We had been looking for paradisiacal places in the antipodes and found them, although it took countless flight hours, endless stopovers and big-pocket budgets. We didn’t think about having a closer look nearer to home, but now we know better. The Azores is within easy reach of Europe and offers verdant lands and rich coastlines full of exuberant life. This is our story of finding a paradise only a few hours away but still having all the adventure you could wish for.
Words Emilio Galindo and María Andrés
// Photos Miguel Rezendes and Miqueas Muñoz / MQ Photos
The Discovery
In the past we had the opportunity to visit the Azores, but only quickly; passing by, we never had the time to explore the islands. The locals kept saying: “you should take your time here, it’s amazing, there are craters, blue and green lagoons in the mountains, where you can go cruising with SUP or windsurfing. There are rivers, boiling water lagoons where you can take a bath at any time of the year. After surfing all day long in perfect waves, you can relax with the starlight in midwinter with your friends, inside a jungle of giant ferns…”. Obviously we thought they were overselling the place and we didn´t pay much attention. So, this past winter, discussing where to go for a trip, one of the Azorean islands, Sao Miguel, came up in the list of possible destinations. According to our Azorean friends, Sao Miguel is the island that possesses all the charms of the archipelago and, therefore, would be a great place for our 10 day expedition. After a direct flight from Lisbon we arrived at Ponta Delgada. We had to improvise. We didn’t have a plan and we didn’t know where to look for good conditions but our friends assured us they would be our guides and partners in the adventure!
Adventurers of the Atlantic
Sabone, who had shared stories about the island with us before and inspired the trip, was keen to show us his favourite places and we were grateful to be in the hands of a true adventurer. At only 19 years old he sailed from Azores to Lisbon and Azores to Madeira in a Hobie Cat, without food, no stopping, no support and without telling his family. With a mate like him, our trip was off to a good start! Living in an island in the middle of the Atlantic, and being sports lovers, it is easy to understand that the inhabitants of the Azores live their life inspired by and playing in the Ocean. It is a fisherman’s land and the island also hosts international surf, body board and triathlon events. It’s also a stopping place for travellers and adventurers, and because of this, is a meeting place for all kind of cultures and characters – the crazy, fearless and brilliant all find a place here to call home.
A living life island
The Azores seem to breathe with their own rhythm and one you soon find yourself moving to. Maybe it is because how close to nature you feel here. The forests couldn’t be more lush and leafy, the cliffs come from the sea and climb up vertical to the sky. The island is full of green, wild flowers colour the fields, and hill after hill, the paths draw lines between the multicolour colonial houses in the villages. Each town has a church that dominates the skyline, not so big but beautiful and built with black volcanic rocks. The clouds are passing by, loaded and powerful; some of them get stuck in the higher points of the backgrounds, adding to the drama and ambience. We visit many of the “lagoas”. Each crater in this island, and there are so many, has a lagoon. The colours are almost fluorescent, as if the rain was pulling the green of the vegetation downhill and the water was an iridescent potion of emerald light. With the sunlight, it seemed that a spotlight was turned on in the bottom of the crater; it was so impressive and unreal. Driving on some lanes, we saw thin columns of white smoke coming out of the forest or between houses. They are hot spots or boilers. In some places it heats rivers, lagoons or even the open sea, so the people take advantage of this, building natural hot baths. In Furnas, we couldn’t believe our eyes. Between the village streets there are boiling waters, and coming out of the walls, taps of hot water. Even soda in some of them! Always with a strong iron flavour, and the locals say full of beneficial health properties. These places are meeting points, where people fill bottles with soda, or bring their pot to take a coffee or a tea made with water boiled by the earth!
Exploring the coast
The first time that we rigged our sails and we got into the water was in Caloura. We took advantage of a 10 knots breeze to explore on our windsup’s the beautiful coves. We got down to the shore by a stone stair that skirted a cliff, and we arrived to a black sand beach, sheltered by vertical dark red rocks, which with the green clear water, made a contrast like a Hawaiian postcard. The caves are equally incredible, huge caverns with ceilings like domes. For this reason Caloura became our favourite spot for cruising, even with so many places for exploring we came back here three times such was its lure! Also located in the south is Sao Roué village with its own enchantments. It has humble houses but all of them looking at the sea and painted with pastel colours, saint images adorning each entrance and an impressive colonial church on the cliff to complete the interesting views. Sao Roque beach is also well known for waves with hollow left handers on offer in south swells, which are more predominant in summertime and a port tack side shore wind prevails for windsurfing. On the northwest coast we travelled to Mosteiros. It is the place to enjoy sunsets and marvel at cliffs, islets with impossible geometric shapes, sea caves and canals that make you dream. If you have travelled with your SUP board, go paddle a calm day in Mosteiros, it is a wonderful experience!
Next stop, just south of Mosteiros, and a place you cannot miss, is Ferrarías beneath a lava hillside. At the end of the day, if it’s low tide, Ferrarías will offer you a warm bath in the open sea, between the rocks and under the cliff. If the low tide time allows you can even take it while looking at the stars at night. When the tide is high, the heat of the rocks is not enough to raise the temperature of the extra water volume.
