Awe-inspiring Azores (Part 1 of 2)

After a visit to my beautiful Colorado, I headed back to Lisbon where I immediately caught another flight to São Miguel Island in the Azores, to meet my friend Diane. It worked out perfectly as I had bought a round trip when I left Lisbon and she booked a workshop on the island, so when I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do, this transpired with an easy fix of a cheap 2-hour flight from the mainland!

For the first half of our stay, we booked a modern AirBnB in Punta Delgada, the main town on the island. Diane arrived the day before, so when I landed, I headed straight to the home and got settled. After a wonderful fresh fish dinner and some rest, I woke up ready to explore. We walked up and got our rental car and began driving the coastline stopping at many of the magical viewpoints as well as the Santa Barbara black sand beach where I had the most delicious steamed clams in wine sauce!!

The following day, we made a bit more of a plan and started on the north side of the island at a beautiful waterfall garden park, Ribeira dos Caldeirões. Although it is pretty manufactured, the park is free and very well maintained. We even ventured down a trail into the gorgeous cedar trees for a short hike!

After the park, we drove south to the quaint town of Furnas, home to two volcanos and some unique geothermal activity, and filled with the unmistakable scent of sulfur! We started at Furnas Lake, a beautiful crater lake with a special energy. It was a perfect place to walk along the shoreline and to sit and take in her beauty.

To continue the theme of relaxation, we continued on to Poça da Dona Beija, a small park with five thermal pools filled with iron rich water, lining a small stream, and perfect for healing aches and pains! I left the camera behind this time to enjoy being in the moment, so please close your eyes and imagine a serene soak under the trees!!

Once we had taken in our share of the healing water, we dried off, stopped at one more beautiful beach town, Povoação, for a drink and some wave watching, and then back to our place for a rest. Later in the evening, we walked to one of the local family restaurants, Tixico, where we had a fun meal with a skewer of shrimp and chicken. I have to say, the skewer was even more fun after the meal…hahaha! Did I mention there might have been a bit of delicious, local wine leading up to the photo shoot :-).

The following day, Diane started her 3-day workshop, so I carried on with exploring the island and doing some hiking. I spent the first day in town checking out the farmers market, the main square, and a few shops before meeting her group for a nice vegan dinner.

The next day, I headed out early in the morning to Sete Cidades, an area literally located in a massive volcanic crater, 3 miles across. During the drive, I got wedged in the middle of a herd of cattle out for their morning walk. Finally, I made it around all of them after some honking, being careful not to make hamburger. They were much bigger than the little Citroën we rented, so I wouldn’t have won that fight!

I arrived in town around 7, and had a look around as the locals began their day, picking up food and goods. I checked out some of the viewpoints, and a some shorter trails where I stumbled into the aqueduct and some beautiful scenery. Finally I found the trailhead for the longer rim trail where I could get a great view of several lakes and wander around the lagoon. The lagoon really reminded me of a life size fairy garden. Even the tables and chairs were covered with moss. Magic!!

My final solo day, I explored the northeast side of the island where the hydrangeas still had more healthy blooms and it was even more quiet. I was the first person on the trail which led me to some beautiful pools and waterfalls. Unfortunately, I got caught in a heavy downpour for a bit and the waterfalls weren’t at their fullest, but it was still awesome! I also stopped at a couple of amazing viewpoints on the way back which had tons of sweet cats hanging out begging for love. I will never turn down kitty snuggles!!

And that concludes part one of the Azores. I’ll be back soon to share the rest of the fun after Diane returned from her seminar. Until then, peace, love, and hugs!!!

Michelle