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.
São Jorge, Azores

From Fajã to Fajã

In the Azores, strips of habitable land at the foot of large cliffs abound. No other island has as many fajãs as the more than 70 in the slender and elevated São Jorge. It was in them that the jorgenses settled. Their busy Atlantic lives rest on them.
Pico Island, Azores

The Island East of the Pico Mountain

As a rule, whoever arrives at Pico disembarks on its western side, with the volcano (2351m) blocking the view on the opposite side. Behind Pico Mountain, there is a whole long and dazzling “east” of the island that takes time to unravel.
Angra do Heroismo, Terceira (Azores), Azores

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

Angra do Heroísmo is much more than the historic capital of the Azores, Terceira Island and, on two occasions, Portugal. 1500km from the mainland, it gained a leading role in Portuguese nationality and independence that few other cities can boast.
Sistelo, Peneda-Gerês, Portugal

From the "Little Portuguese Tibet" to the Corn Presidia

We leave the cliffs of Srª da Peneda, heading for Arcos de ValdeVez and the villages that an erroneous imaginary dubbed Little Portuguese Tibet. From these terraced villages, we pass by others famous for guarding, as golden and sacred treasures, the ears they harvest. Whimsical, the route reveals the resplendent nature and green fertility of these lands in Peneda-Gerês.
Castro Laboreiro, Portugal  

From Castro de Laboreiro to Raia da Serra Peneda - Gerês

We arrived at (i) the eminence of Galicia, at an altitude of 1000m and even more. Castro Laboreiro and the surrounding villages stand out against the granite monumentality of the mountains and the Planalto da Peneda and Laboreiro. As do its resilient people who, sometimes handed over to Brandas and sometimes to Inverneiras, still call these stunning places home.
Terceira Island, Azores

Terceira Island: Journey through a Unique Archipelago of the Azores

It was called the Island of Jesus Christ and has radiated, for a long time, the cult of the Holy Spirit. It houses Angra do Heroísmo, the oldest and most splendid city in the archipelago. These are just two examples. The attributes that make Terceira island unique are endless.
Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, Wildlife, lions
Safari
NP Gorongosa, Mozambique

The Wild Heart of Mozambique shows Signs of Life

Gorongosa was home to one of the most exuberant ecosystems in Africa, but from 1980 to 1992 it succumbed to the Civil War waged between FRELIMO and RENAMO. Greg Carr, Voice Mail's millionaire inventor received a message from the Mozambican ambassador to the UN challenging him to support Mozambique. For the good of the country and humanity, Carr pledged to resurrect the stunning national park that the Portuguese colonial government had created there.
Aurora lights up the Pisang Valley, Nepal.
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 3rd- Upper Banana, Nepal

An Unexpected Snowy Aurora

At the first glimmers of light, the sight of the white mantle that had covered the village during the night dazzles us. With one of the toughest walks on the Annapurna Circuit ahead of us, we postponed the match as much as possible. Annoyed, we left Upper Pisang towards Escort when the last snow faded.
Alaskan Lumberjack Show Competition, Ketchikan, Alaska, USA
Architecture & Design
Ketchikan, Alaska

Here begins Alaska

The reality goes unnoticed in most of the world, but there are two Alaskas. In urban terms, the state is inaugurated in the south of its hidden frying pan handle, a strip of land separated from the contiguous USA along the west coast of Canada. Ketchikan, is the southernmost of Alaskan cities, its Rain Capital and the Salmon Capital of the World.
Adventure
Boat Trips

For Those Becoming Internet Sick

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self-flagellation, passion of christ, philippines
Ceremonies and Festivities
Marinduque, Philippines

The Philippine Passion of Christ

No nation around is Catholic but many Filipinos are not intimidated. In Holy Week, they surrender to the belief inherited from the Spanish colonists. Self-flagellation becomes a bloody test of faith
Colored Nationalism
Cities
Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

The Desired City

Many treasures passed through Cartagena before being handed over to the Spanish Crown - more so than the pirates who tried to plunder them. Today, the walls protect a majestic city always ready to "rumbear".
Singapore Asian Capital Food, Basmati Bismi
Meal
Singapore

The Asian Food Capital

There were 4 ethnic groups in Singapore, each with its own culinary tradition. Added to this was the influence of thousands of immigrants and expatriates on an island with half the area of ​​London. It was the nation with the greatest gastronomic diversity in the Orient.
Gothic couple
Culture

Matarraña to Alcanar, Spain (España)

A Medieval Spain

Traveling through the lands of Aragon and Valencia, we come across towers and detached battlements of houses that fill the slopes. Mile after kilometer, these visions prove to be as anachronistic as they are fascinating.

