São Miguel is the largest island in the Azores and has some of the most stunning natural features (especially on the west side of the island).
First up is Sete Cidades (seven cities) with its two lakes. One lake is green, and the other lake is blue. The story goes that two lovers, a princess and a shepherd, were forbidden to marry. On their last meeting, they cried so much that they created the lakes–the blue lake because of the shepherd’s blue eyes, and the green lake because of the princess’s green eyes. Technically it is the same lake with a bridge through the middle of it, but supposedly the lake’s reflected surroundings turn one side blue and the other green. (Green is on the left, and blue is on the right.)
Across the street from one of the lake viewpoints is Monte Palace, an abandoned hotel. The theory is that the hotel failed because it was too remote, even if it did overlook breathtaking scenery. The venture was attempted nearly 40 years ago, before the Azores had tourism to support something that far out of town.
Although the Azores are famous for hydrangeas as far as the eye can see, I visited too early to catch them. But to make up for it they brought out the azaleas in full force, creating ribbons of pink along the roads. Now that I’m back home we clearly need to rethink our hedgerows.
Down at lake level in Sete Cidades.
They had baby ducks!
I mentioned in an earlier post that the rental car I got with GPS was able to map streets in Portugal but not in the Azores. Since the GPS had no concept of traffic or road conditions, that led to some interesting adventures where the GPS insisted I turn right on what looked like a cow path. On this road I surprised a few hikers as I drove by, basically doing the hike in my car.
But the GPS’s off-road adventures always led back to pavement at some point. This is Mosterios, a beach town in the northwest corner of São Miguel.
They have black sand beaches that are nice and warm.
A bit south of Mosteiros is Ponta da Ferraria, where a hot spring feeds directly into the ocean, making year-round swimming a delightful experience as long as you get there mid-tide.
I got there at high tide, so it was too cold to swim, but this is the pool where the hot water meets the ocean. (At low tide it is too hot to swim.)
I got lost again and got this photo. I also saw a man riding his donkey sidesaddle to walk his dog.
This is the rooftop garden of Pés Verdes, the only all-vegan restaurant in the Azores (as far as I know). They are slightly out of the main town of Ponta Delgada with a fantastic rooftops-to-ocean view. And they have cats!
This is my vegan wrap.
And this is my attentive eating buddy. He wanted me to pet him, but I’d washed my hands to eat my wrap, so every time he squeaked at me, I would pet him with the pen I’d used to sign the guestbook.
This was the first place I visited that had vegan dessert. They recommended that I get my brownie with the strawberry sauce rather than the caramel sauce to prevent it from being too sweet.
And speaking of sweet, the Azores are also known for pineapples! Azorean pineapples are sweeter and smaller than other pineapples, and they take two years to grow. This is the A. Arruda pineapple plantation, where the pineapples grow in glass greenhouses, São Miguel style.
The pineapple cat wasn’t as interested in hanging out with me as the vegan restaurant cat, probably because I didn’t have any food.
Look at them growing!
A baby pineapple.
This is the Boca do Inferno viewpoint. It looks amazing when the sun is out. It is also incredibly difficult to find as there are no signs until you are already there. So I’d driven by a few times earlier in the day without realizing it but managed to find it before the sun went down.
And back at my hotel, this is the view from the roof.
Baby ducks doing stuff! The waves rolling in at Mosteiros, and the swimming hole at Ponta da Ferraria.