São Miguel, Azores, Portugal

The Atlantic crossing was a wonderful experience. I thought I would be troubled by five days out to sea, but I was pleasantly surprised. The Edge docked at 8am Monday at Ponta Delgada, the capital city of the Azores located on the island of São Miguel, approximately 1,000 east of mainland Portugal. São Miguel is the largest of nine volcanic islands making up the archipelago of the Azores, Portugal.

We met our driver and tour guide with “Azores for All” at 9am and started the day’s adventure. Heading west in a comfortable van we were awestruck by the lush beauty and dramatic west coast views; reminding us all of Ireland. Sete Cidades was our first stop. The village of Sete Cidades occupies a large caldera. We stopped in the church of São Nicolas for a prayer and walked through the town to the lakeshore. Two large lakes, the Green and Blue lakes, are connected by a strip is land and make for a very scenic view from above.

We worked our way east to the beachfront restaurant Pé Na Areia in Povoacão. We enjoyed a local lunch buffet as we watched some windsurfers take on the wild weather. The fog in the higher altitudes prevented us from seeing other vistas, but we did enjoy Caldeira Velha. A Natural Monument with lush flora, waterfalls and hot springs. Our final stop had us tasting local liquors at Mulher de Capote in Ribeira Grande. We just had to buy the Arroz Doce and best selling Passion Fruit licor for some dinner party fun in Florida.

The best part our our fab day in São Miguel was spending time with our lovely humans and soulful guides, Raquel and Umberto. We’re off to Lisbon Tuesday.