Nordeste

Nordeste is a small town in the northeast corner of the island.  This part of the island has more dramatic cliffs and coast line than other parts of the island and is a popular place to visit.  The Town itself was very quiet as we visited on Good Friday which is a holiday in the Azores and lots of shops are closed.  We drove along the cliffs just south of town to Ponta do Amel to see the lighthouse that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.

Although there is a road that leads down the cliff from the main road, it is a 35% grade and they recommend that you walk to see the lighthouse and not drive your car.  Even though we had a rental, I wasn't about to try and drive it down there only to not be able to get out. All four of us actually walked down 500 meters to the lighthouse.  That was the easy part.  Coming back took a wee bit longer.  The lighthouse isn't open for visitors, but it was fun to walk down and see it up close.  The added benefit was getting some fantastic views of the dramatic cliffs that line that part of the island.  

Beach Time

Considering we're on an island, we had to at least visit the beach and stick our toes in the water.  Still a little chilly to actually be out in the water as the daytime highs are only in the 60s right now.  The interesting thing about Sao Miguel is that there are actually very few beaches.  Most of the coast line is cliffs that drop down to the water with rocky outcroppings and not wide swaths of sand with beach chairs and umbrellas.  We did manage to find a small beach in the town of Porto Formosa on the north coast of the island.

This beach was located in a little alcove between cliffs with a nice sandy beach consisting of a large granule black and grey sand that was actually quite soft.  It brushed off our feet very easily.  Certainly not what we're used to seeing on the east coast of the United States.  We were seeing some good sized waves, but with all the rocks along the coast, I'm not sure this area would be safe for surfing.

We had a nice lunch at a little restaurant right next to the beach where we could watch the waves crashing into the cliffs.  As far as atmosphere and scenery, for me this beach would be hard to beat.

Gorreana Tea Plantation

Yes that is the ocean in the background.

We spent our morning and part of the afternoon at the Gorreana Tea Plantation on the north coast of Sao Miguel Island.  This tea plantation is the only one in all of Europe and has been in operation in the Azores since 1883.  It is still family owned and operated, and while there is machinery to help with the process, most of the work to harvest, process, and package the tea is done by hand.  We were able to observe the workers at the various stages of production and really appreciate how the tea leaves are processed.  Gorreana grows and produces green tea and black tea and the production process is different for both.

Mona and I hiked the trail that traverses up the mountain and through the tea fields.   The tea plantation and factory are along the coast so we had great views of the ocean and coast line.  It was very cool hiking through the fields and seeing the workers harvesting and tending to the tea plants.  It was only about a 3.5 mile loop hike, but we climbed about 1,000 vertical feet to the summit so it was a good workout.  The Azores have a nice network of trails on all of the islands that are well marked and maintained and we hope to do a little more hiking while we're here.  If the views are half as good as this hike, then it will certainly be a lot of fun.

Pineapples, Liqueur, and Pineapple Liqueur

The Azores are a very self-reliant region.  The biggest industry here that supports its economy is dairy farming.  Tourism is only a more recent industry that is having an impact on the islands.  Two other industries I would not have immediately thought of when talking about the Azores are pineapples and liqueur.

After visiting Fire Lake, we stopped in the town of Ribeira Grande and visited the Mulher de Capote liqueur factory.  This company manufactures a very sweet liqueur in a variety of flavors.  As our guide Sandy explained, the Portuguese love their sweets.  They grow a lot of sugar beets on the island and use the sugar to make their liqueurs.  Sandy was very proud to talk about the numerous gold medals these liqueurs have won in competition.  The most well known liqueur of the Azores is the passion fruit liqueur -- this is the only place that makes it.

Liqueur is aged in oak barrels much like wine

There are about 20 varieties made here including such flavors as milk and caramel.  You can either drink the liqueur straight or add it to brandy or schnapps.  The best part of the tour was of course the tasting room where you could sample the various flavors for free.

Our last stop of the day was actually not a part of the tour, but Sandy was able to take us to a pineapple plantation.  Pineapples were brought to the island in the early 19th century as more of a decorative plant.  The first large-scale plantations were started around 1860.  The Azores are not tropical, like Hawaii or other places that grow pineapples, so you wouldn't expect to grow pineapples here.  In fact, you really can't -- unless it's in a greenhouse.  The island of Sao Miguel is the only place in the world where pineapples are grown in greenhouses which distinguishes an Azorean pineapple from all the rest.

The greenhouses are covered with an opaque paint which helps the pineapple plant to not "burn" with too much sun.  The most fascinating aspect of how they grow pineapples here is that they fill the entire greenhouse with smoke which forces all of the pineapple plants to flower at the same time.  This smoking operation, called "fumo," lasts about eight days, alternating between filling the greenhouses with smoke and then ventilating -- repeating this process several times.

The Azorean pineapple is exported around the world and apparently is like no other.  They do love their pineapple here -- we've had it fresh every morning at breakfast.  And if you're not eating it fresh, you can simply drink some pineapple liqueur -- made of course from Azorean pineapple.

All the Fancy Sidewalks

Settlement of the Azores dates back to the 1500s and 1600s.  You can see it in the architecture in the fort and colonial-era buildings.  The streets in Ponta Delgada are very narrow -- many of them one way -- and most are cobblestone including the sidewalks.

