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AZORES
Azores or the End of the World, somewhere in the Atlantic
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What kind of wonder is the Azores?
In the northern part of Antlantica, far from the rest of the world, 9 islands are hidden, which are called the Azores. They belong to Portugal. Sometime earlier, exploring the map of the world, Nataly stumbled upon them and after that we had no peace. What grows there, who lives there and how do they get there, those who live there? ;-) The purpose of the trip was determined and we started preparing for the trip. The most difficult task turned out to be to build a route from low-cost flights, but with the current development of economical aviation, it turned out to be within our power. We flew by Wizzair from Kiev to German Memmingen (which is near Munich), then from Memmingen by Ryanar to Porto, and from Porto by the same Ryanar to Ponta Delgada - the capital of the main Azores island, San Miguel. In order to close the topic of flights right away, I'll tell you: we flew back by Ryanar to Lisbon, and then to Warsaw. We returned from Warsaw to Kiev by bus. If you build your route in advance, the prices can be very reasonable. Our trip consisted of 5 flights and 1 bus transfer. The cost of the road per person was about 300 euros.
Before flying from Porto, I agreed to fill out a large questionnaire from Ryanar, where I drew their attention to the fact that it is inconvenient for tourists from Ukraine to fly to Azores. I have to use several airlines. I wrote that such a low-cost airline would be welcome in Ukraine. It was May 1st. And when we returned home, I open the Internet and there is this news from May 13: "Ryanair low-cost airline is interested in Ukraine." I think that my profile contributed ... :-) The first emotional impression of the flight to the Azores is a series of icebergs that we saw through the windows. Imagine how big they should be if we saw them from a height of 10,000 meters. Then an island appeared among the clouds. It was San Miguel. When the plane landed, it almost flew around the island. We were fascinated by this miracle of nature, which brought back memories of Treasure Island, Jim Hawkins and Captain Flint ...
First impressions of the island.
From the airport to the island's capital, Ponta Delgada, about three kilometers, the hotel in which we booked a room was on the far outskirts of the city and it was eight kilometers to it. We, inspired by a new world for us, went on foot. The Azores are famous for the many endemic plants growing there, that is, those that are not found anywhere else. And now, look at the beauty we met along the way.
We reached Ponta Delgada and unexpectedly, our path was blocked by a certain religious procession. People were walking along the street strewn with needles and red flower petals. It seemed to us that all the inhabitants of the island had gathered for this march. There were also some leaders and military and orchestras and schoolchildren and some Indians. The flow of people did not stop for two hours. It was already getting dark, we had to walk another three kilometers, but we could not walk - the streets were packed. Photos below are clickable
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Arriving at the hotel late at night, we went to bed tired but happy. Waking up in the morning, we went out onto the balcony, and there was the ATLANTIC OCEAN ...
Whales.
On the island of San Miguel, we planned to fulfill one dream. We wanted to see whales. There are only a few places on earth where whales let themselves be seen. As a rule, these places are far from us (Madagascar, Azores, Dominican Republic) and this happens during the periods of whale love games, and they are very limited in time. So, even if you get to the "whale spots", the probability that going on a photo hunt you will be able to see a frolicking whale is less than 50%. But we took a chance. And here we are aboard our whale watching ship.
I warn you right away that whale hunting is not for everyone. Departure lasts four hours, and some passengers were seasick in the first half hour and the rest of the time they sat inside - praying for an early return to the port. But this cup passed us, and we peered vigilantly in the hope of seeing at least some whale. And we were lucky, first we saw a flock of large black dolphins, and then a fountain of water, which released a BLUE Whale - the largest animal on earth !!! We swam closer, but were a little disappointed - it turned out that blue whales do not jump and we just watched him swim and breathe very close to us.
