Ok, technically we are now in Flores (marked left) which is some 600 km further westwards than Sao Miguel (marked right), but this blog is about Sao Miguel… We are now actually at the farthest westward point of Europe (everybody claims that but here it’s real… – some 2000 km west of Portugal). Only France could with their department of Guadeloupe conquer with it
For some relation… 1/3 of the way to the States is done
Next to our hotel in Sao Miguel (gosh – so many Germans…) we found a nice fish restaurant tucked away directly next to the harbour in a sheltered bay
The views are splendid
But can be still improved
It’s getting better… Ok, I admit, usually we had just “fish” (which is still succulent), but here we were craving for lobster and the local is delicious…
Isn’t it a beauty
The humble remains…
Flight time
The next day we were heading to the central volcano, but the clouds were somehow against us. As charming as the old aqueduct might look in moist clouds, as awful it is to walk there…
There must be a reason for the moss…
After watching fellow hikers descending in full weather gear we opted for the solitude of the car…
Brrr….
In the middle is a small village and the church fiesta was in full swing…
whoever creates such lavish garden ornaments has either a lot of spare time or a rather competitive social life…
A speciality of Portugal – lupine seeds in spicy sauce
Finally we found a spot were we could stretch our legs for a moderate walk but had to pet a dog bound to the car first. Heart breaking
As a result of the poor economy many people left the islands to find their luck in a (hopefully) better place – the left houses the only sign of the heritage
Our walk started as a nice descend through fields and laurel forest
I will never be able to pay for laurel again…
Splendid views
And fresh young laurel
Beautiful viewpoints
as the whole area is (…used to be…) volcanic you can see lava, basalt and all other by-products of seismic activity everywhere
These layers can get really thick…
Ash and sediment are cut out by permanent rainfall
I always love the black crumbly lava
especially when wet it’s nice to walk on as it is not slushy
There must have been some activity going on some past time…
Gorgeous views again
I thought it must have been a practical joke, but the street was steep and I never ever have seen such a number before…
Tropical splendour
Yellow daisies
Ginger flower
A bit more close up
And just before the bloom
The same night we were happy to catch a free fado concert (fado = Portuguese folk music, usually sad and lonely, can be humpty dumpty as well… ) in the old monastery.
The guitar players were excellent
She only sang one song (unfortunately) as she was perhaps the best singer (yet not very fitting – pure gothic )…
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