Today was the start of our Azorean exploration -- our first full day on Sao Miguel Island, the largest of the nine islands in the Azores. 150,000 of the 250,000 residents of the Azores live on San Miguel, with its capital city of Ponta Delgada. And here's another interesting factoid before we recount today: did you know the soil on Sao Miguel is so fertile that in some years it bears four harvests?! Amazing.
We were up bright and early, ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant, and were in our rental car at 9 AM. The Island was formed around two huge volcanic craters, each containing large lakes, so this morning we set out to explore the Sete Cidades crater in the northwest of the island, which is 12km in circumference. The crater's caldera contains two lakes: Lagoa Azul (a sapphire blue) and Lagoa Verde (an emerald green). From the crater rim, we took the hairpin road down, where the town of Sete Cidades lies.
and its 2 lakes
Sete Cidades, inside the crater
Sete Cidades, inside the crater
After exploring the neat-as-a-pin, quiet little town, we headed back out of the caldera and drove to the coast to start taking in the incredible lava shoreline, the rock formations jutting up from the ocean floor, and the green pasture land with more rock wall divisions than you can imagine.
Lighthouse at Ginette
Lava rock coastline
at Mosteiros
At Ferraria, we found a geo-thermal pool right next to the ocean. Although the air temperature didn't get past 18C today, the green thermal water was at 37C, making it easy to get in. Natural walls of black lava rock were piled up around the pool, creating the most amazing backdrop.
37C thermal pool at Ferraria
For the next couple of hours, we meandered down the north coast of the island, passing through town after town of white cement houses, churches, and pastures filled with cows. We observed the Azoreans going about their daily lives, which is largely centered on agriculture.
Windmill along the north coast
By 2 PM, we arrived in Ribeira Grande, the second largest town on Sao Miguel, founded in 1507. We were starving at that point and needed a cappucino badly. B A D L Y. But we hardly saw a restaurant or cafe all day. The Azoreans are definitely NOT into fast food or eating out, especially outside of the capital. Finding a restaurant, even in the second largest town, proved difficult. A local guy eventually directed us to the Let It Be Cafe overlooking the ocean, which has a Beetles-inspired menu and decor. And great cappucinos!
The north shore highway is a slow, twisty-turny thing. In contrast, the highway from Ribeira Grande back to the capital is a divided highway with almost no traffic where you can drive at 100km/h. We were amazed at the infrastructure in place for a small island with 150,000 residents. More proof of the heavy borrowing Portugal has undertaken to build its infrastructure since joining the EU.
In any event, we drove 20km past Ponta Delgada on the way back to visit one of the most iconic sites on Sao Miguel: the "Stairway to Heaven" as it is dubbed, or the Church of Nossa Senhora da Paz in Villa Franca do Campo. The church is located on a mountain overlooking the town of Villa Franca do Campo and features 12 stations of the Cross. The picture explains better than I can.
in Villa Franca do Campo
By 5:30 PM we were back at the Hotel Talisman in Ponta Delgada. We had our afternoon coffee on the balcony and at 6:30 PM headed to dinner at Restaurante Nacional, a local cafe that has been serving Portuguese fare since 1947. We both had pork prepared in a Portugeuse style, with goat cheese and olives beforehand, and a Portugeuse red wine.
Portuguese appetizers
We skirted the rain today but will be hard pressed to avoid it tomorrow. We plan to visit more thermal springs and sink our teeth into the capital city, before flying to the Island of Terceira in the early evening. G'night from Sao Miguel!
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