Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean approximately 900 miles from the European Coast and 2300 miles from the North American coast.
Due to the geographic location of the islands, they are divided into three groups: the Eastern group including Santa Maria and Sào Miguel; the Central group including Terceira, Graciosa, Sào Jorge, Pico and Faial; and the Western group including Flores and Corvo. The distances between the island range from a minimum of 5 miles to 100 miles.

Each of the nine islands has its individualized landscape. They have one point in common; the presence of luxuriant exuberant greenery, which includes all the colors of the rainbow and is speckled with bright beautiful flowers along all of the roads.

The Azores have a temperate, maritime climate characterized by agreeable temperatures with small average annual variance. Rainfall is both regular and well distributed throughout the year with the greater abundance during the winter months. Light cloud cover is common throughout the year. The annual median air temperature is approximately 17C (63F) varying between 13C (56F) during January/February and 22C (73F) during the warmer months July/August.

Getting there

Scheduled flights are provided by TAP Air Portugal from Lisbon, Porto, and Frankfurt to Ponta Delgada also flights are provided from Lisbon to Terceira. Flights are also available between Funchal Madeira and Ponta Delgada.

TAP Air Portugal provides daily service from the Portuguese Mainland (Lisbon) to Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel. There are three flights a day. The first flight leaves Lisbon at 17:20. The flight takes just a little over two hours. The first flight out of Ponta Delgada for Lisbon is at 6:40. TAP provided flights from Boston to Ponta Delgada.

Charter service is available from the United States and Canada on SATA and Azores Express. SATA also provides flights from Ponta Delgada to the other islands in the Archipelago.

SATA Air Açores

São Miguel

Ponta Delgada

The Azorean lifestyle is wholesome and relaxed. It is still in the era, when faith, family and work were the guiding principles, before the latest scientific study, political correctness, and lawsuits started to dominate lifestyles in other parts of the world.

Ponta Delgada is located on the island of Sao Miguel, the largest island in the archipelago and the most heavily populated. It extends approximately 38 miles from east to west and 10 miles from north to south. It is considered by some to be the most beautiful Azores island, thanks to luxuriant vegetation, a series of magnificent crater lakes, and a landscape that glows in vibrant colors. It takes from 2 to 3 days to see the whole island. Rent a taxi or a car to enjoy the island best.

The country side is beautiful by the lush green colors of the fields offset by the darker green boundary lines and the colorful flowers that grew along the immaculately well kept road. Many whitewashed houses and the white churches all outlined with dark volcanic stone.
Windmills and churches dominate the skyline at various points. Higher into the mountains you be amazed by the intricate web of fields that provide the islands with their source of livelihood. There are crops of maize, tobacco, red peppers, and even tea (the only tea grown in Europe which was brought from China in the 1800's).

As you proceed higher the fields become dairy pastures. You see the cows contentedly grazing and without a barn in sight. The striking scenes of the green pastures contrasting with the darker green o f the boundaries give ample reason for the nickname of São Miguel "the green island".

Furnas Lake is a beautiful place surrounded by beautiful flowered shores with picnic tables and benches. Cylindrical holes in the ground from which steam was rising. There were also wooden covers nearby that could be used to cover the holes (caldeiras). This is a nature's kitchen. You can place your pot of food in the ground, cover it up, and in about 5 or 6 hours nature will have cooked your food for you in the caldeiras.

In the town the Caldeiras are even more spectacular. Many openings in the earth sprout geysers of boiling hot water. The springs also produce a natural form of carbonated water. These waters are reputedly an effective cure for rheumatism, lumbago, sciatica, skin conditions and other ailments.

Stop at the Casa de Cultura for a look at the islands past. The staff was pretty busy setting up an exhibition on the Windmills of the Azores.

The Ermida de Nossa Senhor da Paz (Our Lady of Peace Chapel). It is an authentic Marian sanctuary constructed on a mount and providing a excellent view of the village and the inlet. The chapel stands high on the hill - white and outlined in the black basalt stones. At each level leading up to the chapel are white rectangles outlined in black with beautiful blue azulejos showing various scenes.

A large variety of dishes are found in the Azorean cuisine. To you provide you with an insight to some succulent recipes, I have provided you with the following link.
Página de Culinária de Ana Taveira

Ponta Delgada is very clean and while it is big enough to exclude urbanity it is small enough to cover on foot. The sidewalks are mosaics of rounded black and white small stones.
A short distance from the city gates stands the Parish Church of Ponta Delgada. The "Igreja da Martriz" was built between the 17^th and 18^th century. The Manuelino in its main entrance and mixed with the local "Barroco" style makes it a truly impressive sight to see.

The religious nature of the Azorean people is in their manifestations throughout the year of the various religious holidays. Many of the islands have their own festivals and many emigrants from around the world arrive to participate in these festivals. The largest of these festivals is in Ponta Delgada, Festa do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, which takes place the 5^th Sunday after Easter and runs for about a week.

Visit Ponta Delgada

Activities in the Azores

• Bicycle Tours
• Deep Sea Fishing
• Discovering the Islands on foot
• Diving and underwater exploration
• Fresh water fishing
• Golfing
• Horseriding
• Hunting
• Mountaineering
• Para sailing and hang-gliding
• Rock fishing
• Sailing and wind surfing
• Surfing
• Tennis
• Volcanism
• Wale watching
• Yacht cruises
• Yachting

One of the exciting things that you can do while on São Miguel is to participate in the Whale Watching. If you desire further information on this activity or maybe sailing charters please visit this site.
Wale watching and sailing charters

The Other Islands

They are well worth seeing each having an individual history and beauty all its own.
For example Santa Maria, where Columbus stopped to pray on his way back from discovering America. It was here also that Columbus was also arrested for a short time. It is also said that when he left here, he sailed to Lisbon from which he sent word to Spain of his discovery.

You mountain climbers may also be interested in Pico, which has the highest mountain in Portugal. Additional information about these islands visit the following site for more specific information.
Azores Islands

If you would like to read the Azorean Newspaper Acoriano Oriental you may read it here.
Acoriano Oriental

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