São Miguel (Azores), Azores

São Miguel Island: Stunning Azores, By Nature


The Caldeira das Lagoas
The breathtaking view of the Sete Cidades massif, with the various lakes filling the huge volcanic caldera in the northwestern tip of São Miguel.
the monasteries
The rock formations that give the name to the beach and the village of Mosteiros.
Geothermal Lagoon
A typical scene from a Jardim das Delicacies in one of the geothermal lagoons of Caldeira Velha.
Pasture Cows
Some of the many cows that ensure the Azores' prolific milk production.
Ponta da Ferraria
Waves shake the marine pool of Ponta da Ferraria.
Furnas
The village of Furnas, in the green depths of São Miguel.
Day of monasteries
Bathers and surfers enjoy the volcanic beach of Mosteiros.
Friends talk and sunbathe on a slab of lava in the north of São Miguel.
mouth of hell below
Hikers descend a ravine near the Boca do Inferno Viewpoint.
Lagoon of Fire
Sunlight highlights the turquoise blue of Lagoa do Fogo, the highest in São Miguel.
Mosteiros
The target houses of Mosteiros, arranged on a vast slab full of vegetation.
the north
View of the north coast of São Miguel from the road that leads to Lagoa do Fogo.
Swimming pool for 3
A moment of marine relaxation in one of the many natural pools of São Miguel.
Surfers in Monasteries
A duo of surfers converses with the twilight taking care of Mosteiros beach.
dry boiler
Patches from Caldeira Seca, below the village of Sete Cidades
Santa Iria Viewpoint
An ultimate lover of the north coast of São Miguel, highlighted at the Santa Iria viewpoint.
7 Cities
The houses of Sete Cidades are housed inside one of the largest boilers in the Azorean archipelago.
An immaculate biosphere that the Earth's entrails mold and soften is displayed, in São Miguel, in a panoramic format. São Miguel is the largest of the Portuguese islands. And it is a work of art of Nature and Man in the middle of the North Atlantic planted.

It was the first sensation we had of São Miguel, that of, after ascending to the luxuriant stronghold of Caldeira Velha, landing in a world apart.

The springs bubble and smoke. Some sprout so hot that they are entitled to screaming warnings of danger of cooking.

The steam rises. It irrigates a profusion of majestic arboreal ferns that we associated with the sub-tropical and sulphurous forests around Rotorua or the Golden bay, in the North and South Islands of New Zealand.

More and more souls are arriving in a vacationing ecstasy.

They undress in a hurry and compete for the best spots in the best pools and ponds.

When, finally, they settle down in harmony, they enjoy the divine liquid coziness.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

A typical scene from a Jardim das Delicacies in one of the geothermal lagoons of Caldeira Velha.

With much less time than the rest of the bathers, we didn't take long to expel ourselves from that geothermal paradise.

From there, we point to the highest lagoon on São Miguel.

The Lagoa do Fogo (view) of São Miguel

Lagoa do Fogo appears in the caldera of the island's benjamim volcano, which erupted for the last time in 1563. The island had been inhabited for over a century, following the pioneer of the south. Santa Maria.

Despite the baptism and its history, saturated by sunlight, this huge lacustrine body is displayed in a turquoise tone that blends in both with that of the nearby sea and that of the celestial vault above.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

Sunlight highlights the turquoise blue of Lagoa do Fogo, the highest in São Miguel.

"Sorry, can you help me?" a distressed French hiker challenges us. “I didn't expect the trail to be so long. I really need water”.

We give her a bottle that the girl almost leaks without breathing. We asked if you wanted us to take you to the lagoon. “Walking is walking, now I'm fine, I'm going to walk there!”

We make sure it's in good condition. Then, we descend to the wild coast of the north coast. In the vicinity of Ribeira Grande, we bend to the east and make our way back to the top lands.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

View of the north coast of São Miguel from the road that leads to Lagoa do Fogo.

Along the way, herds of black and white cows succeed one another, lucky producers of the increasingly distinct pasture milk of the Azores.

A long avenue flanked by hydrangeas that the summer had turned to pink leads us to the natural terrace of Pico de Ferro.

From the suicidal edge of its heights, between vertigo and wonder, the lagoon and the village that share the same name are revealed to us: Furnas.

