Since she is soon retiring, my wife and I recently spent five days
of her unused vacation time (seven days total) in the Azores, a group of nine Portuguese islands
way out in the Atlantic. For this travelogue I've decided to change my format
from a chronology to one organized by topic:
Transportation
One of the reasons we chose the Azores was that the Portuguese
airline SATA offers a direct flight from and to Boston ... it's 4 1/2 hours out
there and 5 hours back. This is about my tolerance limit given the skimpy
seating space and banal food/drink offered. But these shortcomings can be
forgiven in that the airline staff does their very best to accommodate.
When we got to our destination, the main island of Sao Miguel, I ask a cabby how much it
would cost to go to Furnas where our
hotel, Terra Nostra, was located. I
was told 40 Euros which quickly convinced me to rent a car. We easily got a
Hertz one for a week for about 245 Euros which was cheaper than what it would
have been if we had rented it here in the U.S. However be warned, this trick
can't be pulled off in July and August. The car we got was a small stick-shift
Peugeot which worked out great. Having only driven automatic cars for some
thirty years, I was amazed by how fast my muscle-memory came back ... and I was
easily able to transverse the steepest of hills on this islands.
Interesting vignette – on the way back to Boston I noticed a small
triangle decal above our window (row 25 on an A330 Airbus). When I asked the
steward what this mark meant, he told me that this was the weak point in the
fuselage … a point where one might hack one’s way out in case of an accident.
This was all very comforting …
The Island
Sao Miguel is a beautiful island about this size of
Manhattan formed from two extinct volcanoes ... therefore it is quite hilly. It
is decorated with a multitude of native flowering plants, mostly white hydrangeas
... but also veronicas, hyperica, and many many others. There are also many
dramatic varieties of both deciduous and evergreen trees ... including many
palms. It is also immaculately clean ... every town we entered had street
sweepers wielding their brooms. And it was a joy to see absolutely no graffiti!
This island had two quite new highways spanning its length … the
northern one being the most complete. They are mostly four lanes except where
topology forces them down to two lanes. Given the many high hills and large
ravines there, these highways seem to be exceptionally well engineered and constructed.
The traffic is generally quite sparse on them. Like in Portugal, I think the
money for these highways was obtained when Portugal entered the European Union.
(The southern highway, which we took to Furnas,
actually turns into a two-lane narrow cobble-stone road for about the last five
miles.)
It is interesting to note that many of the Portuguese residents in
the United States (mainly in New Bedford and Fall River, MA) came from the
Azores and not from mainland Portugal.
This was because around the turn of the twentieth century, the main cash crop in
the Azores, oranges, failed … which caused enough economic hardship to inspire
this emigration. (The orange crop was replaced with hothouse grown pineapples
and two tea plantation.) Most native Azoreans are easy to identify with their
jet black hair and eyes and darker complexions.
The Hotel
My wife got a great package deal on our airline and the Terra
Nostra hotel package … our double room was around $150 per night … considering
that this was five-star accommodations. The hotel itself is located in the
middle of a garden park and sulfur springs which are open to its guests. As it
turns out, I, tired from the flight over, fell asleep in the lobby of this
hotel while waiting for our room to be readied … and, I think, embarrassed, the
hotel management upgraded us to a suite. Not bad …
To me the real plus was the sulfur springs. Almost every day my
wife and I took the baths in a very large round spa … about five feet deep and
about 50 yards across … constantly being replenished from two stone spouts with
warm volcanic spring water infused with iron and sulfur. This spa was
surrounded by beautiful huge trees such as Norfolk pines. After an hour of such indulgence we often
stopped for a wide selection of adult drinks at the outdoor terrace before showering
and dressing for dinner. But, be warned, a good hot shower is important as a
slight sulfur smell can linger on ones robes and clothes.
The hotel also afforded all the expected luxuries … an indoor
pool, a steam room, free loaner bicycles, a sauna, a beautiful dining room,
exercise equipment, a bar/rec room, facial/massage services, etc. … you name it
… it’s got it. And it was fully rehabbed
in 2013 so everything is spanking new.
Also my wife brought her I-Phone and I-Pad … and a Portuguese plug
adapter. We spent the first day searching for a 220- to 110-volt converter
since I feared that we would fry them otherwise. But as it turns out, this was
unnecessary as that genius, Steve Jobs, already put this technology into his
products. Thank you Steve!
The town and hotel setting was bucolic. We even had a rooster to
wake us up in the morning if we left the balcony door open.
The Food
One downside of the Azores is its food. Not that some of it is not
good, but it is notable for its monotony. Pretty much the only ethic flavor is
Portuguese … soggy french-fries and rice with fried meats or fish. One popular
fish there is called the “fork-beard” whose taste matches its name. My wife did
have some delicious swordfish at the famous Ponta
Do Garajau restaurant in the small fishing village of Ribeira Quent. And I found my palate teased a few times mostly with
soups … leek with chives, pea with ham, and a pureed fish soup. I do not
recommend one popular island dish, Cozido
Furnas, an olio of various meats, sausages and vegetables cooked in a
steaming volcanic vent for up to eight hours … to me it was a wash-out. But, if
you are daring, you might try grilled octopus and the barnacles.
We were on the European plan at our hotel so the breakfasts were
often a high point of the day … oodles of fresh fruit, delicious native yogurt,
local breads and croissants, delicious orange juice, scrambled eggs and bacon,
and, for the Germans, cold cuts and cheeses. But again this menu could benefit
from a little daily variety. And be sure to indulge yourself at lunch and
dinner with the desserts … flan, panna cotta, fondant, crepes with pineapple,
etc.
Diversions
Almost every day we took a morning auto excursion to a nearby town
… Nordeste, Povoacao, Ribeira Grande,
Porto Formoso, Caloura, Vila Franca Do Campo, etc. These trips gave us a
good feeling for the island scene, its people and its food. The vistas are
spectacular, the people very friendly and solicitous, and the food … well, see
above. Povoacao has a stone arch dedicated to the first settlers to these islands. Walking under it is supposed to bring you good luck. So we did and the U.S. stock market then went up every day we were there ... enough to pay for the trip. Not bad!
There is little real evening entertainment except our last
Saturday night there was a local festival, a compelling civilian parade, a
band, a choir, a roasted goat, and oodles of loud exploding sky rockets … until
about midnight.
Therefore much of our evening entertainment came from the Internet
(our hotel had a good Wi-Fi), books, and cable television. There were many
American shows … “Dr. Phil,” “American Pickers,” “Storage Wars,” “Diners
Drive-ins and Dives,” etc. with Portuguese subtitles. But the real winner was
the World Cup games out of Brazil. And we even were lucky enough to see the
United States beat Ghana.
Home Again
We had a pleasant ending to this sojourn as our friends, the
Noonan’s, picked us up at the airport and transported us back to our excited
grand twin-girls.
