As you read in the post about Canadiano Urban Nature Hotel, we finally managed to visit Azores, we fulfilled an old dream and this happened exactly on Dorina's birthday. We'll tell you in this article what to visit in Azores, specifically on the island of Sao Miguel where we stayed.
We booked the flights and planned the vacation in Sao Miguel since winter with Traveling Sisters, but we were not 100% sure that we would get there until we stepped on the island. Why? Because of the pandemic, obviously. A few months ago we missed a holiday in Amsterdam - we wanted to get to see the tulips blooming - and we were afraid it would happen again now, especially as Portugal, as well as the Netherlands was quite restrictive in terms of non-essential travel.
Pandemic travel conditions
We flew on June 9 from Bucharest and we needed a PCR test (required whether you were vaccinated or had proof that you had COVID) and filling out a form for the Azores, but the rules change every two weeks, so you need to check your local Travel Conditions to know exactly what you need. If you had direct flight you can do the test for free at Ponta Delgada airport. We did it in our country and we received by mail a 35 euros voucher (you can use it to rent cars, for restaurants, guided tours and many other activities). You will find the list of partners on the website Destino Seguro Acores but you have all the details in the mail you receive from them.
We had a stopover flight in Lisbon and the day after we returned we found out that Portugal changed the rules and you were not allowed to leave the airport and visit the city, regardless of the duration of the stopover. We had a one-day stopover on our way back and we were very glad that this rule wasn't valid and we were able to visit Lisbon as well.
Flight to Azore
We didn't find direct flights to Ponta Delgada (TAP Portugal used to offer this possibility in the past), so we chose to fly Bucharest-Lisbon with Blue Air, and then with the local company SATA (Azores Airlines), and on return flight we chose Ryan Air to Lisbon and then Blue Air. It was a bit of a hassle until we booked the flights to find connections and to have affordable prices, but in the end we did it. The prices were quite high compared to those with which we are accustomed, but very good for this destination, around 200 euros per person.
Day 1: Ponta Delgada and Vila Franca
Ponta Delgada is the administrative capital of the Azores and also the capital of Sao Miguel, the largest and most populous island of the archipelago, known as the "Green Island". The island has around 140.000 inhabitants, 45.000 of them in Ponta Delgada.
Azores (or Acores in Portuguese) is a group of nine islands located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km from Lisbon and 3,900 km from the east coast of North America: São Miguel, Santa Maria, Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico, Faial Island, Flores and Corvo.
We arrived in the morning, at 8 a.m. in Ponta Delgada and we had about 3 hours to explore the city, which proved more than enough, being quite small.
We won't write a list of tourist attractions because if you walk through town it's impossible to miss them. The most famous ones are the Goncalo Verho Cabral Square in the center of the city where you can find the three arcades that are part of the old wall of the village of Ponte Delgada – City Gate, Ingreja do Colégio dos Jesuítas, City Hall, Sao Sebastian Church, the port and don't miss a walk on the narrow streets of the old town.
After visiting the city, we took a taxi to the the Vila Franca area because at 12:30 we had scheduled the tour with Terra Azul to sail the ocean to see the whales and dolphins. The tour was a total disappointment and not just because we didn't see the whales and dolphins but because we didn't even go out to ocean, as we expected. Terra Azul employees observe marine animals with devices and only when they see them transmit the coordinates to colleagues that go out to ocean with the tourists. We spent a good few hours coming here and waiting plus 50 dollars for the taxi because it was Portugal day and everything was closed, and the taxis had higher fare. Terra Azul rescheduled tours for those who wanted to return another day or gave the the money back to those who could no longer come. We didn't want to waste time the second time, no one guarantees that the ocean won't be choppy the next day, plus we have so many attractions to visit, so we decided to not come in the next days.
We went back to Ponta Delgada, we had dinner at the CÉ LA VI Music and Food Experience, a posh place that had a great view, but we had another disappointment- the food was not great, the waitress didn't understood English at all, brought us burgers with potatoes and other potatoes separately (chips, fries with sauce , fries without sauce, not even the sweet potatoes we asked for), was completely lost in translation.