But we did not lose hope and expected that the jumping whales would please us too. And so, having crossed the ocean for a couple of hours, we waited for our "finest hour". Suddenly, off to the side of the ship, a huge whale carcass jumped out. A cry of joy escaped from everyone who was on the ship, and most of all the captain was happy, we joked that he was so happy, because he himself saw the whales jumping for the first time ... :-) At this time, our ship was overwhelmed by waves, everything got wet : clothes, things in a backpack, a camera, but happiness is even wet when it is. After all, we managed not only to see, but also to catch the whale in the frame ...
The most difficult thing in photo and video hunting for whales is to guess where he will jump out next time. You wait for him on the left, and he is in front, you wait on the right, and he is on the left. Therefore, out of a couple of dozen jumps, 3-4 got into the frame. But I was lucky with the shooting of the video. At one point, the whale jumped right in front of me on purpose ...
Hot ocean.
Our next adventure was the Hot Ocean. The island of San Miguel has an incredible natural attraction. It is called the Hot Ocean. A boiling spring broke through the rock an outlet to the ocean and created a natural bath in which hot water from a geyser mixes with ocean waves to create a pool of warm water, where it is very comfortable to swim. Of course we went in search of this place. On the map, it is beautifully named "Ponta Ferraria", which slightly evokes car associations. Never repeat our mistake and do not walk to the Hot Ocean. When you go to it - the road goes down almost vertically and in some places we switched to light running. When we were below, we stood near this rock, looked up and realized that the walking path back was closed for us - we would never master such an ascent ... And the views along the road were simply incredible. See for yourself:
Going downstairs we found a bit of civilization - a building with a bar and a restaurant + SPA on water from hot springs in the basement, next to a hot water pool for 6 euros per person. But that's not what we came for. There was a path to the left of the building, which after 200 meters ended in large steps to the bay with the Hot Ocean. Having quickly reached the main goal, we began to undress to take warm baths. But it was not there. The waves whipped the shore so hard that no one could enter the bowl of the Hot Ocean, it would simply be smashed by a wave on sharp basalt rocks. In addition to us, several other travelers tried to check whether the water in the Hot Ocean was warm, but could not approach the bay even a couple of meters, fearing to be hit by another wave. Therefore, "Is there hot water or there is no hot water - science still does not know ..." The photos below are clickable
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We took pictures against the backdrop of the ominous cooled volcanic lava, walked along the coast, but we had to somehow return, and the height of the cliff frightened off with its grandeur. Therefore, it was decided to catch the car. Catching - it is easy to say, as a rule, people come to the Hot Ocean with a guide in a car, so it was not possible to settle down to the occasional cars. I went to the pool bar and explained to the Portuguese-speaking bartender on my fingers that we need a CAR to GO HOME :-) In the end, he understood and called us a taxi. A minivan arrived with a driver who also did not speak English. When we tried to explain something to him, he dialed the number on his mobile and said: "Here (on the phone) is my boss - he speaks English" and we talked to the boss, and he then translated our words to the driver into Portuguese. We were glad that we still managed to explain to the driver where we want to go. Our goal was the colorful lakes near the town of Sete Sidades. Where he brought us.
In the meantime, there is no need to know about it. ”
Sete Sidadesh colorful lakes.
The Blue Lake and the Green Lake are separated by a small isthmus, and according to legend, one of them cried a blue-eyed princess, and the other a green-eyed shepherd. Every year the water mixes more and more and in 10-15 years it will become completely monochromatic. But now you can still view the lakes by comparing them at different angles of sunlight.
After admiring the lakes below, we decided to climb the mountain and appreciate the surrounding views from above. We must pay tribute to the residents of San Miguel, for every 400-500 meters, picnic areas with tables, barbecues and clean water taps were created, which seemed very tasty to us. Climbing the mountain gave us 2 surprises. The first of these is Lake Santiago, which is hidden in one of the mountain bowls. Admire this natural treasure.
