Azores - The North Coast

Just as Beautiful
We took a drive along the north coast later in the week.

Azores - Up the Volcano

Trekking Along the Caldera's Edge

When you live in a caldera and decide to take a hike, you eventually have to go up.  We chose a route that took us up to the edge of the caldera, along it and back down.  It was about 8 miles in total.

Azores - Home

Lakeside inside the Caldera
Our cabin was located in a small village called Sete Cidades near a bridge that bisects two large lakes inside the caldera of a large volcano on the western tip of the island.

Azores - Fighting Jetlag

And Mostly Winning
Our flight left Boston at 10pm and four and a half hours later with a five hour time shift, it was breakfast time when we landed.  We had to stall for time since we couldn't check into our cabin until 4pm.  We picked up our rental car - a Smart - the latest model, which is super sporty and would come in handy on the hairpin roads.  We headed to the western edge of the island to a natural hot springs called Termas de Ferraria.

Azores - First Impressions

Flowers, Cows and Greenery
The Azores are nine volcanic islands at the intersection of three tectonic plates 800 miles from Portugal.  Measured from the sea floor, they're some of the tallest mountains on the planet.  We visited the largest island, Sao Miguel, which is approximately 30 miles long and ten miles wide.  The top five industries are agricultural - tourism is not in the top ten.  It's a stunningly verdant, beautiful place.

Azores - Up Coming Trip

Hiking and Volcanoes
The last time I was in the Azores it was unplanned.  I was flying TAP from Lisbon to NY and we made an emergency landing there.  This time, it's on purpose.  We're flying direct from Boston on July 11th.  If you want to fly from NY, you have to go to Lisbon first then fly back....