We went to Sao Miguel last year and had a great time. I journal all of our trips, here it is from that trip, with all the boring and touristy stuff included. (I have a fully edited version somewhere but I cannot find it, hopefully not too many grammatical and spelling errors in this version)
Azores
10/17-10/24/2017
Paul has been wanting to go to Portugal to tour the Douro region, but then Caroline found a great deal for the Azores, a chain of nine islands off the coast of Portugal. It is close enough to Portugal for this year.
Tuesday 10/17/2017
We woke early on Tuesday to make a 6:30 am flight to Atlanta, then a 9:00 am flight to Boston. Due to the flight times and cost, we will have a nine hour layout in Boston, just enough time to see a little of Bean Town.
Once we landed, we took the water taxi to downtown Boston and headed towards Neptune Oyster, a restaurant recommended by a few of Paul’s wine friends. We had a tuna appetizer then Caroline had huge sardines while Paul had a tuna tartare and veal sandwich. After lunch, we walked around town and visited Paul Revere’s house. We then went searching for dessert for Caroline, then back to the boat and airport so we could fly out at 9pm.
The flight to Sao Miguel was uneventful and luckily Caroline was forward thinking enough to upgrade us to comfort status, so we had a bit more legroom though no special attention. Sata airlines is not known for their amenities, they do not even have USB charge pots on the planes.
Wednesday 10/18
We landed around 6am and headed to the rental car place. Once we had our trusty Renault Clio, we drove to Furnas so we could try to check in early. When we finally found the hotel after multiple trips around the town, they told us we could not check in yet but that we could store our luggage there, take showers in the spa, and have breakfast. Our main goal in checking in early was getting showers, so it worked out perfectly. After showering we had breakfast, asked for trail information, and headed out on foot to hike around Lagoa do Furnas. It was approximately nine miles round trip and though it was not a strenuous or a technical trail, we were beat when we arrived back at the hotel. Most likely the combination of the sun, walking around Boston, and travel were the culprits.
When we arrived back at the hotel, we had lunch and split a wonderful Portuguese red table wine. We do not drink Portuguese wine often but were really impressed by it, I am going to consider it research for our future trip to Portugal. After lunch we went to the spa to soak in the hot spring pools, then to the room for a well deserved nap. After napping, we figured out our plan for Thursday and Caroline went to soak in the pool again. After soaking, we headed down to the restaurant for a light dinner and sitting around reading and relaxing. The weather has been perfect thus far.
Thursday 10/19/2017
We woke around 630 this morning and headed down for breakfast at the hotel. The food here is really good, American hotel breakfasts are sadly inadequate compared to the European hotels we have visited.
We headed to Ponta Da Ferraria, which is on the west side of the island, to experience the ocean front hot springs Caroline had read about; it was one of the main reasons she wanted to visit the Azores. After taking the most convoluted route across the island, we arrived and found the hot spring. We climbed in the water and Paul was done after a few minutes and left Caroline to enjoy it for another 30 minutes or so. The water was warm but not hot, and the waves were a bit too much for relaxing, but Caroline loved it. We then hiked back to the car and headed to Sete Cidades for our real hike.
We stopped at the info center where they gave us a map and told us where to park. We started out along the lake edge and met up with six Germans who thought they knew where they were going. We started out up the hill with no clear trail, Paul leading the way. He thought he had found the trail at one point but it soon terminated. We started trying different routes, whatever had the least vegetation, and hiked straight uphill for about 45 minutes. We were taking turns bushwhacking and there were some really overgrown and steep sections. We looked back towards the lake a few times and reveled at how high we were. We questioned the wisdom behind this route a few times and finally decided to turn back and leave the Germans to their superior skill when they said we were only half way to the main trail based on the GPS location. The terrain was getting steeper and Paul tried to explain that we needed to be tracking to the left but they thought we needed to continue straight. Based on the map and general location based on GPS, Paul was likely correct. We headed back down and what took 45 minutes to ascend, took about 10 to descend since the vegetation was already knocked down and the ‘trail’ clear.
We walked down the road a ways and found the main trail and took it up the mountain. We found what was likely the upper end of the trailhead where we should have come out if we had continued our original path, but we never saw our German friends. We continued our hike to the high point of the mountain and then turned around to head back, still no Germans. We do hope they made it out ok, it was only getting steeper as went continued so I doubt they made it.