The second surprise was the ukrainian words "Good day, friends!", which we heard at the top of the mountain we were conquering. There, on the railing of the railing of the slope, two girls were sitting and admiring the view of the lakes. Seeing my cap with the inscription "Ukraine" - they greeted us. It turned out that these are two travelers from Kiev. Well, where else could we meet :-). If our casual acquaintances read this post, we will thank them again for giving us a lift in their car to the highway that leads to Ponta Delgada
We disembarked from the car of Kiev women near the town of Feteiras, and they went to watch the Hot Ocean. Our navigator showed that there is still 12 kilometers to Ponta Delgada. We waited for the bus for half an hour, and then, according to the old tradition, went on foot. The landscapes of San Miguel delighted with their beauty, and the number of cows that we saw on the Azores exceeded all imaginable quantities. The main product produced here is cheese, so you need a lot of milk. After walking three kilometers, we saw two buses that were going towards and not a single passing one. A terrible thought crept into our heads - this is an island and buses can go around in circles and we can't wait for the passing. Sadness ... Gritting our teeth tightly, we walked another kilometer and a miracle happened, a pickup truck with a farmer grandfather stopped next to us. At first he offered to sit in the passenger seat next to him, but when we were able to cram into this place together, neither the steering wheel nor the gear lever were available to the driver. We drove our heads out of the car and walked sadly along the road. But the pickup truck caught up with us, the farmer grandfather got out and started pointing at the body. We did not keep ourselves waiting long and a second later we were sitting among braids, sickles, baklashki with milk and freshly cut grass. This already looked like a real adventure. Having taken us to Ponta Delgada and disembarking from the back, he timidly asked us in Portuguese - "You are probably tourists from Canada?" "From Ukraine !!!", we proudly answered, and he looked at us somehow strange and went somewhere to his farm ... :-)
Geysers and Сozido.
Another dream we planned to fulfill in the Azores was to eat Kozido.
This is a unique dish from the city of Furnas in San Miguel. It is prepared by dipping pots of meat and vegetables into volcanic rock for several hours. Simply put, Kozido is food cooked in a volcano. And so early in the morning we boarded a bus that took us in the direction of Furnas. For those who want to see how Cosido is prepared, there is a hint: you do not need to go to the city of Furnas - get off near the lake, which is located on the left in the direction of the bus. It is there that the most important thing happens. Having walked around the lake on the right, we got to the entrance post, where there was an advertisement "Kozido for 3 euros!" and had to pay 0.5 euros to enter the reserve. There was a strong smell of hydrogen sulfide in the reserve and gas emissions from the ground were visible.
We were anticipating the great mystery of eating volcanic food and hurried to the place of "cooking". We were especially pleased that we will be able to taste it for 3 euros, and not 12, as we read in the reports of other travelers. And here we are in a clearing of geysers.
We arrived at about 11 am knowing that Cozido was being hauled out at noon. But the first two pots, the car that arrived from Furnash took away a little earlier. And we managed to film it. There is only one restaurant in the whole territory where you can taste Kozido and we headed to it. The waiter explained to us that Cosido in this restaurant is only served to organized tourists (that is, those who paid 50-60 euros for a tour here and are ready to pay another 12 euros for a plate of stew with vegetables). And such comrades who arrived by bus for 3 euros and paid 0.5 euros to enter the reserve are not served in this restaurant. “You should go to the city of Furnas and order a Kozido in some restaurant,” the arrogant volcanic catering worker told us. We were upset, but not so much as not to go for a walk around the lake ...
The lake near which geysers are gushing made an incredible impression on us! There was also the highest in the world Araucaria and funny sculptures and ancient chapels and mountain rivers with strawberries. Very cool ... Photos below are clickable
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These are the impressions we got from visiting the island of San Miguel - the main and largest among the Azores. At the end of the report, I would like to show you some more photos from this magical journey. Anyone who does not travel reads only one page from his book. We will be very grateful if you leave your comment at the bottom of the report.
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We would be glad to receive your comments on this article. If you have been to the Azores or are going to visit these islands - share your impressions in the comments. Reposts and likes will be greatly appreciated.
Vitaly & Nataly
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