I left Coimbra with the 6:15 bus and arrived in Lisbon airport at 8:30. I didn't have much with me; I was planning to just sleep outside in the nature with only my sleeping bag and no tent, either under a tree or if things went bad at the fire station. So my plane left a really hot and sunny, though always windy, Lisbon at 10:30 and arrived in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel's main city at 12:10 local time which is 1 hour behind continental Portugal. As soon as I got out of the airport I started heading west towards Lagoa das Sete Cidades, however being it 4 hours walking distance I decided to stop and try to catch a hitchhike; after many cars and 40 minutes later a car of 2 spanish guys and 2 italian girls stopped to pick me up. Luisa, Serena, Sergio and Carlos; little did I know that they weren't just going to leave me at Sete Cidades but that they would be my companions for the whole trip. So after introductions I told them I was visiting alone, while they told me they were Erasmus students studying in Viana do Castelo. After 20 minutes and very close to Sete Cidades, we reached an abandoned hotel where we stopped and started exploring the ruined rooms and halls. Apart from it being totally destroyed with walls and ceilings crumbling, the view from it was amazing: right below us was the Miradouro da Vista do Rei, but from up here the view of the lakes was even better. Unfortunately it was very cloudy, apparently very common here, and a kind of fog/haze was covering most of the panorama, a kind of Silent Hill setting.. Still we could see the lakes and it was amazing, I can imagine with a cloudless and sunny day how it would've looked like! We got back in the car while it was starting to rain and headed down a winding road reaching the lakeside. The water looked green on both lakes, even though one is called Verde, or green, while the other one is Azul, or blue. They are divided by a nice looking bridge, and huge fish sometimes jump out of the water. We parked the car and started walking along the shore; first we took a few pictures from the bridge and the we headed around Lagoa Verde. The surroundings were beautiful and a great sense of peace lingered in the air, it felt great and the sides of the volcano all around gave it a sense of closed space.
After that we still had some time left so we decided to head towards the western coast and made a stop at the Ponta do Escalvado which had a great Miradouro overlooking the sea cliffs ad the village of Mosteiros. The sun was out and I decided to head down a little path running on top of a cliff, though as soon as I reached the edge a flock of seagulls rose up and started flying around, one came squawking really close and a second later I was covered in bird poop... apparently they had their nests there and I had disturbed them. So I went back to the car with stain all over the only sweater I had; having still some time we decided to head down to Ponta da Ferraria. We parked the car after a tremendously treacherous road and walked down to the ''sea pools''; on a board it said that since they were right above a volcanic spring on low tide the water temperature was 28 C while on high tide it was 18. Unfortunately it was high tide so the water was pretty cold, nonetheless I decided take a swim joined by the guys while the girls just stood outside. After drying out and changing back into our clothes we decided to find a place to sleep while there was still light. I told the others to just leave me in Sete Cidades but they kindly insisted I join them at least for that night. So we drove along the coast heading east to get closer to the places we would visit the next day. We reached a village called Capelas where, after looking around we found an amazing spot, right at the edge of a cliff under which huge waves crashed. After setting up the tent we headed to a local bar/café, the only one in the area, to have dinner and of course charge our phones. So we all got something to eat (I got hamburger with fries) and laughed when we heard the owner speak Portuguese with the funny azorean accent. Our phones were charged and it was time to go to sleep, when we reached the tent spot I told the others I would just set up my sleeping bag next to the tent but they told be I could fit between the tent and the tent cover that created a small area. So I set myself there deciding to keep my lower body sticking out; however a few hours later I woke up because it had started raining, so I pulled my legs back in and laid horizontally, covered by the tent cover. After a while the rain intensified and was much stronger, and I was sure I would end up drenched; however it stopped and after another light rain at around 9 we woke up. The sun was back out and I took a short walk along the cliff, with an amazing view of the coast. We dismantled the tent, put everything back in the car, and headed again towards the bar of the previous night, Bar Poços, where we had tea and sweets and charged our phones again. We then got back in the car and decided to head towards the eastern coast of the island; the drive was quite long and for most part it consisted of ups and downs and many turns. Along the road we decided to stop in the town of Ribeira Grande, where we bought bread, cheese and ham to make sandwiches for the day and where I also bought some shampoo and deodorant since I couldn't take them on the plane. Driving on we passed through the town center which looked pretty, and headed on, east. After