Azores

Our initial plan was to spend just a few hours in Ponta Delgada before hopping on a flight to another island. But the flight was delayed multiple times and eventually cancelled, so we added an additional day to San Miguel and it became the only island we visited. Life happens.

The architecture here is quite unique and related to the geological origin of this place — volcanic rocks with lots of black colours.

In the town centre there are a bunch of pedestrian streets, churches, and a beautiful oceanic promenade. We didn't find any fancy coffee place — the only coffee roasters place was also selling bitcoins, so not the particular vibe I was looking for. So we queued in the local pastry shop for our caffeine intake with tasty sweets. The restaurant selection was quite good, no complaints. Especially seafood places, as expected for islands.

In the afternoon of the first day, we walked to a few pineapple city farms. The most tasty pineapples I ever had — fresh, juicy, and sweet! Apart from fresh pineapples they also offer a lot of things with pineapples — salads, cocktails, juice, ice cream, jams, etc.

We continued our exploration on the western part of the island, where Sete Cidades lakes are located. There are multiple viewpoints over these volcanic lakes. The most famous is next to the abandoned hotel. The view should be surrounded by full bloom of hydrangeas, but we managed to see only a couple of flowers. Probably for flowers it is better to visit Azores in July.

There are a few beaches on the island, and due to oceanic currents, water can be suitable for comfortable swimming.

The weather on the island is extremely unpredictable, and changing in the matter of minutes, but a bit inland we experienced mostly warm, soft and humid air with lots of mist.

Azores is the only (technically) European place where tea grows. I'm not a tea person, but for me it was quite tasty. You can have a free tour of the factory and visit the fields. Lovely views of terraces.

Another benefit of volcanic nature of the islands is a lot of hot springs. The most famous is Terra Nostra — the water is very nice, quite warm. The brown color is due to iron, it smells like wet rust. And there is bunch of other, more secluded and smaller hot springs — I recommend to book them in advance, as we missed few beautiful places due to lack of tickets.

Hiking is another fun activity here. Altho due to lack of visitors some maps are not up to date, always check the signs — we almost got lost.

And to top it all there is even a hot spring in the ocean. The waves currents can be quite strong, so there are bunch of ropes installed — to hang tight

We spend 5 full days on the island and it was not enough, even for 1 island! Definitely coming back in the future for that feeling of calm, warm, tranquility and a little bit of magic.

Tips and recommendations

1. Be ready for travel plans changes — island are in the middle of the ocean and the weather is unpredictable
2. Book hot springs in advance — the best ones are sold out quickly
3. Try local fruits and vegetables — they are super tasty

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