October 30 - Punta Delgada, Azores

Cows everywhere!
Houses at the bottom of the cliff - I wouldn't want to drive down there!
Part of the garden at the overlook, Miradouro da Ponta do Sossego
A lighthouse at the northeastern corner of the island
The beautiful waterfall at Achada on the north coast
The mill powered by the cascading water from the falls
A typical Azorean church

This morning we approached the island of Sao Miguel after sunrise. This island is part of the Azores Archipelago which is an autonomous region of Portugal. By 10 AM we were moored at the very nice cruise terminal right downtown in Punta Delgada. Once ashore we met our driver and guide Rudy and set out for our tour of the island. We told him that we had been here a couple of times and what we had seen on previous visits so he set out to show us something different.

We headed east under very cloudy skies. A little about the weather on Sao Miguel. The temperature doesn’t vary much all year, only perhaps 15 or 20 degrees. The humidity is always high, never going below 80 %. Because of this the island is very lush with many varieties of vegetation. There are also many pastures with lots of cows. The Azores produce and export milk, cheese and beef. The cows stay in their pastures not going into barns at night and are milked in the fields.

We made our way along the coast to Vila Franco do Campo and then headed inland to Furnas and the lake there. As we climbed into the hills it became extremely foggy and there were no views to speak of. We had been to Furnas the last time we visited so we only made a brief stop at the lake and at a place where we could look down on the village. Then we were off again, this time on a dirt road which ran through the countryside. We traveled for a long time on this road which was lined on either side by some species of maple trees. Along the way we passed some farmhouses and lots of cows. At one point the road intersected a mountain stream which Rudy forded. Fortunately it hadn’t rained a lot or it might have been impassable. When we got back on a paved highway we found ourselves as far east as one can go on the island.

The road we followed up the eastern coast was amazing. This end of the island has some mountains which are nearly 1000 meters high and which basically plunge down to the ocean. It reminded me a lot of the Napali Coast in Hawaii. The road wound around the mountains with spectacular vistas at every turn. We stopped at an overlook that was breathtaking.. The Azoreans are really into picnics and barbecues so all along the roads there are picnic areas with barbecue pits. At this particular overlook, Miradouro da Ponta do Sossego (which means literally “The View from the Point of Peace”), there was a beautiful cultivated garden with flowers, palms, topiary in the shapes of a variety of animals and an overlook that was magnificent. The drop-off from the railing went down hundreds of feet to the beautiful blue ocean below. At the bottom we could see a few small houses and we asked Rudy how people got to them. Just before reaching the overlook we had passed a very steep road and he told us that was a new road which people used to access the houses below. Before that was completed people rode on donkeys down a trail.

Our next stop was Nordeste, the furthest town away from Punta Delgada. It’s also the terminus of a new highway which was being opened that very afternoon. We continued on the old coastal road that followed the northern shoreline. Each of the little villages we passed through had a church built in the traditional white with black trim that is seen everywhere on the island. As we passed through the towns we noticed how clean everything was and how brightly painted many of the homes were.

Our next stop was at a park at the waterfall at Achada. While not a tremendously large one, it was very picturesque as it tumbled down through the forest and rocks around it. A walkway followed the course of the stream below and went to a mill at which people can come to grind grain. Nearby the government has renovated an old building which has a bar and restrooms. There is a lovely pond with choi and picnic areas all around which are evidently well-used on weekends especially in the summer.

We continued along the northern shore past the tea plantation before heading back to the southwest across the island for our return to Punta Delgada. It was interesting that we saw a lot of traffic going in the opposite direction. Rudy told us that it was probably people heading out to Nordeste to the end of the new highway. He said that probably they wanted to be among the first to drive on it after the Governor opened it officially. As we approached downtown Punta Delgada we came upon a large traffic jam. Despite the narrow street cars were parked all along the edge (half on the sidewalk, half on the street) and people were walking down the road. We asked Rudy what was going on and he told us that a new store had just opened and apparently the Sunday entertainment was going to the new store – a home improvement one. As we finally got past it we could see that it was indeed packed with people. Lowe’s, eat your heart out!

We arrived back at the terminal with time enough to stop in a shop and buy some Azorean tea. I’ve mentioned in the past that this is the only place in Europe that grows tea and it really is quite good!

Anyway, I’ve rambled on enough. It was a beautiful day on a beautiful and very interesting island. People who stop here and never leave the town are truly missing one of the most scenic places we’ve been.