The Top of Pico do Ferro and the Depths of Furnas

The lagoon spreads out just below, in a more exuberant green than the surrounding vegetation.

The village, on the other hand, appears remote, lost in a wide and deep crater, also lush, covered with meadows dotted with trees. We cross it on the way to the shores of the lagoon.

Furnas, São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

The village of Furnas, in the green depths of São Miguel.

We completed the Caldeiras walkway among the fog of the resident fumaroles.

It took some time for one of the reputed local stews to come out of the ground. We ended up tasting it – as similar as possible – in a restaurant in the village.

Next door, to the delight of some children and the compassion of two German tourists, swans coming from the water sow panic among a flock of ducks, intent on monopolizing, by pecking at rivals, the corn offered by the owner of a food and drink trailer.

Despite the seclusion of the place, the inhabitants of the Vale das Furnas suffered unexpected attacks from pirates who, for centuries, targeted the Azorean villages.

Around 1522, the seven-kilometer-diameter boiler was used only to collect wood needed to rebuild houses destroyed by earthquakes that affected Vila Franca do Campo.

From the unstable past of the Azores to the stronghold of natural well-being

One hundred years later, several settlers inhabited it, when a volcanic eruption forced them to disband.

Many more returned attracted by the extreme fertility of the soil. However, the adversities continued.

As narrated by Marquez de Jacome Corrêa, in 1679, Berber pirates sacked the Ribeira Quente and entered the caldera, where they stole sheep. Residents asked the governor of Ponta Delgada a cannon. This one ignored them.

Today, more than peace, Furnas is a destination of pure delight. This is proven by the small crowd of bodies floating in the ocher water of the outdoor swimming pool at the Jardim Botânico and the Terra Nostra hotel, one of the ecological retreats of the world really special.

The live outdoor swimming pool of the Jardim Botânico and Terra Nostra hotel.

The US consul in San Miguel began building it around 1775. Thomas Hickling was a wealthy merchant from Boston. chose the place to your house field, known as Yankee Hall.

The property passed to Visconde da Praia and, later, to Marquês da Praia and Monforte.

Over the years, it evolved from Hall into the botanical garden that today marvels outsiders. He kept us most of the time in Furnas.

In such a way, that when we left, we only visited the other interests of the village in a play-and-run mode and returned, once again, to the capital with the night in place.

The awakenings are easily repeated when the day's agenda is limited to continuing the exploration of São Miguel.

In Search of the Seven Cities of São Miguel

On the ground, the island has little to do with what we learn on maps of remote primary education.

São Miguel is much more than a mere tiny patch lost in the immense blue Atlantic.

Like the island itself, its impressive lagoons seem to multiply. They are so impressive that we cannot avoid them.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

Hikers descend a ravine near the Boca do Inferno Viewpoint.

We continue our drive up the island, towards the green and idyllic domain where its Sete Cidades are hidden.

Of the various eccentricities with a prehistoric volcanic past scattered there, the Miradouro da Boca do Inferno seems to have disappeared over time.

Fed up with inconsequential comings and goings in search of him, we stopped and asked three rural workers on the side of the road for directions. Just seconds after his willful explanation, a relational shiver strikes us.

As much as we concentrated, his sentences were unintelligible to us.

Word after word, we only confirm it.

They, on their side, certainly reliving that inconvenience, realized above all that we didn't understand anything they were saying, they surrendered to frustration and shy embarrassment.

The Colonization of São Miguel and the Cerrar Progressivo do Sotaque

The settlement of São Miguel began on September 29, 1444, the day of the archangel of the same name, at that time, patron of Portugal.

Attracted by the exemption from taxes required at the origin, arrived from Alentejo, Algarve, Extremadura, Madeira, also foreigners, especially the French.

In the nearly six centuries that have elapsed, given over to that island 1500 km from the mainland, the Azoreans have unconsciously tightened their accent.

They did so until it became impossible to compare it with any other pronunciation of the rectangle on the edge of Europe planted.

We thank you and say goodbye.

Amazing Lagoons, inside Craters, inside Caldeiras

Finally, there we found the steep trail to the viewpoint over the Canário lagoon, which we conquered in the company of foreign hikers.

