Mid holiday
So my holiday here in the Açores has been pretty amazing actually. Before researching the place and before arriving here, I had minimal knowledge and almost zero expectations. Originally I learned about the Açores in 9th grade global studies and promptly forgot all about them until my coworker, Nancy, returned from a trip there last January with her daughter.
The run down she gave me was of picturesque vistas, crashing waves, natural wonders, a quiet nightlife and lots of good food (as long as you don't mind fresh fish or fresh beef). She pretty much summed it up except she vastly underexpressed the actual beauty of the place.
Not once did we go somewhere without an amazing view. If you were up in the mountains, standing on the edge of an old volcano crater you had your choice of what to look at, either sky blue lakes and rocky cliffs on one side or mountain slopes gently rolling (and not so gently in some cases) down to the crystal clear Atlantic Ocean. Or if you were in the forest you could observe the variety of flowering plant life surrounding the hot springs and growing along the streams that wound their way under the palm trees. When our adventures did take us down to the ocean, depending on where you were, there are waves crashing on giant basalt rocks and old lava flows, rocky inlets fashioned into beaches, there was even a hot spring which met the ocean, warming the water to a balmy 34c/95f in my estimation.
We had originally planned to visit a few of the islands in the archipelago but we found plenty to keep us busy on the main island of Sao Miguel. I suppose this means a return trip will have to be arranged. I did post a few images to Instagram and upon my return to the states, will load a bunch of pictures to my Flickr page. I'll definitely do another post on my trip and get into some detail, but for now this will have to do.