Exploring the island of Sao Miquel, The Azores

Lagoon of the 7 cities

Lake Santiago

Lake Furnas

Our lunch coming out of the oven

For one week last summer we went to visit The Azores and we stayed on the largest island Sao Miquel. We did two day trips on the island and we saw lots of wonderful sights.

The first tour we visited the Lagoon of the Seven Cities, this is a twin lake situated in the cater of a dormant volcano. We had wonderful views from an advantage point called King`s View then we drove down to the bottom, everything was just so lush! From there we stopped and saw Lake Santiago which is situated also in a crater, surrounded by the Devassa Mountains. Again the view was just breathtaking seeing everything so green and serene looking. We also visited a pineapple planation which I have posted about here!

The second tour took us first to a ceramic factory where we saw plates, mugs and many other things being designed. Then we went to the only tea plantation Riberia Grande in Europe and had a tour around the factory to see the process from the leaves to the end product.

From there we went to a viewpoint to see the beautiful Lake Furnas and then down to the hot springs, where our lunch was being cooked. Furnas stew is lots of vegetables and meat, which had been cooking in the large pot from at least 5 hours. Men came from different restaurants in the town to collect the pots and return to each restaurant. It certainly was a novel way for our lunch to be prepared. We also walked around for a while, looking at the hot springs and steam holes. There was a strong smell of rotten eggs in the air which we found out was sulfur.

After lunch there was a chance to use the thermal baths, which Alessio and my dad did so for around 45 mins.

Then our tour was finished and we were driven back to the hotel. We really enjoyed both our tours and got to see pretty much most of the island. It is a beautful island and would heartily recommend a visit to The Azores. The other 8 islands can be visited too, sadly we had not enough time but I would have liked to have seen more.

Pineapple Planation in the Azores!

I am back after the short blogging break from our trip to The Azores and Porto, lots of to tell about these places, but first up I will tell you about the pineapple plantation we visited.

On the island of Sao Miquel the biggest of all 9 islands there is a pineapple plantation on the outskirts of the capital town Ponte Deglada. We visited on a tour and the guides ( we went twice) were able to give us lots of information. The pineapples are cultivated in greenhouses as it is too cold to grow outdoors, from start to finish it takes 2 years to grow. Since it takes so long to grow they tend to be rather expensive, but believe you me they taste amazing!

I am not really a big fan of pineapples in general, but here they tasted so yummy! They just melted in your mouth and so sweet, really delicious! Alessio wanted to eat pineapples everyday and in fact de did, not to mention bring one back to Switzerland!