Boa noite (good evening) from across the pond! I was so excited to actually get out this weekend and go on a 7-hour tour across the island and damn, was it worth it. I took the Hidden Gems of São Miguel tour which essentially took you to spots that only locals know of and aren’t part of the typical tours on the island.
So a little about São Miguel (which translates to St. Michael in Portuguese), which is the largest of the nine islands making up the Azores. Here’s a map of where exactly the Azores are for context:
And the island of São Miguel:
Read more about São Miguel and the Azores on their Wikipedia pages. This is going to be a long post and I don’t want to make it longer. :)
We started the morning in the northern central part of São Miguel at a higher elevation. It rained almost all morning but when the sun did peek out, there were some epic rainbows. We visited a dam, an old water plant (that ironically flooded!), and drank water that tasted just like sparkling water, right from the stream. Unreal. We also stopped by a stretch of forest where the trees are so close together, there’s almost complete darkness, even on a sunny day.
The orange flowers are called Yellow Ginger Lillies, which may look really pretty but are very invasive and prevents the growth of the endemic vegetation. Their roots look like actual ginger which, back in the day, were tried to be sold as a knockoff for the real thing.
Then, we drove to the northern coast (which has the most turbulent waves), and damn was it gorgeous. The rain stopped just in time for some stunning pics of rainbows and blue waters. Like something out of national geographic.
The next stop was lunch at a local restaurant, which served an awesome buffet of fish, chicken, pasta, salads, etc. (it was like the Portuguese version of Gray Bros. for my Hoosiers but not as massive). The best part was the vinho verde (or green wine), which was a slightly fizzy white wine but less fizzy than champagne. The name means "green wine," but translates as "young wine" because it’s usually released three to six months after the grapes are harvested. A staple in Portugal.
After we downed some vinho verde, we were served three flavors of local liqueurs: blackberry, passion fruit, and moonshine honey (which I was told separated the women from the girls – a challenge I gladly accepted.)
After our afternoon wine bender, er, I mean lunch was over, we hit the road again for more stunning cliff views and waterfalls.
I was completely exhausted by the end of the day but my heart was so full from all of the incredible places we saw. São Miguel is absolutely stunning and I’m certain we only scratched the surface. Tomorrow, I’m going on a night-time hot springs tour, which I’m super excited about.
One more note about the wine here. Holy shit, is it good. And cheap. I had the best white wine I’ve ever had from Azores Wine Company (2021 Arinto dos Açores) and a Curral Atlantis Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot blend - both bottles you can get for less than $25. I may never drink Cupcake ever again.
Everything about Ponta Delgada and São Miguel has far exceeded my expectations! I’m in PD for the rest of this week, then heading to the west coast to a town called Relva. It’s hard to believe that I arrived a week ago today – I’m going to blink and it’ll be time to head home.
Amor e luz (love and light),
MW