Overall, Ponta Delgada is a beautiful town, with many colorful flowers and a totally different vegetation than we have seen before in Europe, but don't book a whole day for visiting it, it's enough half a day, there are so many more beautiful places to visit in the Azores and so little time! Speaking of flowers, we were a little disappointed that we didn't see so many hydrangeas in the city, but as soon as we came out of it we saw hundreds of thousands of such flowers, mostly blue and white, they line the roads on one side and the other, just dreamy.
Day 2: Exploring the North West of the Sao Miguel Island
We started June 11th, Dorina's anniversary with a visit to the Ananases A. Arruda plantation, the only pineapple plantation in Europe. They have a tradition of over 100 years in the cultivation of pineapple and visitors can see the greenhouses where pineapple grows in all the stages, from flower (yes, it's a small white flower initially) to fruit. We love pineapple so it was a dream come true and the juice we drank there was the best we've ever tasted. The ice cream wasn't great, it doesn't look like what we call ice cream, it's more of a cold pudding based on milk and pineapple. We also received pineapple liqueur, but it's pretty cool, we can't say we were thrilled. The entry to the plantation is free, but they have a shop where you can buy various souvenirs and dishes based on pineapple, including pineapple root to plant it.
After we visited the plantation we left for the place we wanted most and most to visit in Sao Miguel- Sete Cidades (it is also the most famous objective of the island), but by the time we got there we also visited some miradouros. If you want to go to Portugal or have been, you've probably met this word a lot. What are they? View points for the most important objectives in the area.
First on the list was Miradouro Vista do Rei which we found amazing because it was the first place where we saw Lagoa das Sete Cidades, this wonder of nature. It's called like this because it's where the king of Portugal was brought to admire the view. There were a few more tourists here because it's actually a minute or two from a parking lot where you can leave your car, but after seeing the view from the next belvedere points we can tell you that this is the least spectacular of all.
After Visto de Rei we went to abandoned Monte Palace Hotel. We knew right from the start that we should not visit it and we saw the warnings there, but we took a chance and we were rewarded with one of the most beautiful views we've ever seen. We don't encourage you to come here, everyone does what they think is best, we're just telling you about our experience. With each floor climbed the view becomes more and more beautiful, and the view on the roof makes you feel closer to the clouds. It's very sad that the hotel looks like this, the tourists who would have stayed there would have enjoyed the most spectacular view of the Azores, right from the window of the room. The hotel never hosted tourists because in the 90s the Azores was not yet on the tourist map of the world and it was a failure from the start, but we understood that there are discussions to resume its reconstruction.
After we visited the hotel we left for Lagoa do Canario, an emerald green lake, so clear and clean that we saw all the fish in it, fish large enough that were coming right to shore, as if to be admired. The lake is located in a picturesque forest and if you have any snacks with you, you can take the picnic here, it's the perfect place for that.
From Lagoa do Canario I went to the most spectacular view point Miradouro da Boca do Inferno, where you can see the most beautiful view of Sete Cidades. There are two lakes, one green and one blue (Lagoa Verde and Lagoa Azul) connected by a narrow canal crossed by a bridge. The lake formed in the crater of an inactive volcano and legend has it that the difference in color between the lakes is given by the tears shed by a blue-eyed princess and a green-eyed shepherd who cried that they couldn't be together.
To get to Miradauro de Boca de Inferno you have to go on a route that starts from the gate where you enter Lagoa do Canario and it goes about 15-20 minutes, it's also a little uphill, but it's worth ten times as much effort to how beautiful it is. We'll never forget this view, it's the kind of place where you feel you're closer to heaven.
After admiring The Cidades, we went to Mosteiros, an area where we saw the ocean for the first time. It's not a beach destination, the sand is not fine at all, and there are volcanic rocks everywhere (with small exceptions), some locals were still sitting on towels to sunbathe. You can't bath in the ocean, the ocean was pretty cold, we only got in a little bit with our feet. It's the first time we've seen volcanic rocks, but we weren't too impressed, it looks like a burnt place, instead the Atlantic Ocean is absolutely wonderful, it amazed us with its beauty.
In Mosteiros there are many natural pools, but we didn't visit them because it was almost night and we didn't have the swimsuits with us.
We went to Miradouro do Escalvado, Miradouro da Ponta do Castelo Miradouro da Ilha Sabrina where you have amazing view to the ocean.
That's how the second day of visiting Sao Miguel ended for us. We will come back soon with a new article with the attractions we visited in the following days.