When we arrive at the platform where it ends, we unveil one of the most majestic and elegant panoramas of the Azores and, dare we say it, of the Planet.

From there, São Miguel closed to the northeast in an unusual group of lakes sheltered in an old massif, with all its scenery sandwiched between the vast North Atlantic and the grassy slopes of the enormous border.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

The breathtaking view of the Sete Cidades massif, with the various lakes filling the huge volcanic caldera in the northwestern tip of São Miguel.

After an hour, we gained courage. We turn our back on him and return to the 9-1A national road.

We tour it with useful stops, such as Vista do Rei, which allows us to glimpse Sete Cidades, on the banks of the Verde and Azul lagoons, just as King D. Carlos and Queen Dª Amélia did in 1901.

We exchanged the asphalt for the land of Cumeeira, a supreme road that appears to subsist in an early equilibrium, with surreal views both into the huge Seca and Alferes caldera, their lagoons and the houses of Sete Cidades, as well as the oceanic slope and the villages in the its foothills: Riders, in the background, Mosteiros. We advance slowly.

We give way to a tractor and a work van that we come across in the opposite direction of that narrow road that was created as a rural asset, not as a tourist complement.

From the edge of the Grande Caldeira to the heart of the Sete Cidades de São Miguel

When the road ends, we descend from the border to the village of Sete Cidades, which the first settlers named after the old legend “Insula Septem civitatum” interpreted as the Island of the Seven Peoples or Tribes and which foreshadowed the existence of human life in the middle of the Atlantic.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

The houses of Sete Cidades are housed inside one of the largest boilers in the Azorean archipelago.

The legend dates back to the Phoenicians and other Mediterranean peoples. It appeared in 750 AD in a document written by a Christian cleric in Porto Cale (Porto).

It may have inspired Infante Dom Henrique himself to privilege maritime discovery towards the West rather than the continuation of the conquest in North Africa.

From Sete Cidades, we point to the village of Mosteiros. Halfway through the route, we stop at the Ponta da Ferraria natural pool, looking forward to a warm and relaxing ocean bath.

But the Atlantic is not tidal.

Ponta da Ferraria, São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

Waves shake the marine pool of Ponta da Ferraria.

Brief tour of the São Miguel Monasteries

The vacancies come in with more vigor than was supposed. They overly agitate the flow of the pool closed by the configuration of the lava slab.

Even so, we cling to the ropes that cross it as if we were on a table football under a deluge. As other bathers did, instead of just relaxing, we had fun with the vagaries of the swell.

The sun was descending before our eyes. Under the pressure of the fast sunset, we returned to the path, barely dry, salty but with faith in what the Monasteries would reveal to us.

The detour to the village meanders from the main road and down the slope. In one of the meanders, beyond a thriving reedbed, its houses surprise us.

São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

The target houses of Mosteiros, arranged on a vast slab full of vegetation.

It extends from the opposite end of the large slab to the black sandy cove. This last bay announces the rock formations that inspired the local toponymy.

Dozens of surfers enjoy the vigorous swell under the eyes of some young residents who appreciate their movements.

On the beach, bathers from all over the world are sunning themselves while, at last, the great star dissolves below the horizon.

Mosteiros Beach, São Miguel Island, Dazzling Colors by Nature

A duo of surfers converses with the twilight taking care of Mosteiros beach.

The “monasteries” – large black rock sculptures projecting from the translucent sea – invited the darkness. Twenty minutes later, we were as at the end of the energies and discovery of São Miguel as the day.

 

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Ponta Delgada, São Miguel (Azores), Azores

The Great Azorean City

During the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, Ponta Delgada became the most populous city and the economic and administrative capital of the Azores. There we find the history and modernism of the archipelago hand in hand.
Vale das Furnas, São Miguel (Azores)

The Azorean Heat of Vale das Furnas

We were surprised, on the biggest island of the Azores, with a caldera cut by small farms, massive and deep to the point of sheltering two volcanoes, a huge lagoon and almost two thousand people from São Miguel. Few places in the archipelago are, at the same time, as grand and welcoming as the green and steaming Vale das Furnas.
Horta, Azores