a quick stop at the Miradouro de Santa Iria, we headed further east along the coast eventually reaching the town of Nordeste which as the name suggests lies on the north eastern part of the island. Following a road we reached a place called Moinho, where a watermill was located and where we found a small creek into which I decided to take a swim and shower. After that we got back into the car and drove south; at one point we reached Miradouro do Sossego, where we decided to have lunch. The view from there was more than amazing, my favorite spot in the whole island, It also helped that the sun was out and bright and the view of the cliffs and the blue water below was spectacular. Two cats also joined to have some of our leftovers, and after one last look of the amazing view, we got back into the car ready for the next stop. Not too far ahead, we turned left and drove down a really steep and treacherous road eventually reaching a beach we had seen from the Miradouro. The beach was empty and it had volcanic black sand which felt really nice and soft under the feet. Carlos was the only one who decided to take a while while we just walked around; when he got out of the water we noticed several jellyfish lying on the sand and saw that luckily he hadn't been stung. After hanging a while at the beach we decided it was time to head on to the next destination: Furnas. Once in the town we walked around smelling sulfur in the air and seeing all the geysers and hot springs in action, a really cool scene. We then headed on and parked the car near Lagoa das Furnas where we walked along the lakeside passing by a nice abandoned neo-gothic church and a pretty art exhibition among the trees and grass. It was getting late so we decided to look for a place to camp; luckily the town had a camping site so we went to check it out. We thought it was a good place so once inside, we set up the tent and then Carlos and I decided to eat hamburger again while the others just eat the leftover sandwiches. The next day after a hot shower (finally!) we had breakfast and went into town to Poça da Dona Beija, a really nice hot spring; the entrance was 3€, and ha 4 hot pools which were luckily quite empty of people. One also had a waterfall and the water was too hot, about 38 C, since outside wasn't too cold, between 15 and 18 degrees, and the sun would occasionally peak out from the clouds. However we really enjoyed it and since the walls were covered in sulfur we spread it on our faces. After staying and enjoying the hot water for a while we decided it was time to move on, we got back in the car and headed south and then west along the coast. After about half an hour I suggested we stop at a beach since the sun was out; so we went on towards Caloura beach. We were the only ones there apart from 2 fishermen that cough some beautiful fish and were leaving, and a couple of kids that were surfing. So we headed down the stairs towards the empty beach. The view was great and the color of the water was sapphire blue, there were many rocks in the water and as soon as I dropped my stuff on the sand I decided to climb these rocks and see if I could spot some fish. I managed to see only urchins, however Sergio suggested we jump inside a natural pool and then swim back to the beach. And so we did, even though the water was a bit cold. As soon as we got out though the sun dried us up quicky and it felt really great. We decided to explore around and walked to the beach which was right next to the one we were at. This other small beach had a cave which was quite large and the water looked as nice as in the other beach. After hanging out for a while with some sadness we headed back to the car and moved on. We headed north and towards the inside of the island; it was sunny on the coast, but as soon as we started going up and inside, the clouds started appearing all around us. The road was crazy, with so many turns and a thick fog was falling in. When we reached the Miradouro overlooking the Lagoa do Fogo; when we got out it was quite cold with only our t shirt and swim suit still on. In addition we couldn't see much of the lake unfortunately. So we got back into the car and moved on towards the Caldeira Velha which wasn't far. Once there we paid the entrance which was 1€ for youth card holders (however the lady there at the desk let us pass with just our students card). Walking along a path towards the pools I couldn't help but think of Jurassic Park looking at all those ferns and palms and rain forest: it was amazing! We headed further up the path and reached a pool with a big waterfall. There was only a man inside while everyone else was out, we then discovered it was because the temperature was ''only'' 25 C. It was nice once we got in, and we had the pool all for ourselves. I noticed however that there were frogs all around, sitting on the sides of the pool. and probably inside too, and so the girls were scared of coming in. I then went directly under the fall which felt hotter than the pool's water itself, and was quite strong too. After getting out and feeling cold since it had started raining lightly we ran down to the other pool and past the bubbling pools that were forbidden due to the fact the temperature was at 61 C, definitely too much. This other pool which was at 38 C was full of people but we managed to find a spot and enjoy the water. After relaxing there for a while it was time to head towards Ponta Delgada and find a place to sleep. It took us a while, we went