Searching for the wind and waves
We were lucky to score several days of north swell on the north coast, at Santa Barbara beach, close to Ribera Grande; never big waves but fun nonetheless. That is the spot for wave riding; it works with different wind directions, starboard tack and port tack so a versatile spot. The beach is long, sandy, and with a bight under a beautiful cliff. When the sun sets in the sea, the coast turns orange, misty and the water glows in reddish oil sheens; surfing at sunset here is a gift. Near the parking spot and close to the rocks, there are powerful rights; more to the left, in front of the bight, you have some peaks breaking on both sides and good lefts, but more mushy. One day the wind woke us up blowing hard, and our local friends already had a plan for us go windsurfing on the east edge of the island, Faial da Terra. So we quickly got ready and after a couple of hours driving we were staring at astonishing cliffs in the most isolated place you can imagine, in the middle of nothing! And it was windy! Faial da Terra allowed us to enjoy a long session in its waters, with some waves rolling in occasionally. The locals told us that this spot with swell is something incredible, totally different. And by that time we were starting to believe their stories! From the water, this vertical massive cliff full of vegetation and flowers and the lights and rainbows made us feel like in a far away paradise, like in Tahiti… and we were just a few hours from home… San Miguel, what a place! Our local friends told us that we were the first foreigners to windsurf there… I don’t know this for sure, but what I do know is that to get there was very hard! Little roads turning and twisting until becoming near vertical with the van hardly driving, more rolling downhill! What a road!
Windsurfing in the interior: the “lagoas”
Driving through the lanes in our rental Ford Transit van with our local friends, we come to the most unusual places, but they are not hidden or anything, they are on the map, and very well marked! So getting to them is very simple. We visited the Lagoa do Furnas, and it was windy, perfect for free riding, so we rigged our sails with our wave SUP’s to sail the lagoon from one side to the other, in front of a lonely baroque church, made of black rocks and abandoned just in the shore of the lagoon. Furnas is the town with the hot water and soda so after the lagoon visit, we went there to take a look and buy Furnas bread. As it’s made of iron water, they say that it tastes like wine, and it’s true!
The next lagoa that we visited was “Sete Cidades”. It is the biggest crater of the island, with a town inside! It’s said that some of the inhabitants have never seen the sea, we don’t know if this is true, but inside this huge crater with 300m tall walls, they have their own sea! The lagoon is divided in two, one with blue waters and the other one green. The legend says that they have been formed from the tears of two lovers, a princess and a shepherd, with the eyes of those colours. Within the crater there is a micro climate. Clouds often park there so it can be a few degrees colder in temperature. So the best advice is to look at the sky before you go up, because if you can visit it without the clouds, it is amazing! We visited Sete Cidades in days that seemed like a winter storm, windsurfing with 4.7 and full wetsuits; but also shining sun days, with glassy waters. The wind is super gusty here, but so strong, due to the high walls of the crater, and it’s perfect for slalom or freestyle. The experience of windsurfing inside a volcano is really unique and well worth trying!
A bath in the boilers is the best experience that can happen to you after a long day of windsurfing. Tired and with cold in our bodies, we reached Caldeira Velha through a wild botanical garden path, passing steaming water ferns you could start to feel the uplifting effects! When a waterway is fortunate enough to run into a hot spot, then the water is heated, almost boiling, and is channelled through a small trail of rocks to a pool that renews it with warmer water, letting the excess go down again to the natural channel. And you are there, inside, in the middle of a beautiful tropical forest, watching the sky and all kinds of plants. Quietly, just in the level of the steaming surface, all the tiredness of the day dissipates and you get out with your feet not touching the ground, like flying, as if under a spell.
Thanks friends!
Our trip was coming to an end and it was so nice to see how our friends enjoyed showing us their island. Thanks to Luis, Miguel and Sabone for your advice, help and company. We were lucky to meet such special people, who enjoyed the trip as much as we did. Thank you for your interest and especially for the quality time we spent together. We hope someday to show you our area, as well as you did yours 🙂 We were sad to leave, but happy to have came; grateful and blessed to have had the experience. And yes, San Miguel, right there in front of Lisbon, is a Paradise!
Essential information
Flights:
Several flights a day leave from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada with low cost airlines. Watch out with the weight of the board bags, with Ryanair maximum is 23kg and with Easyjet 32kgs.
Car rental:
This one is not so cheap, but considering the relatively inexpensive price of the flight, that helps offset the extra cost. A car is essential to enjoy the island, discover every corner and always enjoy being in the right place at the right moment.
Season:
In Winter time the predominant swell is North, in Summer time the South. Wind can be unpredictable; the best bet is to go with the forecast checked, waiting for windguru to be red before going.
Where to sleep:
There are rental houses, b&b’s and hotels to suit all tastes and prices. Our favourite area for relaxation was the south, near Caloura. To be in town, near the highway, to quickly drive to where you want to visit (or for chasing the wind and waves!), the best is Ponta Delgada. Ribeira Grande is also a very good choice, next to surf spots in the North and very well connected, it is the second largest city in the island; in the past it was the capital, with lovely facades and city streets.
Not to miss!
The boilers! – Ferrarias and Caldeira Velha were our favourites.
Temperatures:
From spring, the weather is good, but take your shorty. The temperatures can feel quite fresh, especially in the craters and lagoons. However, the advantage of not going in summer is very interesting; you’ll enjoy amazing rides around places without any tourists!
Good and cheap food:
Quinta de Açores is something like a local McDonald’s, but only organic and quality ingredients, and a thousand times better! Or you can try the TukáTulá, to eat right in front of the Santa Barbara surf spot. And also go to any local bar where fish, meat and cheese will always be a good choice.