The City that Gives the North to the Atlantic

The world community of sailors is well aware of the relief and happiness of seeing the Pico Mountain, and then Faial and the welcoming of Horta Bay and Peter Café Sport. The rejoicing does not stop there. In and around the city, there are white houses and a green and volcanic outpouring that dazzles those who have come so far.
Capelinhos Volcano, Faial, Azores

On the trail of the Capelinhos Mistery

From one coast of the island to the opposite one, through the mists, patches of pasture and forests typical of the Azores, we discover Faial and the Mystery of its most unpredictable volcano.
Graciosa, Azores

Her Grace the Graciosa

Finally, we will disembark in Graciosa, our ninth island in the Azores. Even if less dramatic and verdant than its neighbors, Graciosa preserves an Atlantic charm that is its own. Those who have the privilege of living it, take from this island of the central group an esteem that remains forever.
Corvo, Azores

The Improbable Atlantic Shelter of Corvo Island

17 km2 of a volcano sunk in a verdant caldera. A solitary village based on a fajã. Four hundred and thirty souls snuggled by the smallness of their land and the glimpse of their neighbor Flores. Welcome to the most fearless of the Azorean islands.
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From Fajã to Fajã

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The Island East of the Pico Mountain

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Heroina do Mar, from Noble People, Brave and Immortal City

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From the "Little Portuguese Tibet" to the Corn Presidia

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From Castro de Laboreiro to Raia da Serra Peneda - Gerês

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At the height of the Annapurnas Circuit

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For Those Becoming Internet Sick

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The Suzdal Cucumber Celebrations

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The Tabanca of Mandinga Poets Musicians

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Sport
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The Football the Australians Rule

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Traveling
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From Nightmare to Dazzle

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A Saeraghi Young Singers Gala

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portfolio, Got2Globe, Travel photography, images, best photographs, travel photos, world, Earth
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
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History
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A Gold Rush Legacy

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The Japanese Invasion of Hawaii

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Winter White
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Literature
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On the Trail of "Crime and Punishment"

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Nature
Okavango Delta, Botswana

Not all rivers reach the sea

Third longest river in southern Africa, the Okavango rises in the Angolan Bié plateau and runs 1600km to the southeast. It gets lost in the Kalahari Desert where it irrigates a dazzling wetland teeming with wildlife.
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Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

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The Island of Fire, Ice and Waterfalls

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UNESCO World Heritage
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On the way to the Annapurnas Even Higher Lands

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In elevator kimono, Osaka, Japan
Characters
Osaka, Japan

In the Company of Mayu

Japanese nightlife is a multi-faceted, multi-billion business. In Osaka, an enigmatic couchsurfing hostess welcomes us, somewhere between the geisha and the luxury escort.
Princess Yasawa Cruise, Maldives
Beaches
Maldives

Cruise the Maldives, among Islands and Atolls

Brought from Fiji to sail in the Maldives, Princess Yasawa has adapted well to new seas. As a rule, a day or two of itinerary is enough for the genuineness and delight of life on board to surface.
Religion
Lhasa, Tibet

When Buddhism Tires of Meditation

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Flam Railway composition below a waterfall, Norway.
On Rails
Nesbyen to Flam, Norway

Flam Railway: Sublime Norway from the First to the Last Station

By road and aboard the Flam Railway, on one of the steepest railway routes in the world, we reach Flam and the entrance to the Sognefjord, the largest, deepest and most revered of the Scandinavian fjords. From the starting point to the last station, this monumental Norway that we have unveiled is confirmed.
Women with long hair from Huang Luo, Guangxi, China
Society
Longsheng, China

Huang Luo: the Chinese Village of the Longest Hairs

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Fruit sellers, Swarm, Mozambique
Daily life
Enxame Mozambique

Mozambican Fashion Service Area

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PN Tortuguero, Costa Rica, public boat
Wildlife
PN Tortuguero, Costa Rica

The Flooded Costa Rica of Tortuguero

The Caribbean Sea and the basins of several rivers bathe the northeast of the Tica nation, one of the wettest and richest areas in flora and fauna in Central America. Named after the green turtles nest in its black sands, Tortuguero stretches inland for 312 km.2 of stunning aquatic jungle.
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Scenic Flights
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

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