We loved the Azores so much we had to go back.
Our house is the one at the top on the right. View of São Lourenço The Northern hut on the coastal walk. Ruth: It’s evening and we are tucked into our little house on the hill overlooking the hobbit shire of Santa Barbara. We booked ...
Ruth: While Gord headed off on his bike to access a trail and continue hiking around the island, I took the day off. This will be our ninth day at the Youth Hostel in Vila do Porto. It’s interesting to stay in a place like ...
The Barreiro da Faneca Shrine to Our Lady of Fatima Ruth: Oh my, I ate too much, again! Eating in the Azores is quite simple and affordable as long as you want to eat when the locals do. It’s much more challenging to find a ...
Gordon: We had glorious weather today, with a ride to match. All rides from Vila do Porto begin with a climb to 200 metres to the junction that feeds the network of roads on the island. Today we almost immediately dropped back down to the ...
Resurrecting the trail markers Gordon: The island of Santa Maria has two very different halves: a gently rolling, rather arid west, and a green, mountainous east. We have spent the last couple of days cycling and walking around the western half.Yesterday we cycled to the ...
The view from Pico Alto. A good spot for an orange. The frog chorus at our lunch spot. Ruth: I first picked up the nickname Mocanitsa in Romania. That’s their pet name for the narrow gauge steam engine that climbs up into the heights of ...
Figueiral Cave(limestone quarry) Gordon: Santa Maria is the only island in the Azores to have a marked trail running all around it. The trail is 78 kms long and is generally walked in four or five days. Portugal uses the same naming and marking conventions ...
São Bras Ruth: The hostels in the Azores are frequently repurposed monasteries or convents located in the old neighborhoods, often near the port. We have been noticing them on other islands and admiring the historic buildings in which they are located. For the first time ...
Gordon: Over the last few days we have had the pleasure of walking the Levada trail. This 8 km path follows a concrete lined ditch (the Levada) that collected and transported water to a pool for use in a hydroelectric generating station. The literature describes ...