We made our way back to the hotel, finding an ATM on the way. The bizarre thing about the ATM was that Paul claimed it also dispensed chocolates, at least that is what he said when he returned to the car with a bagful. Caroline is unsure if it is wise to let him wander the streets alone anymore, he is either hallucinating as to where he procured the chocolates or fabricating stories to hide his addiction to sweets. They were good either way.
Upon returning to the hotel, we went for a soak in the hot spring pools, showered, and then headed to dinner. We arrived around 6:00 but they did not start serving until 7:00, so we enjoyed a glass of wine while sitting on the padded lounge chairs while emailing and texting pictures. When we finally started dinner, we were famished since we had skipped lunch. We had the mackerel as the appetizer and Caroline had the steak while Paul had the tuna as an entree, both were delicious. For dessert, Caroline had the apple tart with black beer ice cream, candied pecans, and salted caramel. Paul had the chocolate parfait with orange ice cream. We hung out a little more on the lounges and then headed to our room to turn in.
Friday 10/20/2017
We woke up late today, around 745, and headed to the hotel breakfast bar again. They serve buffet style and there is almost anything you could want to enjoy. From eight kinds of bread, five fruits, cereals, four kinds of cheese, eggs, bacon, and more. It is well worth it. After eating we headed out for our next adventure.
We drove west across the island again in search of the trail we had seen so many pictures of, it has rough made handrails on each side and is at the top of a ridge line. We decided today to try to use the iPhone for navigation rather than the car’s because it seemed to talk us through every little town, down dirt roads, and the longest possible route. We were sure it was just a setting but could not find it. The iPhone route was much faster but not as exciting, so the jury is still out on what we should do.
We went to Lagoa Do Canario and started out down the signed trail. The terrain around the lake was a soggy mess and Caroline sank up to her ankles. Paul danced around the soft spots for the most part and stayed a little cleaner and dryer. We decided the lake was not where we wanted to be so we ventured to the other parking area and found the trail map for Serra Devassa and a trail at the edge of the lot. We hiked to the top of the caldera, took some photos, and continued to hike around for another couple of hours. There were some really unique trails and views at this location with the ridge trails and multiple lakes, but we still did not find the trail Paul wanted to do so badly. It turns out that it was only a few hundred meters away in the opposite direction, we might go back tomorrow.
We decided to head back to Furnas so we could have lunch and take a nap. Paul fiddled with the cars GPS and figured out how to change it to the fastest route instead of secondary roads, yea. We stoped in a small town in route and Caroline ordered the tuna salad sandwich and Paul had a mini pizza. Very tasty food and so inexpensive. We made a few intentional route changes trying to get closer to the water front, most of it is inaccessible though due to this being a volcanic island and the elevation changes abruptly going from the land to the sea. We found one nice observation point and may try harder tomorrow.
We arrived back at the hotel and soaked in the pool and then napped like the dead, vacation can be so tiring. We woke up, showered and headed to dinner at the hotel again. The food here is good, as I have already said, but it is also really convenient. On most of our travels we try to mix it up some but there are not many restaurants within easy walking distance of the hotel. We many venture out tomorrow, at least for a bigger lunch, if not dinner.
After eating, we sat in the lobby for a while and read, emailed, and journaled until it was time for bed.
Saturday 10/21/2017
We slept in again today, around 7:30 I think. Paul would have slept longer but Caroline woke him up talking about food. After another great breakfast, we drove to Povoacao on the eastern coast to start our hike. It started on the beach with a section that during high tide would be underwater. We hoped we would time the tides right, otherwise we would have to take the road as a bypass. We hiked into the hills and as with most of the routes on Sao Miguel, it dumped us on the road for a mile or two before hitting the trail again. There are few sidewalks on the main roads in Sao Miguel and on the roads that the trails follow, there are even fewer. Once we hit the gravel road and then the trail, it was very nice; lots of ups and downs, great views, and cool little houses along the way. After five miles we reached our destination of Robeira Quente and stopped for a few pictures. We headed back and as always, it seemed to take less time to get back than to get there. When we reached the beach, the tide had come in and the water was lapping at the shear cliff of rock we had to pass by. We realized that everything third wave was big, but in between that it was easily passable. We took our shoes off and dashed across the remaining beachfront and made it safely to the other side. The beach was composed of black sand from the volcanic rock, we should have taken a sample. We played in the water for a few minutes and then headed out to continue our adventure, and get something to eat.
