After 2 hours of flight from Porto to Sao Miguel, the main island in the Azores archipelago, the pilot warns us that due to the extremely bad weather we will keep on flying above the island, waiting for the situation to improve. After almost one hour of circling around the small island (that we cannot see, it looks like we only have a giant cloud below us), passengers start getting seasick, and eventually the pilot decides to land on another island, Terceira, 30 minutes away. Bad luck, I have also planned to fly to Terceira, but only in a few days.
Looks like weather is going to be part of the surprises…
One hour after, we get the green light to board again, and head back to Sao Miguel. The airport is only 3 kilometers from the city center, I could walk to the hostel, but it is raining, so I decide to take a taxi. When I show him the address of my hostel, the driver tells me that the address is not correct but, fortunately, he knows where the hostel is located and will drive me there. After a few minutes on the road, he stops me in front of a concrete building, which doesn’t look at all like the beautiful old hostel where I booked. No big surprise, after he leaves I get the confirmation that I am not in front of my hostel, and will have to walk about 500 meters (yes, not too long) to reach it, under the rain. And I will also discover on the following day that there is a fixed fee for a taxi drive from the airport to the center, and that he asked 30% more. You call it a nice way to start holidays…
Let’s forget about those small adventures, here I am in Ponta Delgada, the sun is shining on the following day, and the town looks really nice.
Time to go back to the airport and rent a car for a couple of days, starting with the eastern part of the island, under a heavy rain. The road is famous for its wonderful lookouts, and I imagine that the views are amazing when you can see something, but it is not really the case today…
And my nice little GPS decides to start playing tricks again, may because it is upset, as I haven’t used it for 2 months, and it got used to going everywhere with me during the last year. It brings me to a dirt road, and proudly announces in the middle of a forest that I have reached the center of the village where I wanted to go.
In Furnas, in addition to tropical gardens, there are hot springs close to the (very cold) river, so you can alternate the temperature for your foot bath.
A few kilometers above Furnas, you get a beautiful view on the lake (yes, as you can see, the weather is getting way better), located in a former crater. This is just the first of a very long list of craters planned for this trip.
Second crater of the day, the Lagoa do Fogo (“Fire Lake”).
At some point on the road, I see quite a few cars parked on the side, and plenty of people walking to a metal gate, so I decide to stop. This is Caldeira Vielha, a place where you can enjoy the views (and smell) of gas and smoke, as we are in the middle of an active volcanic zone. You can even have a bath, just be careful which pool you chose…
The following day is spent in the Western part of the island, starting with the Pico do Carvão and the Lagoa do Canario.
The Vista do Rei (the King's View):
Sete Cidades:
Escalvado, with a view on Mosteiros:
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