a snug harbour protected by a volcanic cone that made the port a major staging point for European explorers on the way to the New World from the 16th to 18th centuries. Ships laden with riches often moved in convoys from Terceira to Europe to ward off pirate attacks.
Se Cathedral of Angra Horisimo. Large with two bell towers and a central clock. The usual over-the-top gilt.
Museu de Angra do Heroismo. A typical local museum located in the 1466 Convent de Sao Francisco. Exhibits on Terceira and Angra, artillery, carriages, a church, ethnography and the Azores in WW1. 1€ >65.
Monte Brasil*. Overlooking the city of Angra do Heroismo, this 7.5km loop trail starts at St John the Baptist fortress, Santo Antonio chapel, Pico do Facho viewpoint, Vigia da Baleia viewpoint and Pico das Cruzinhas viewpoint to the top.
On my second day on Terceira, I walked back through the old town, saw the church (opened at 9) and museum, walked back to my hotel and caught the public bus back to Praia Vitoria where the ferry was scheduled to depart at 2 pm (2.58€). I arrived 3 hours early, but met a nice couple from Denmark (originally from Latvia), so had lots to talk about. Upstairs in the ferry terminal was a lovely restaurant.
They had arranged to climb Pico at night to arrive at sunrise. I phoned and joined the group – Experience2351.com – 60E including hiking poles and headlamps.
Purple Line. Connects Faial Island, Pico and São Jorge to Terceira during summer
SAO JORGE fjord-like lakes, vineyards and banana, guava and coffee plantations thrive in the subtropical climate. Cahela is the port and capital.
We stopped here for 20 minutes on our way to Pico.
PICO
The second-largest island is most commonly reached by ferry from Faial to Madalena. Lava rock from ancient eruptions forms the walls of many homes and borders vineyards for the local wine, Verdelho. I arrived by ferry at 20:20 but was not able to get a rental car or scooter (the Azores is very busy in the summer). I had befriended a Danish couple, but the car they reserved could not be rented as he had not had his driver’s license for 3 years. They found me needing someone and I ended up renting, driving and taking all the responsibility for accidents and tickets. I drove them to their accommodation on the west of the island, drove 30 km to the other side of the island, checked into my accommodation, tried to sleep for an hour and returned to their place at 00:30 to drive up to Mountain House to climb Pico.
Mount Pico (2351m). This is perfectly cone-shaped and the third-highest peak in the Atlantic Ocean and highest in Portugal. Climbing this dormant volcano is the ultimate Azorean challenge.
All climbers – with or without a guide – must check-in at Casa da Montanha at 1200m, the starting point for everyone. You are given a GPS and your location is tracked constantly. Fees in 2021 were 35€. It is a very steep hike with a wide range of hard rock and soil. Guides are suggested as they know the shortcuts, shelters in bad weather and best paths. Weather can be anything and change rapidly. Bring warm sweaters, jackets, gloves and toques.
Start early (6:30?). There are 47 numbered poles on the way to the peak – although after #44 you’re already on the crater with a 70m summit scramble to a mini-mountain called Piquinho, which may be the hardest part. There are no trees but all kinds of different kinds of lava, craters, and formations. 8-9 hours.
Feel heat, and steam escaping between the rocks, the stones are hot, the air is hot. The 360-degree views of the Atlantic and the nearby islands of Faial and Sao Jorge. Views are not usually clear. The almost perfect cone of the volcano is topped by an almost perfectly round, 30m deep flat-bottom crater of ~550 m diameter. The floor of the crater has stone pits and shelters made by climbers to spend the night and see sunrise and sunset. Tents are mandatory if sleeping here.
Several companies offer night climbs starting at 01:30 to arrive on top for sunrise. Another major advantage is to avoid cloud and get a good view.
My climb. I was able to join a night trip (Experience 2351, 60€, including mandatory GPS, headlight and hiking poles) starting at 01:30 to get to the summit for sunrise – and to avoid the inevitable cloud that covers the top most days. The 1151m (3726 ft) climb was at a nice grade and easy walking. Follow 47 numbered poles to the crater rim below Piquinho, the 70m climb at the end to the summit of the crater. It gradually became colder and very windy as I added a wool vest and then a wind jacket and gloves. Climbing Piquinho is a class 3 scramble, much through fumaroles venting. We were able to stay out of the wind for sunrise which was obscured by a distant cloud over Sao Jorge. I put on all my clothes and slowly warmed up as I had gotten very cold. After about 1.5 hours, we descended. Cloud blew in and it was very misty. At Mountain House, there was a dense downpour for 30 minutes.
Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture. World Heritage Site. The is a 987-ha site on the volcanic island of Pico, the second largest in the nine-island Azores archipelago. The extraordinarily beautiful man-made landscape of the site is the best remaining area of a once much more widespread practice.
It
is an outstanding example of the adaptation of farming practices to a remote and challenging environment. Pico Island is one of nine volcanic islands in the Azores with a long evidence of grape-growing and wine-making (viniculture), with an imposing pattern of orderly, long, linear walls running inland from, and parallel to, the rocky coastline around its northern and western edges. The stone walls form thousands of small, contiguous, rectangular plots built to protect crops from wind and salt spray. Vines were, and continue to be, planted within the small and soilless plots (locally called currais). The extensive system of small fields, as well as the buildings (manor houses, wine cellars, warehouses, conventional houses, and churches), pathways and wells, ports and ramps, were produced by generations of farmers enabling the production of wine.
Begun in the 15th century, wine production on Pico Island reached its peak in the 19th century and then gradually declined due to plant disease and desertification (loss of soil and reduced rainfall). However, a low level of grapevine growing and high-quality wine production continues to be undertaken and expanded, especially around the village of Criação Velha, just a few kilometres south of Madalena. Wine production is managed under a regime designed to ensure economic viability and sustainability as well as to retain traditional farming techniques.
Abandoned, stone-walled enclosures suffer from a low level of deterioration resulting from disuse and neglect, while certain invasive plant species have colonized many of -these abandoned currais.
This covers a large area north of Madalena. There is an amazing number of tiny plots surrounded by walls. Vines grow but don’t appear tended.
The Whaling Industry Museum details the historic transition of Pico from a whaling station to a renowned place to see whales in the wild. The museum is in three old houses where the whalers used to keep their boats and an old blacksmith’s forge, a set of buildings dating from the 19th century that still preserve many of their original features.
Also on display is a collection of the tools and equipment used in whale hunting, as well as scrimshaw – carved and engraved pieces made from the bones and teeth of whales.
I caught the plane at 19:00 (1.5 hours late) to return to Ponta Delgada. As my flight to Capo Verde was at 08:10, the only practical thing to do was stay at the airport but the airport terminal is unfortunately closed from midnight to 5am.
Go Next: Capo Verde – 3 direct flights a week from Azores.
Madeira/Funchal (FNC) bintercanaries.com/en to Los Palmas Gran Canaria, Lisbon/Lisboa (LIS), Porto/Oporto (OPO).
