Four days in the middle of the Atlantic – our trip to the Azores

It is no secret that I love to travel… and I am a bit embarrassed to admit it but I am kind of a travel snob and love going places that are a bit off the beaten path and that are not super popular.

Azures have been on my radar for a couple of years – they kept popping up on travel websites and in travel magazines. Named the ‘Hawaii of the Atlantic’ these islands off the coast of Portugal are supposed to be known for stunning scenery, each island unique in its own way.. It was named as the new ‘It’ destination and no one we know has been there- so naturally we had to go! We combined visiting the islands with a trip to mainland Portugal and went there in September – yes, I am very behind in my blogging:)

So if you are planning a trip to the Azores, not sure which islands to visit, looking for logistical info for visiting the islands or just an arm chair traveller, this post is for you!

We arrived bright and early in the Ponta Delgada, capital of the largest islands in the Azores archipelago – Sao Miguel. Our hotel room was not ready so we decided not to waste any time and went to explore the island. Saw colorful lakes, beautiful pastures with very happy cows and tons and tons of hydrangea plans… They literally grow everywhere on the island and line up roads like natural road barriers.

Ponta Delgada was small and charming with colorful street art, cool looking building and really narrow streets that can be navigated only by expert drivers – which I am NOT! 🙂

On Day 2 we were off to explore the other side of the island – a small town of Furnas, known for it’s ‘underground food’. We stopped by Parque Terra Nostra (a botanical garden) and ‘discovered’ a small lake with a beautiful old chapel.

After two nights in Sao Muguel we said good-buy to this island, hopped on a plane and 30 minutes later we landed at Pico Island (or Black Island) known for UNESCO designated vineyards built with black volcanic rocks, Pico mountain (that was hiding during majority of our time there) and pretty scenery. We rented a car and drove all over the island before catching an evening ferry that took us to Horta, largest town on Failal island, our last stop on the Azores.

Faial island is known as Blue Island – due to the huge number of hydrangea plans all over the place. We saw hydrangeas of all different colors, just like on the rest of the Azores.

One of the top sights of the island is Caldeira do Faial, which is a caldeira of an extinct volcano from which the island originated. It does not look like much from the pictures – and even when you are there in person it is hard to see just how big it is.. So we thought that a gentle hike around the edge of the caldeire would be nice… boy were we wrong! It took us a while to around it and while some parts of it were really wide, others were so steep and for someone who has a fear of heights (like me!) it was pretty nerve-wracking walking along a foot path that was about 5 feet wide with steep cliffs on both sides of it – one wrong step and you are done for! I am sure I was a sight to see, holding Victor’s hand, almost crouching (if you are low to the ground chances of you plunging down to your death are smaller, right?!!) and singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to calm myself down… Strangers passing us were encouraging me along the way:) We thought we would never make it back by 3 hours after we started on the hike we completed it!

We worked up quite and appetite and after a nice lunch we headed to Capelinhos, the location of the 1957 volcanic eruption! You can see still houses half buried in ash!

A nice dinner at a gastro-pub (a sister restaurant of the place we had lunch in Pico Island) was a great way to complete our quick visit to the Azores and the next day we woke up bright and early and flew to Lisbon, which was my favorite part of the trip! More on that later!

Practical Info

Flights to the Azores

In the summer there are direct flights between NYC and Azores. But since we always go away in September we could not take advantage of that so had to get a flight on Sata/Azores Airlines from Boston. It is a pretty short flight from Boston though (around 5 hours) and Azores is only 4 hours ahead so jet-lag is not bad at all.

Getting Around

You can fly or take a ferry between the islands – we did both.

Hotels

In Ponta Delgada we stayed at Casa Hinze Ribeirto – it was located right in the middle of everything. We booked a room with a terrace that offered great views of town and the ocean. Would def recommend staying at this place.

In Horta we stayed at Lofts Azur Pastel – the rooms were very spacious, the owner was really nice and the decor was cool. What I did not realize when I booked this place was that it not right in town and if you wanted to go anywhere you had to drive. Victor did enjoy being in the middle of the nowhere but I like being right in the center of things so if you are like me, don’t book this hotel.

Restaurants

Food, for me, is one the most important things about any trip – whenever we go to a new country the very first thing I research is the cuisine. We were a bit underwhelmed with the food in Azores – it was not bad but other than our last two meals – nothing special. Here are a few restaurants I remember:

Casa Ancora – a must-visit in Pico Island – modern decor and creative dishes. I had a watermelon gazpacho and a grilled octapus there and it was SO GOOD!

Principe Gastro Pub – a must visit in Horta. I saw ‘gastro-pub’ and knew that we had to go there. I definitely recommend making a reservation because this place gets busy. The food was so good and creative and Victor noticed the wine list was the same as at Casa Ancora – and what do you know – it is owned by the same guys!

When in Furnas you should try their ‘underground food’ – the place that everybody recommended was Tony’s. Unfortunately we were not the only ones you wanted to get lunch there – it was a zoo!

Sights

Sao Miguel

Parque Terra Nostra – a nice botanical garden – cannot say that it was the best place I’ve ever been to but nice to visit if you have time.
Lagoa Das Sete Cidades – a pretty cool area with two lakes of different colors

Pico