We walked through the town and found a deli that had fresh sandwiches and sat down to devour, I mean causally eat, them. We took the opportunity to sample some of the Portuguese beers, ick. Caroline’s tasted like Old Milwaukee and Paul’s tasted like Budweiser, we will stick to their wine. We walked through town on the way back to the car and then headed to the gardens in Nordeste. The gardens were more of natural vegetation with some stairs cut in the landscape. We stayed long enough for some pictures and then headed to the northern coast before heading back to Furnas for dinner.
On the way, Caroline again said she wanted to visit the beach if possible. Paul checked the GPS and determined that the closest thing to beach access was just a few kilometers away so he headed that way. We went through town and followed the route to a very steep road, we are talking 20+% steep. We stopped before the first switchback to reconnoiter the route to determine if our little car could make it down and back. Paul decided it would not be an issue, it is a rental after-all, so we went for it. After we checked out the huge waves crashing against the rocks, we decided that there was no way we would be getting in the water. After a few pictures, we headed out. Our little rental did a splendid job on the hill, even if it did spin the tires a few times, and we were finally on our way to Furnas.
We arrived at the hotel and went straight to the hot spring pool. After soaking for a bit, we headed to the room to clean up before dinner. After eating another delicious meal, we sat in the lobby to journal and emailed until bedtime.
Sunday 10/22/2017
We woke late again and went down for breakfast and then lounged about since we were taking it a little easier today. At 10:00 we went and picked up our picnic lunch the hotel was providing for us and headed to Lagoa do Furnas for a four mile run around the lake. It turned out there was a mtb relay race at the lake today so we watched them go around for a while. We decided that the park was a little crowded and since we had a late breakfast, we were not ready to eat yet so we headed to Lagoa do Congro for some relaxation. We hiked in and found a secluded place to eat right by the lake. We had planned to read for a bit but the location was not super comfy so we headed back to the hotel to nap before our 3:30 massages. After our massages, Caroline soaked in the pools for a bit while Paul gazed upon her. We then went to our room so we could start packing since our vacation is ending a day early due to the flight cancellation.
I just realized I have yet to mention the cancellation and how it is shortening our trip by a day. There are only a couple of airlines that fly in and out of the Azores, and Sata is one of the least dependable. They notified us right before the trip that our return flight was canceled so we had fly fly back a day early. We contacted the group we bought the package from and they were kind of enough to offer us compensation for shortening our trip by not charging us for the last night in the hotel. Um, correct me if I am wrong, but not charging us for a night we are not using is not compensating us, it is simply not charging us for something we cannot use because the airline screwed us. This will mean we will spend an extra day in Boston on the return trip on our Dime. We have travel insurance so we will try to claim the cost of the room.
We had planned to go to town for dinner tonight but decided we were just too lazy so we ate at the hotel for one last time and then turned in early.
Monday
10/23/2017
We woke today to the sound of rain, perfect timing for our departure since we had beautiful weather the entire time we were here. We did a little happy dance, showered and headed to breakfast. After we ate, we headed back to the room to make sure we had all of our things, then we loaded them into the car. There was a fountain in the park near the hotel that Caroline had wanted a picture of, so we pulled over on the way out to snap a picture, i wish we had taken the time to check it out earlier in the week.
Since we did not need to be at the airport until 3:00, we decided to to explore a little more and check out one more caldera. On our way up the mountain, the fog settled in and it appeared we were not going to have a view, but we continued on anyways. On the way down, Caroline saw the other hot spring she had wanted to check out, but it was raining and we had already packed so we kept driving.