Reindeer Racing, Kings Cup, Inari, Finland
Sport
Inari, Finland

The Wackiest Race on the Top of the World

Finland's Lapps have been competing in the tow of their reindeer for centuries. In the final of the Kings Cup - Porokuninkuusajot - , they face each other at great speed, well above the Arctic Circle and well below zero.
Braga or Braka or Brakra in Nepal
Traveling
Annapurna Circuit: 6th – Braga, Nepal

The Ancient Nepal of Braga

Four days of walking later, we slept at 3.519 meters from Braga (Braka). Upon arrival, only the name is familiar to us. Faced with the mystical charm of the town, arranged around one of the oldest and most revered Buddhist monasteries on the Annapurna circuit, we continued our journey there. acclimatization with ascent to Ice Lake (4620m).
deep valley, terraced rice, batad, philippines
Ethnic
Batad, Philippines

The Terraces that Sustain the Philippines

Over 2000 years ago, inspired by their rice god, the Ifugao people tore apart the slopes of Luzon. The cereal that the indigenous people grow there still nourishes a significant part of the country.
ice tunnel, black gold route, Valdez, Alaska, USA
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

Sensations vs Impressions

Sydney, Australia's exemplary criminal city, Harbor Bridge
History
Sydney, Australia

From the Exile of Criminals to an Exemplary City

The first of the Australian colonies was built by exiled inmates. Today, Sydney's Aussies boast former convicts of their family tree and pride themselves on the cosmopolitan prosperity of the megalopolis they inhabit.
Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores
Islands
Santa Maria, Azores

Santa Maria: the Azores Mother Island

It was the first in the archipelago to emerge from the bottom of the sea, the first to be discovered, the first and only to receive Cristovão Colombo and a Concorde. These are some of the attributes that make Santa Maria special. When we visit it, we find many more.
Northern Lights, Laponia, Rovaniemi, Finland, Fire Fox
Winter White
Lapland, Finland

In Search of the Fire Fox

Unique to the heights of the Earth are the northern or southern auroras, light phenomena generated by solar explosions. You Sami natives from Lapland they believed it to be a fiery fox that spread sparkles in the sky. Whatever they are, not even the nearly 30 degrees below zero that were felt in the far north of Finland could deter us from admiring them.
shadow vs light
Literature
Kyoto, Japan

The Kyoto Temple Reborn from the Ashes

The Golden Pavilion has been spared destruction several times throughout history, including that of US-dropped bombs, but it did not withstand the mental disturbance of Hayashi Yoken. When we admired him, he looked like never before.
Train Kuranda train, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Nature
Cairns-Kuranda, Australia

Train to the Middle of the Jungle

Built out of Cairns to save miners isolated in the rainforest from starvation by flooding, the Kuranda Railway eventually became the livelihood of hundreds of alternative Aussies.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Faithful light candles, Milarepa Grotto temple, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Natural Parks
Annapurna Circuit: 9th Manang to Milarepa Cave, Nepal

A Walk between Acclimatization and Pilgrimage

In full Annapurna Circuit, we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). we still need acclimatize to the higher stretches that followed, we inaugurated an equally spiritual journey to a Nepalese cave of Milarepa (4000m), the refuge of a siddha (sage) and Buddhist saint.
Bridgetown, City of Bridge and capital of Barbados, beach
UNESCO World Heritage
Bridgetown, Barbados

Barbados' "The City" of the Bridge

Originally founded and named "Indian Bridge" beside a foul-smelling swamp, the capital of Barbados has evolved into the capital of the British Windward Isles. Barbadians call it “The City”. It is the hometown of the far more famous Rihanna.
Characters
Look-alikes, Actors and Extras

Make-believe stars

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Santa Maria, Sal Island, Cape Verde, Landing
Beaches
Santa Maria, Sal Island, Cape Verde

Santa Maria and the Atlantic Blessing of Sal

Santa Maria was founded in the first half of the XNUMXth century, as a salt export warehouse. Today, thanks to the providence of Santa Maria, Sal Ilha is worth much more than the raw material.
Vairocana Buddha, Todai ji Temple, Nara, Japan
Religion
Nara, Japan

The Colossal Cradle of the Japanese Buddhism

Nara has long since ceased to be the capital and its Todai-ji temple has been demoted. But the Great Hall remains the largest ancient wooden building in the world. And it houses the greatest bronze Vairocana Buddha.
white pass yukon train, Skagway, Gold Route, Alaska, USA
On Rails
Skagway, Alaska

A Klondike's Gold Fever Variant

The last great American gold rush is long over. These days, hundreds of cruise ships each summer pour thousands of well-heeled visitors into the shop-lined streets of Skagway.
Kogi, PN Tayrona, Guardians of the World, Colombia
Society
PN Tayrona, Colombia

Who Protects the Guardians of the World?

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Busy intersection of Tokyo, Japan
Daily life
Tokyo, Japan

The Endless Night of the Rising Sun Capital

Say that Tokyo do not sleep is an understatement. In one of the largest and most sophisticated cities on the face of the Earth, twilight marks only the renewal of the frenetic daily life. And there are millions of souls that either find no place in the sun, or make more sense in the “dark” and obscure turns that follow.
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Wildlife
Alice Springs to Darwin, Australia

Stuart Road, on its way to Australia's Top End

Do Red Center to the tropical Top End, the Stuart Highway road travels more than 1.500km lonely through Australia. Along this route, the Northern Territory radically changes its look but remains faithful to its rugged soul.
Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps

In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.