Sao Miguel, Azores, Portugal Trip Report

All I can say is wow!  So we just got done with 2 nights on Sao Miguel which is part of a small chain of islands several hours off the coast of Portugal.   Truthfully I'd never even heard of Sao Miguel let alone the Azores (yes, yes... uncultured American idiot here) until recently when I saw a post about it in a travel group I'm apart of.   After seeing that post and we decided to go to Portugal and Spain on this current trip, I slowly worked on convincing Dan to fly all the way out there.   He was easily convinced after seeing cheap flights exist via Ryanair (that will be a topic for later discussion...).

We flew in on a super early flight that arrive shortly before 9am.  A rental car is a must to be able to explore the island and is cheap!  Like 50 Euro for 3 full days.  We had several hours to kill before being able to check into our Airbnb so we decided to go straight over to the West side of the island (45 min drive) to Sete Cidades which boasts two crater lakes that lie in a dormant volcano.  Getting up to the iconic viewpoint was quite the undertaking as it is not clearly marked at all so if you need help, let me know!   When we got up to the viewpoint, it was crazy foggy.   Since I had read prior to coming that the weather is very labile with the fog, we toughed it out and waited probably a good hour and a half hoping it would clear.  And it did in bits and pieces to show the most amazing sight I've ever seen!  Well worth the wait and while pictures are awesome, they don't remotely do the actual sights justice on the beauty and splendor of the place.

We went back to Ponta Delgada (the capital small city of Sao Miguel) and checked into our Airbnb.   After a brief nap we walked down to the bar and restaurant district for food and drinks.  We settled for a cute restaurant called A Tasca, which had no availability except for a long table in which we shared with 4 other people.   We met some nice people from Portugal and Germany and ate some amazing tapas!  The wine was also very good and cheap  (11 Euro/ bottle).  Our total meal with 3 different tapas and wine was like maybe 26 Euro and well worth it!  We then ventured out and had drinks about town and met some of the most fun and kind locals.  They really did have such a laid back way about them and were eager to chat it up with us.  I don't think Americans make up much of the tourism there so i think seeing us was a semi rare sight.   We even went to a hole in the wall bar where a local said he never had seen tourists there let alone Americans. 

We slept away jetlag much of the next day, whoops!  Then proceeded to head out to the Eastern part of the island to check out the natural hotsprings in Furnas.  The drive out there was not fun for me as it's a ton of hairpin turns and elevation changes.  Even with Dramamine I was queasy the whole time.  The hot springs were a welcome relief to our tired and achy jetlagged selves.  While there are many hot springs to visit, we chose the ones at Parque Terra Nostra as they are the most famous.   They are located on the beautiful grounds of the Terra Nostra hotel in Furnal and cost 8Euro a piece to get in.  There are two different hot springs, one hot and one super hot.  We spent most of the time in the regular hot springs.   The water was orange and turned our skin temporarily orange (but can permanently stain your swimsuits so take one you dont care about!  Or a black one as I decided to go with).  Why is the water orange?  It is from the iron deposits apparently.   It made for an interesting experience swimming around in orange water.  These hotsprings are fueled by a dormant volcano.

Our last day we ventured back out to western part of the island to the abandoned Hotel Monte Palace.  Why?  Well we had heard it is quite fascinating and the views from the roof were supposedly stellar.  However... we walked all around the hotel and they made concrete wall barriers to prevent trespassing.  I know, I know... we weren't supposed to enter the hotel (but the locals we chatted with said to go anyway and that it was fine, just dont be dumb and fall down the open elevator shafts lol).  I gave up and sat in the car but Dan was pretty determined to find an entry point.  Determination paid off and he found a secret path in an overgrown area where we did not have to climb any walls so off we went into the hotel.  Such a crazy place!  Like seriously straight out of a horror movie.   I guess it was abandoned due to the location not being ideal since the weather is so crazy much of the year.  It had only opened in 1989 and at one point won the award for best hotel in Portugal before closing only two years after it opened.  It was so interesting!  I would highly recommend visiting if you can, just message us for the entrance that doesn't require you to jump over 6 foot concrete walls!

Bottom line is this.  Visit the Azores ASAP before it becomes overrun with tourists.  We only met two Americans there which is quite shocking for a place that really is one of the most unique and beautiful places I have ever been.  I promise you will love it!