We finally reached Ponta Delgada where the airport is so we started looking for a place to park so we could walk about and get lunch. We stopped in a few stores to get gifts for family and friends, then finally found a place to eat, the O Jordao. We ordered a bottle of the house white wine, it was ok once it warmed a little from fridge temperature. Caroline started with the limpids which appear to be similar to mussels. She enjoyed them while she waited for her blackfish, complete with head and Paul waited on his tuna. Caroline’s blackfish was very good and well seasoned, Paul’s tuna was a bit overlooked and not as well seasoned.
After lunch we went in search of pastries, and happened by a chocolate shop. Imagine Caroline’s surprise when Paul wanted to go in. And buy everything. After the first bag was rung up, we decided that it was so inexpensive that we should buy some more. Then we bought a few more. On to the bakery.
At the bakery we found some interesting looking pastries, but the ice cream really stood out. Caroline went with a scoop each of the chocolate chip with fruit and peanut butter and Paul went with just the chocolate chip with fruit. Both were delicious, I could eat it everyday.
After ice-cream we finally headed to the airport to drop off the car. After driving the wrong way on a one-way street, we went the right way and found the drop off. We went through security sat around until boarding time, and then were off in the great blue yonder to Boston. We supped on a little of the airplane food and a little of the picnic food. Then Paul realized the croissant did not have a dessert filling in it as thought, but ground beef. Since it had not been refrigerated, he spit it out and hopes he does not get sick. He then went to the plain croissant, that actually had ham on it. Out it went too. Nekot crackers, that is the way to go.
We landed in Boston and headed to the rental car cue. Once we had our car, we headed to the hotel to check in, argued with the check in lady regarding the absurd $40 parking fee and had it reduced to $20, then went to the room to relax. We supped on light snacks and turned the lights out.
Tuesday 10/24/2017
We woke up and had breakfast at the hotel, a huge disappointment compared to what the hotel in the Azores offered. We packed our things, loaded the car, and headed out for a day of New England adventure. It was raining when we left and the forecast was fro rain off and on all day, typical fall New England weather.
Our first stop was Odiorne Point State Park in Portsmouth we we could stretch our legs a little. Caroline went for a walk while Paul went for a run. It was a decent place to run but there were no signs and the trails were all over the place. My GPS data looks like a bowl of spaghetti.
We met back at the car and Caroline wanted to go to New Hampshire so we drove to Kittery, checked out the town, and then headed to Portsmouth Brewing for lunch. The brewery is a part of Smuttynose which had been on the shortlist of places to eat, but they were not serving lunch today and we did not want to deal with taking food there. Caroline had the fish and chips and Paul had the gyro sand which. We split a flight of beer and then both chose to have a glass of the Octoberfest. Paul bought a Smuttynose t-shirt in the shop. Since we had plenty of time to kill, we walked around Portsmouth and did some shopping, mainly in the form of chocolate chip cookies.
Caroline wanted to go to Salem to see if she could find some long lost members of her Coven. Salem is the Asheville of New England. People dressed as witches seems to be a lifestyle choice. They also had street performers and lots of witch related stores. There was a cool looking tattoo shop but Caroline kept pulling Paul away from it.
When we left Salem we headed back to Boston, stopped at a Whole Foods to get dinner and then the adjacent liquor store for a bottle of wine to enjoy at the hotel. Once back at the hotel we ate and relaxed before going to sleep. We had to be up at 4:00am to catch our 6:00 flight, who plans these vacation?!?
Wednesday 10/25/2017
We woke at the appointed hour, the first time we had set an alarm over the last week. We stayed at airport Hilton so we were able to walk to the airport, very convenient. A short time later we were boarding our plane and on the way home.
Summary of the trip:
We had a great time and Sao Miguel is a beautiful place. Portuguese is the main language, but everyone speaks English so it made it a little easier. The island is very mountainous with the typical narrow roads as with most of Europe. Some of the roads are in the 15-20% slope range which can make it interesting when they are wet or when you have opposing traffic. Most of the hikes we did were on paved or gravel roads rather than single track, the paved road sections usually do not have sidewalk. The single track trails were good, some being very technical and steep.
We would recommend the Azores as a great place to vacation, but are not sure if we would return unless we could island hop. Sao Miguel is the largest island and therefore would theoretically have the most to do, I fear that we would run out of things to do spending a week on the smaller islands. Traveling from island to island would be good because they are supposed to be different with some being more of nature reserves. Overall, it was a great trip.