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The island of Sao Miguel was easy to navigate on our own, but there was so much to see and do! We decided to visit the Logoa do Fogo right away, because it was closest to our apartment. The next day we took our time visiting hot springs and just soaking in the nature that surrounded us.
We took a drive up to a crater lake named Lagoa do Fogo.
Lagoa do Fogo
Local beach that is usually crowded in the summer. We were the only ones there. Those are volcanic rock / lava surrounding these natural pools.
More lava pools.
Pausing to observe the ocean.
Same beach!
After visiting the beach, we went off to find some hot springs pools.
Kyle always has to measure the pool.
Flower called “princess earrings” in Portuguese.
An example of the view pretty much anywhere you go on this island of Sao Miguel. Lots of green pastures, crops, farms, vineyards, homes, and vast ocean views.
And no one tells you not to sip on some wine while soaking in the marvel.
First meal in Portugal. Kyle in the background freezing for a bee.
Super Bock. Local beer.
At a stop to view the tea fields. Those are rows of tea leaves behind me. Not sure what kind because the museum was closing.
Tea farm. We’ll be back to learn more :)
Cliff views east of Furnas.
Isolated home (look right in the middle).
Church in the town of Nordeste, where we thought we’d find a restaurant but it was closed.
Hungry.
This bridge into a town called Nordeste.
Eye catching church.
These cows take this life for granted!
There are 9 total islands that comprise the Azores, and each island is said to be very different. We arrived to the Azores islands on a plane from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada, which is the main airport for the islands. Ponta Delgada is located on the island of Sao Miguel. We rented a car and explored the island for a couple days.
We booked the Quinta Dos Sabores Farm House apartment through Airbnb. It was located in Ribeira Grande, just a 20-30 minute drive north from the airport. The apartment is part of a guest house, on a real life farm owned by Ines & Paulo. They were very welcoming, helpful, and spoke great English. The place itself was very clean and spacious, but the icing on the cake was the land it sat on. Just outside our door there were rows and rows of almost any produce you can think of.
There is a restaurant on the same property, which uses fresh ingredients from the garden. It's no wonder the food was delicious! It was by reservation only. We're very thankful to Ines & Paulo for a very memorable experience.
We live in a big city, so having any of this peace & quiet, fresh edible vegetation, and views is not possible. We're very thankful to Ines & Paulo for a very memorable experience.
This is where the islands are relative to Portugal.
All 9 islands are considered Azores. We first arrived in the island of Sao Miguel (circled), in the city of Ponta Delgada. We rented a car there, then drove to the Ribeira Grande area, to the home of Ines & Paulo.
We stayed on the second floor, which has one bedroom, one bathroom, and a spacious living room and small kitchen.
My husband dug into the thoughtful welcome basket before I could take a photo of it.
The kitchen had the essentials, but the views were the best part!
Dining area that we used as desk space to plan out our journey.
Open, clean living.
View when we walked out of the door from the guest house.
Just steps from the guest house is a vast farm full of onions, lettuce, radishes, strawberries, mustard greens, fennel….and many more fresh produce!
That’s definitely fennel on the right, and I believe those are spinach leaves in the left/middle.
Ripe red strawberries.
I can’t recall what all is growing here, because I was overcome by the beauty of it all.
This friendly guy roamed the grounds, always guiding us around. His name, Salchicha, means “sausage”.
Looks like a giant flower.
Felt private, quiet, and peaceful.
The crops were separated by these tall tree walls, with archways leading the way to more crops.
This way back to the guest house.
One of many bright flowers sprinkling the area.
Home to food, flowers and life.
The restaurant next door was owned by the same people as the guest house. By reservation only. They cooked amazing food using ingredients from their bountiful garden.
Delicious!
From Portugal.
Scrambled eggs I made with onions from the garden! Simple things we just don’t have back home.
Home cooked breakfast, with views.
We woke up to this face in our window.