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The Azores: São Miguel

Oh my goodness. I’m coming off probably the most beautiful week of my life. The Azores are an Autonomous region of Portugal, a series of 9 inhabited islands out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean mostly formed from volcanic activity. They are commonly called “the Hawaii of Europe” but I’ll tell you even this name does not give these islands justice.

Let’s begin with a geography lesson: I only just learned of the existence of these islands in May, when I met someone who has Azorean ancestry. You see, the islands themselves only have about 200k residents, but there are over a million people in the Azorean diaspora, with most living in North America. They are part of the archipelago known as Macaronesia, a chain of islands that includes the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands. These are probably one of Europe’s (or the world’s?) best kept secrets. To put it simply, it’s the beauty of Hawaii without the tourists. After spending 3 weeks in Oahu earlier this year, I was so stoked on the aloha and surf culture, but I felt suffocated by the exploitation with tourism. The Azores are quite the opposite, they are just on the brink of a huge tourist boom but they are preparing to do so “sustainably.” I’m not entirely sure what that means, but for now it means that you still feel the area is overwhelmingly local and relatively undiscovered, including very affordable prices considering you’re in the middle of the Atlantic!

On Wednesday, I wrote at the end of the day that I had one of the most beautiful days of my life (on the biggest island, Sao Miguel). On Friday, I had a similar sentiment on Terceira Island. On Sunday, I got the feeling for a third time on Pico Island. All I can say is that if my eyes, graced with so much natural beauty in this lifetime, were stunned three times over by these islands, it must be a really special place.


I ended up spending 6 days and 6 nights and stayed 2 nights on 3 different islands (including a day trip on a ferry to an additional island, Faial). Everything online said that this agenda could be a good consideration but ummmm it was not nearly sufficient! For one, I would’ve done a whole week on São Miguel, and maybe three days on the other islands. That being said, I couldn’t rent a car, and a car could allow you to see more, more quickly! But then again, why rush out of these islands given it’s probably the calmest place you’ll ever be in your life. Just you and the birds.


I arrived in Sao Miguel in the morning, so had a half day to explore the island. I stayed in the biggest city in the Azores (and the capital) Ponta Delgada, which I was so surprised was extremely busy with lots of cars, people and buildings! Unfortunately, the only viable way to and from the airport was a 10 minute taxi for 10 euros, but fret not because the rest of this trip was largely done with public bus :) The Azores Dream Hostel was absolutely beautiful in an old three story home with huge high ceilings and super calm. The staff couldn’t believe me when I said I was gonna hike without a car, but don’t you worry, I made it work. Between a few bus schedules and Google maps, I made my dreams a reality. I didn’t end up hitting the town until noon on my first day, so decided to check out the surf scene instead on the opposite side of the island. “Opposite” here means about 10 miles north, but still a world of difference!

Ribeira Grande is the home of surfing in the Azores, with Praia Santa Barbara (yew SB!) being the heart of it all. I showed up and was tripping because it looked just like North Shore Oahu: same light blue waters and huge swell, except the sand was black! Unfortunately, the waves were sooo big there were no surfers or rentals on this afternoon, so I can’t say I’ve surfed in the Azores, yet.

Ribeira Grande pools by the sea! The black sand beach is called Praia Santa Barbara <3


I walked up along the coast of Ribeira Grande and was taken back by the tranquility of it all. I am pretty sure there were locals literally spying on me to make sure I wasn’t getting up to any trouble, I felt so out of place! I was properly convinced someone had turned up the saturation on my surroundings because the ocean blues and grassy greens were so vivid. It supposedly rains here all the time which is one of the few downsides of the island, however I’ve decided it’s not a problem because as it is an island, the sun is soon to come after the rain. The temperature was an unbelievably perfect 65-75 F almost all every day, making me think, if I can surf and vibe here, why not just live here…..


I caught the last bus back to Ponta Delgada and strolled through the main sites of the pretty small and walkable downtown. For context, the main bus hub was a 3 minute walk from my hostel, and I could probably walk the length of the downtown area in 10 minutes in every direction. Small, but not too small! The drivers were still totally crazy and I felt like I could get run over at any moment in time.


The next day I got an early start to take the bus to Sete Cidades, one of the more iconic hikes of the Azores. The bus took the scenic route and after about an hour, it dropped me off about 4 miles away from my destination still so I decided to walk the rest of the way to the trailhead. That walk became a run because I was bored, but this is when it became one of those “most beautiful day of my life” moments. Hydrangea and morning glories flourish here, and the grasses and hills were so green and the morning sun so beautiful and I enjoyed it all to myself for two whole hours. At one point I crossed paths with an old Azorean man carrying a huge pole with a cutting tool on the end. He just wanted to make sure I would get to the vista point okay. When I finally made it to Vista do Rei, I was so exhausted and had my first food and drink of the water of the day. I proceeded to jog down the mountain and luckily there’s a super convenient cafe in town, Sao Nicolaus, that fixed me right up and informed me of how to catch the bus.


I didn’t know if the bus would come, but it did! Woohoo! I got back to Ponta Delgada with 20 minutes for me to run back to my hostel to eat and catch another bus to another hike. I don’t know if I missed the bus or if it came early, but I never did end up making it to the eastern side of the island to Furnas, which was a blessing in disguise because I was poooped! I had a really nice meal at a Tea House in town and proceeded to do work for the rest of the day. I went out for golden hour and sunset to the main town square where a university band played such fun tunes in front of the main church! It was one of those “I really think I could live here….” moments. As you can tell, I wasn’t able to get up to that much in Sao Miguel. I would love to return with a friend that wants to drive a rental car and get to all of those hikes and Lagos and places to see.



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