The sidewalks are what catch your eye.  Every sidewalk has an intricate pattern, with either white or black/grey stones.  They are not painted to look this way, but are actual individual stones.  It seems as though every time you turn the corner and walk on a new street, the pattern changes.  Some of the designs are simple and others quite intricate.  We've seen repairs being made in a a few different places, and it's stone masons and craftsmen at work putting the individual pieces in place.

We just don't build things like this anymore, so it definitely gives an even better appreciation of the work and skill it took to build the streets this way.  We haven't been to mainland Portugal, so I don't know if this is a Portuguese tradition or just something in Ponta Delgada or the Azores, but it adds lovely character to an already charming town.

Lagoa da Fogo and Caldeira Velha

Lagoa da Fogo

Like most of the islands in the Azores, Sao Miguel was formed from volcanoes.  The three largest lakes on the island were formed from the craters of previous volcanic eruptions.  Lagoa da Fogo (Fire Lake) is the lake at the highest elevation on Sao Miguel.  It's also completely undeveloped.  Although you can hike down to the lake shore, it's a steep trail so many just view from the overlooks.  From the drive up to Fire Lake, we could see both the north and south coasts of the island.  From our vantage point, you can see the ocean although the haze at the time makes it difficult to see in our picture.

While several volcanoes are still considered active, they are classified as dormant because they aren't likely to erupt.  One of the reasons is because the heated gas has an outlet that relieves the pressure from the volcano -- much like the steam release in a pressure cooker.  Sao Miguel mines this geothermal energy to meet about 45% of its own electricity needs.  This geothermal energy can also cause certain streams to heat up, and it also generates a distinctive sulphur smell.

Only one of us was brave enough to check out the
pool and waterfall

This phenomena is captured at Caldeira Velha, a small pool that is fed by a waterfall of warm water.  How warm?  Not very -- about 80 to 85 degrees fahrenheit.   Another spring of water at this site is actually boiling and feeds a smaller pool where the temperature is about 110 to 120 degrees fahrenheit.  Caldeira Velha is tucked away in an area of lush area of tropical vegetation, which by itself makes it worthy of a visit.  I only wish the trails weren't closed.

Whales & Dolphins

We arrived in Ponta Delgada at 7:00am Monday after an overnight flight from Boston.  After transferring to our hotel, we spent the day alternating between naps and exploring the city in order to be well rested and adjusted to the time as we had our first big excursion on Tuesday morning -- whale watching.

Modeling our rain suits which did keep us relatively dry

The Azores are a haven for both whales and dolphins as it is in the migratory pattern between the hemispheres as whales search for food.  There are over 25 species that can be found here at some point during the year and three or four can be found here year round due to the deep waters not far from the coast.  We've been whale watching once before off the coast of Maine and enjoyed it very much, but this time we were much closer to the action.

Instead of being on a nice pontoon-style boat with an upper deck and casually looking for whales while sipping drinks and eating snacks, we were essentially on a giant powerboat very close to the water.  The fact that they gave everyone rain suits should have been the first tip off -- that and the mandatory life jackets in neon orange complete with reflecting tape and safety whistle.  During our brief safety meeting, it was made very clear that we would get wet during our tour.

Bottlenose dolphin

As we set off for the open sea, we were flying through the water at about 30 knots, which is the equivalent of about 35 mph.  While that doesn't necessarily sound fast, when you're crashing through waves, bouncing up and down, and feeling a good amount of spray, it certainly feels like you're doing about 90 mph.  It wasn't long before we found a school of bottlenose dolphins and cut the engines and enjoyed watching them going by on all sides of the boat.  A couple of times they were close enough to the boat that we could almost reach out and touch them.  We also encountered a school of common dolphins on the way back into port.

Seeing the coastline of Sao Miguel island

While there wasn't a lot of whale activity today, we were able to see a fin whale which is the second largest whale to the blue whale.  We had to travel about 8 miles off the coast in order to see it.  Unfortunately, fin whales don't surface and flip their tale out of the water like other species of whale.  Because it was harder to find and spot, I don't have any pictures to share, but we were able to see it surface three or four times while shooting water out of its blowhole each time.

Today was a wonderful start to our Azores vacation -- a nice sunny day seeing some of God's great creatures.

Bom Dia Ponta Delgada

As the title says in Portuguese, "Good Morning Ponta Delgada."  We've arrived this morning to a beautiful sunny day in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, on the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores.  The Azores are an autonomous region of Portugal, consisting of nine islands in the Atlantic Ocean, about 850 miles west of the mainland.  Sao Miguel is the largest island and Ponta Delgada is the seat of Azorean government and is where the president lives.

The view from our room at the Vila Nova Hotel.  The
historic fort is in the foreground, a cruise ship is docked for
the day, and the mountains are in the background.

Why the Azores?  Admittedly, it wasn't necessarily on our radar or high on our list as a place to visit. We were able to get a really good deal to visit that coincided with Mona's spring break  Once we did a little research, it definitely became a place we were interested in.  It has a temperate climate year round and a lush landscape.  We're looking forward to hiking and exploring the various towns on the island.  Sao Miguel is only 62km wide and between 8 and 15 km tall, so we'll be able to see most of the island while we're here.

The region of the Atlantic Ocean in which the Azores is located is also known for a large amount of whale activity.  We've got a whale watching tour lined up so we hope to be able to see some while we're here.  Wish us luck!