First Stop Sao Miquel Island in the Azores and a packed week. We viewed beautiful landscapes, swam in incredible places and watched dolphins, whales and a lot of cows!
- Sete Cidaes – One lake is blue and the other is green
- Ponta Delgada
- The island can be best described as Switzerland meets, Hawaii and Costa Rica. From rolling hilly pastureland to jungle-like hiking trails.
- We swam at Ponta da Ferraria surrounded by lava rock where the ocean water is warmed by geothermal a spring beneath.
Tips
1.) Whale Watching: The cost for the one we went on was $65/pp. and was Picos de Aventura. Bring rain gear as you will get wet on the catamaran, water shoes and bincos. Sperm whales can be seen all year round and dolphins often. Other migrating whales April to June.
2. ) Poca Da Dona Beija Spa: Located in Furnas, this is a spa that is heated by natural thermal springs. A relaxing couple of hours and is worth the trip. Must make reservations, bring a towel and wear sandals. Changing rooms are available and cold show rinse.
3.) Vila Franca do Campo: A town on the south side of the island where you can take a ferry out to a submerged volcanic crater to swim and snorkel. Cost is $10/ea. for Ferry and $10/snorkel equipment. Cool experience. We were told the Red Bull cliff diving championships are held there.
4.) Caldeira da Sete Cidades: Go to the Vista do Rei viewpoint and hike to the overlook. Hint: right before the end of the overlook, go under the fence to other viewpoints. You will see people out there. Walk to the points, vertigo experience, great views and pictures. Will freak you out alittle! The other, more popular, Sete Cidades lake is busier, hard to park. Visit in the afternoon, as sky’s are clearer
Other notables:
- A little bit of a language barrier and Portuguese is hard to understand
- If your cell phone service does not work on the islands, get a eSim card at the airport or mall in Ponta Delegada. Need to have your passport
- Customs easy to go through
- If you have not been driving manual transmission all of your life. GET AN AUTOMATIC CAR! A lot of up and down hills that are very steep!!
- Geeky Explorer is a great site for daily itineraries
- Going out is relatively inexpensive
- Pico do Barrosa and Logos do Fogo are bus access only and you have to take the green and red bus to access the entire location