August 17th to 31st, 2021 - A Retrospective on Our Trip to the Azores

 This is the first trip where I have arrived back home, without knowing if all has gone safely. The CDC recommends a 7 day quarantine, so I'm on day three of a self-imposed quarantine. I ordered groceries  to avoid going into the store and have only visited with friends outside.  I will know next Wednesday, whether or not it was a completely successful trip! Weird!

Approaching Jacksonville Airport

As we flew in to Jacksonville, I was reminded that I live in a beautiful part of the world, too - it is just not quite as obvious, as we don't have the elevation to 'show it off'.

Forte se Sao Bras, Ponta Delgada

I felt enormously privileged to de able to go visit part of the old world so easily at this time.  

So, what remains that is worth saying about our trip?

In the past, much of my travel has been in Asia and Australia, so I have not imagined that my US friends would want to follow. This trip was relatively 'local', so I want to just share some 'tips' even though I really hope this place doesn't become overrun by tourists.

Gruta do Carvao

Of primary importance to me for this visit, were the level of safety measures that were in place to mitigate Covid risks. First, the positivity rates in the Azores from Covid tests was 2% compared to 20%+ here in Fernandina, so there was just less risk surrounding us. I was pleased they required a negative rt-PCR test for entry (even though I hated spending that $150 for it) and we expected there would be additional testing after arrival. In fact they did not require it after all, which lowered my confidence a bit.

For the airports and airplanes I used the best quality masks I could get, wiped down the tray table etc and washed hands frequently. TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry minimized time in lines.

Once in Sao Miguel, the adherence to mask use inside was superb, businesses had hand sanitizer at their doors and restaurants used good spacing between tables, so I generally felt we were doing our best to minimize spreading or getting the dreaded bug! It is also the reason I chose to rent a car, so we didn't have to share space with others and we enjoyed mostly outdoor activities.

Needless to say, I had purchased Travel Insurance that covered Covid - I would not have gone without it.

Our Renault Elf

Our little car was no beauty! We rented if rom a local company called ANC Energia. It was small, so I chose the 4-door model in case our bags would not fit in the trunk. It was a good move, as one bag filled the trunk, so the rest of our luggage went in the back seat. If you really like changing gears a lot and enjoy hill starts with the hand brake, a manual is cheaper, but that was not for me so I ordered automatic transmission. The a/c didn't work and there was no manual to help me interpret dash lights, but the little engine hauled us up and down the hills and through the narrow streets quite reliably. Because it was a budget rental, we had to take a free shuttle to their off-site location, which I thought worthwhile, as it was also close to half the price of the big multi-national companies.

You don't want a big car! (Furnas)

I also chose to use AirBNB for accommodation and in the smaller towns there were no hotels. First we headed for the village of Mosteiros, out of the city, so that there was less chance of us passing anything on to others. Staying out of hotels also minimized the number of bugs we were exposed to. We did use the airport Hilton in Boston overnight on our way home, but we were able to walk there from the international terminal and used keyless entry.

The quality of accommodation was mostly pretty high. Furnishings were simple and sometimes a little uncomfortable, and there was no air conditioning. Two of them very nicely appointed - the other one had some plumbing problems that made it less fun.

A Sunny Home - Ponta Delgada

In Ponta Delgada, we did get a change to see inside one of those little frontages that are the typical row house here. It was just the section under the newly tiled roof in the photo. 

Downstairs bedroom at Sunny Home, Ponta Delgada

This was the room I used. You can see on the left there was a fan, which helped cool at night, as I didn't want to keep the windows open to the street. In this place, we each had a bathroom, which was very nice.

Kitchen at Sunny Home, Ponta Delgada

The kitchen was an add on - had a very Ikea feel.

Recycling Bins

Every place was serious about recycling - you can see the labels. It was lovely to see that perhaps it was a real program.

The Neighbors yard, Sunny Home , Ponta Delgada

Where we had a nice little patch of lawn, the neighboring house had a yard full of banana trees and had not extended their kitchen, so we were definitely in the upscale version!

Supermarket, Parque Atlantico, Punta Delgada

As we were doing this as 'budget' travelers, we had hoped to fix our own meals much of the time. What we did not know ahead of time, is that the little towns only had small mini-marts, with a poor selection of fresh food and only frozen meats and fish. This surprised me, as I had expected lots of fresh options. I think much of the acquisition of these items is through informal connections among neighbors. 

It was not until we got to Ponta Delgada at the end of the trip that we found supermarkets. I regret
to say we did not explore them, so I can't tell you how good they are. However, I might suggest people who do want to fix their own meals might be wise to stop for basics before leaving the city .

Bifana, Mosteiros

One aspect I appreciated in the Azores was losing the obligation to tip. It pleased my Australian soul! While meals were more affordable than similar quality dishes at home, we were generally not impressed with the food we ate, other than the notable exceptions I mentioned in my blog. The bifana, pictured above, was an ever present option - a marinated thin piece of pork served as a sandwich. Portions were generous and fries were commonly offered on the side. Limpets, barnacles, octopus were local specialties - for me they didn't rank as dishes that I will continue to yearn for. I didn't try the barnacles and the limpets were OK. Having watched 'Octopus, My Teacher' on Netflix, I was satisfied with the one taste we had. There is plenty of fish, but I was not uniformly pleased with how well it was prepared. Basically, I'm saying do more research on this than we did, or don't come here with great expectations about meals.

The more popular restaurants required reservations, some of them being booked up three and four days ahead, so planning would be needed if you have particular places in mind.

A Common Sight at Poca das Dona Beija

The Azores want tourists to visit. At present, it is really an ideal destination for its outdoor attractions. However, the capacity for handling large numbers looked in some places as if it had already been met. The popular spots were crowded and finding parking at the most notable miradouros (lookouts) was sometimes tough. The hot springs drew crowds and could only hold certain numbers. A number of them, like this one at Dona Beija did not take reservations and always had a line, so enjoying the hot springs would require special planning if you don't like waiting.

 If you like walking, this archipelago is hard to beat with a large number of well marked and maintained trails. Pdf downloads are available at Treking Routes in São Miguel - Hiking Trails in Azores (visitazores.com)

Lagoa das Empadadas

We were really fortunate with the weather and even when it was cloudy, it brought a different beauty. It was generally in the high 70's during the day, dropping to the low 70's at night. When it rained, it was generally light and brief. We only lost one day to steady, heavy rain and wind. It was most common to see clouds on the peaks and sunshine around the coast, so if you are interested in walking the higher trails, check the weather report and plan accordingly. Our completely clear day at Sete Cidades was a rare event, it seemed.

Bilingual Signage

The final reason that travel here was so appealing was that almost everyone spoke some English. Most signage was bilingual and resorting to Google Translate was only necessary when one was getting into more complicated ides. American tourists are not as common as those from Europe, but English was also used by many of the people from Germany, Italy, France, Spain etc, if they did not speak Portuguese. We heard very little English around us in the groups of other tourists, unless they were communicating with an Azorean. 

Unfortunately there were beggars in the streets of Ponta Delgada, who also had pretty good English! I tried Googling whether this is legal here, but could find no English reference to it! Happily they were not persistent and invasive, but I was surprised and dismayed at their presence. I had thought that Portugal had a pretty good social support system, but I guess it's not enough.

Ferraria

The bottom line is that this was a beautiful, welcoming island with unique characteristics that make the inconvenience of a five hour flight out of Boston very worthwhile. If you like, I'll come back another time and check out some of the other islands for you! After all, there are eight more!

Now I promise I'm done! Thanks for joining me.