Hiking Our A**es Off in the Azores

After spending most of the summer relaxing at home with family and friends, we packed up and headed to Europe. Our journey started with a couple of weeks in the Azores. The Azores is an archipelago of nine volcanic islands in the mid-Atlantic, halfway between Newfoundland and Portugal. They are known mainly for cows (there are two for every person), fishing and, for visitors, abundant hiking and whale-watching. We visited three islands, each unique.

São Miguel

We landed in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel island, at 7 a.m., fourteen hours after leaving home. As we disembarked, there was a distinct barnyard scent, an aroma that would stay with us throughout our stay on São Miguel. Cattle rule the island.

We spent our first jet-lagged day wandering the well-preserved streets of Ponta Delgada. After that our days were spent touring the island, including at least one, sometimes two hikes, per day. The Azores are famous for hiking. Trails are well-marked (mostly!) and the tourism website includes detailed maps and gpx downloads of all the official trails.

Sete Cidades Caldera

We started with the most popular hike, an 8 km hike around the rim of the Sete Cidades caldera, with the twin lakes of Lagoa Verde and Lagoa Azul (Green Lake and Blue Lake) at its centre. The trail was hedged with colourful hydrangeas (they’re everywhere on São Miguel). Herds of cows (also everywhere) scrutinized us from the mountain pastures.

The last kilometre was a steep 200m descent into the village of Sete Cidades. The map implied that there was a bus back to our starting point at Vista do Rei. We should have known from the sad looks on the faces of hikers going past us uphill that something was amiss. There is a bus stop in Sete Cidades – just no buses. Our options were to re-trace our route; walk 6 kms up a busy road in 29 degree heat; or, climb up a vertical trail (non-existent as it turned out) recommended by Google Maps. A friendly local wisely suggested a taxi.

For the rest of the week we opted for circular hiking routes so we knew we’d finish where we started. São Miguel is small, only 65 km by 15 km, so we were able to explore the whole island at a relaxed pace, and sample hikes in every area.

Thanks to all the cattle, store shelves overflow with an abundance of cheeses, more varieties from nine small islands than all of Canada produces. Most evenings, George indulged his love of cheese with a tábua de queijos washed down by local wine.

As relaxing as the pace on São Miguel is, we left sleep-deprived. Our hotel in Ponta Delgada was in the beautiful historic quarter, a block off the main square. We loved the ambience early in the week. Then came the annual four-day Beer Fest in the square. The square was packed with revelers every night. Blaring techno music rattled our windows from early evening until three or four every morning.

Terceira

Our second island was Terceira. We had an apartment in the capital, Angra do Heroísmo. We have experienced lots of strange design and décor in accommodations. This one was up there. The feature wall was covered in faux grass, with large photographs of people from the island; a massive photo of a horse’s head adorned the bedroom; more faux grass covered the kitchen wall. Despite its quirky décor, we loved it. We were in an old neighbourhood of narrow streets and solid stone houses; local women sat on doorsteps or leaned out through windows chatting.

A popular activity for locals and tourists alike is hiking Monte Brasil, a dormant volcano on a peninsula overlooking the town. It started out as an easy walk. It quickly became a grueling 8 km hike up and down rocky 200 m hillsides. A good workout and the views did not disappoint.

Highest Point on the Island – Serra de Santa Bárbara

We hiked every day but one. The day we missed we had planned to hike near the highest point on Terceira – Serra de Santa Bárbara.  Views are meant to be spectacular. However, within minutes of turning off the main road, we were climbing into the clouds on a narrow, rutted, winding dirt road. By the time we made it to the thousand metre summit, visibility was nil. Fun drive. Not much to see though! We abandoned the idea of hiking and instead drove back down to the coast, bought some fresh salmon from a terrific fishmonger and headed home for a feast.

Terceira is known for its many Imperios – chapels dedicated to the holy spirit. Every town and village has one. Imperios are typically small and painted in bright, often gaudy, colours. They’re definitely eye-catching.

Despite being surrounded by water, Terceira has few beaches. Spectacular volcanic cliffs, yes. Beaches, no. The north coast town of Biscoitos has an ingenious solution. They have created a swimming facility amidst the jagged lava outcroppings. They’ve installed barriers against the powerful Atlantic waves, and built cement paths between the pools to provide access to the different pools, and platforms for sunbathing. We’d neglected to take our swimwear, so could only watch the crowds enjoy the cooling waters.

Terceira’s acclaimed Ramo Grande cattle are bred especially for their succulent beef. On our last night we spoiled ourselves with a half-kilo bone-in rib-eye at one of Angra do Heroísmo’s best-known steak restaurants. Decadent!

Graciosa

The smallest island we visited was Graciosa, only 10 km by 7 km. We weren’t sure if we’d get there, and once there, not sure if we’d get off. Powerful winds from the outer bands of Hurricane Erin buffeted the island, preventing flights from landing. Our scheduled 25-minute flight from Terceira turned into an all-day waiting game at the airport. Late in the day, flights were finally given the go ahead. We lost a full day, but at least the rest of our visit was not impacted.

Graciosa is known as the White Island, as most houses are painted white. Our apartment was in a traditional old home on the main square of the capital, Santa Cruz da Graciosa. There were very few tourists. Walking the main streets of the town took fifteen minutes. The predominant activity for locals was sitting in sidewalk cafes on the square enjoying coffee or beer. Of course, we felt obliged to join them.

We rented a car to see the rest of the island. We drove up, down and around pretty much every road, and still only clocked 73 kms on the car. Fishing and farming are the main industries. The outlying hamlets have few services. The only option for coffee was the Casas do Povo, literally “People’s Houses” – community centres where everyone congregates.

Furna do Enxofre

Despite being only 60 square kms, Graciosa has a massive volcanic caldera – the Caldeira da Ilha Graciosa, and 55 smaller volcanic domes. A unique experience is descending a 40 m circular flight of stairs deep into the Furna do Enxofre, a lava cave at the bottom of the caldeira. Due to the lack of light, it was hard to take pictures of the sulfurous lake and pools boiling with hot mud. Despite the park ranger’s assurance we should ignore them, the loud sirens warning of dangerous carbon dioxide levels were unnerving. We took some comfort from the fact that the resident flocks of birds seemed impervious to the CO² concentrations.

Besides the volcanos, the other dominant feature of the island is its countless derelict windmills. They are around every corner. Some are falling into the ground, but many have been beautifully preserved to maintain the history of the island. Some have been converted to private homes or rental accommodations.