The Azores

The Azores for those of you who don't know are a set of volcanic islands, off the Portugal coast, a long, long way off the Portugal coast approaching the middle of the Atlantic. There are a number of islands, but the largest and the one that is a direct flight from the UK is Sao Miguel, and I only have a view about this island.

Now my stay was mainly in the eastern side of the island, which is the quieter part of the island, but in the big scheme of things the whole island is pretty quiet any way. If you want foam parties and music that goes tzeek, tzeek, tzeek till the sun comes up then stay away.

​The main feature of the islands are that they are very mountainous, very very green and everyday there is sunshine and light warm rain. Don't worry about the rain, if it's raining on you now then just round the corner the sun will be shining. The volcanoes are not currently active, but neither are they extinct. There are examples of crater lakes and bubbling hot springs in many places. At Furnas, they use the volcanic heat to cook a hearty meat stew which the restaurants serve. Every so often a new volcano pops up to improve the island.
 
Now to the beaches, there are not many as most of the coast is composed of precipitous cliffs. However where beaches do occur they seem to be popular with the Portuguese, which means thank God, no nude Germans. The last thing you want is a German marching down the beach with his Prussian helmet glinting in the sun.

​One of the outstanding features of Sao Miguel is its flora. The fantastic climate means that wild flowers proliferate everywhere. Unfortunately they are nearly all illegal aliens,some of which are bullying the native flora into extinction. The local flora is alas ‘worthy’ and cannot hold its own against the sexy incomers.
 
One of the great mysteries of the place is its apparent wealth. The roads are virtually empty, but so grand that they must have cost billions. Most of the male population seems to be employed strimming, mowing and tidying public spaces. The remainder seems to spend its time extracting milk from cows on remote hillsides. I can only assume that the EU throws vast amounts of money at the Azoreans, or perhaps the Germans who have holiday homes here !!!!!. No wonder the northern English working classes voted for Brexit.

​There are other activities like whale watching, big game fishing and canyoning, I tried none of these so they could be fun…. Or not.
 
If you want to visit these islands do it soon, next year Mr Barnier may not let you.

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Written by Angus Wright and photos by Melody Wright