back and forth along the coast right below the airport without avail and also tried some of the villages around but all had private fields. So we decided to go eat first ad continue the search later. We went inside the mall, the Parque Atlantico, where we all had something different for dinner. I had a chicken and rice teriyaki from Walk to Wok, and then I bought bread, mortadella and cheese for some sandwiches for the next day. After dinner we searched for a camp site but it was late already and there wasn't much light. So we eventually found a public field lying right next to the Decathlon store and though it was the perfect spot. We decided to visit the city center before going to sleep, so after parking the car downtown we walked past the main square nad cathedral and ended up at the port where we sat at a bar and enjoyed a local beer. It was then time to go to sleep, so we went back to the field we had found and started setting up the tent next to a wall. However there were apartment buildings around the field and at one point we saw the figure of a man staring at us in the dark from his balcony. He said nothing and stared at us for a while, I told the other to hide; we were undecided to tell him or not we were setting up a tent afraid that he would call the police. In the end he just went back inside without a word. Once we were laid down we went to sleep but after a while I woke up because, obviously, it had started raining and the wind was blowing the rain inside the tent. After many times waking up during the night we eventually woke up at around 9 and found out we had set up tent in a field full of cows! We then decided to go have breakfast at the Parque Atlantico. It was then time for the others to leave since their flight left at 12. Right outside the mall we hugged goodbye and I thanked them immensely for saving my life, and how without them I probably wouldn't have survived the rainy nights and definitely wouldn't have seen so many things without their car. They in turn thanked me for all those places we saw since they said they had no idea what to see around the island. The night before I had also given them a few euros to cover the car gas at least saying it was the minimum I could do. So after saying goodbye I headed down walking towards the city center of Ponta Delgada. First I passed by the Iglesia do Colegio which was unfortunately closed, so I walked on and reached the Carlos Machado museum which was closed too (one part for restoration, the other until 2pm). I walked through the town streets and reached the eastern part of the city where the Ermida de Nossa Senhora Mae de Deus was located; from up there the view of the city was quite nice even though it had started raining again. Going back into town I headed to the Igreja de São Pedro which had a mass going on so I went out and walked to the Sé Catedral: the inside was very nice and a cool stop after the rain. Then onwards to the Praça do Municipio, the town's main square, passing by the Portas da Cidade. All around town it was interesting to note the architecture that was characterized by white and black stone. It was then time for lunch so I headed for the port where I stopped and ate at Burger King. After that the sun was out again, and walking on I reached the Campo São Francisco with the Convento de Nossa Senhora da Esperança and the Igreja de São José, both closed but really nice from the outside. I then went inside the Fort where the guard asked me if I was a student and after showing him my student ID, he said I could go in for free even though I wasn't a student in the Azores. The fort was quite nice and had an interesting museum of the Portuguese Colonial War (1960-1970s). After the visit it was nearly time to go but first I enjoyed an ice cream and queijadinha overlooking the port. After a 40 minute walk I was back at the airport waiting for my plane. I left at 6:30pm and reached Lisbon around 10 where I then took a bus at midnight and arrived in Coimbra, finally home, at 2am.
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View of Lagoa das Sete Cidades |
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The Lagoa Verde |
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View from the Ponta do Escalvado |
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The amazing view from the tent in Capelas |
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The Miradouro do Sossego |
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Another view from the Miradouro do Sossego |
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Sulfur springs in Furnas |
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Church in Lagoa das Furnas |
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The Poça da Dona Beijas |
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The beach in Caloura |
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Fish caught by local fishermen |
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The Lagoa do Fogo |
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The Caldeira Velha |
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Caldeira Velha looking a lot like Jurassic Park |
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One of the streets in Ponta Delgada |
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Another street in Ponta Delgada |
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The Praça do Municipio in Ponta Delgada |
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