Basalt and Furnas: São Miguel
After four days in Pico, we went back to São Miguel to see what it was all about. Despite waking up late, we made it to the airport with time to spare—phew! The flight was under an hour, and the rental car company sent a shuttle to the airport to take us to the car pick-up place. Pretty breezy. And luckily, driving was less stressful with bigger and more paved roads. To kill time before our hotel check in, we decided to head straight to one of the beaches, Santa Bárbara.
It was a bit too chilly to swim, but we enjoyed the views and took in the black sand, which we later learned means you’re on a younger island. Lil’ baby São Miguel! It started drizzling a bit, so we headed toward the hotel, Pestana Bahia, and checked out the beach near there a bit, Praia de Agua d’Alto. This was in Vila Franca Do Campo, on the south side of the island.
A lack of travel over the past couple of years meant some brain farts, including forgetting adapters. We found a 99-cent-and-up-type place and found a couple there. Unfortunately, one of them blew a fuse, and we had to get someone to turn our lights back on. Classic Americans. After all that fuss, we decided to stay in and eat at the hotel buffet, which was pretty good.
Day Two: Miradouras Galore
For our first full day, we booked a tour around the west side of the island. Our tour guide, Fernando, was so nice and knowledgeable about the Azores. Did you know that in the Azores, the sidewalks are mainly made with basalt with lime stone accents, and in mainland Portugal, the sidewalks are mainly lime stone with basalt accents? And each acquired each others’ stones because they were used as weights to balance boats back in the day?! I didn’t!
The tour was riddled with fun facts like that and beautiful views. We were able to see all the sights on the itinerary except for Lagoa Fogo and Sete Cidades because it was too foggy. That was a bummer, but the other views were magical.
The weather was iffy at the start, and it POURED on us in Ribeira Grande. But we got some good pockets of sun and even dried off for the most part before a HUGE wave in Mosteiros hit us.
For lunch, we ate at Ondos do Mar, which included a buffet, green wine, sweet liquor, and a friendly black cat outside!
After the tour, we headed back to hotel then walked to Bar Praia de Agua d’Alto, right on the beach next to the hotel. I got fried blue mackerel, and Roobz got shredded cod. So much cod!
Day Three: Lava Tube and Furnas
Because we weren’t able to see the lava tube in Pico, we went to check out another one in São Miguel, Grutas do Carvão. It was pretty cool to see up close and learn what a lava tube is. Volcanoes are wild! And we learned more about BASALT. The one con was that there was a bit of a smell down there, including in the helmets we had to wear. Sacrifices for educational experiences.
For lunch, we went to Baía do Anjos, right on the water in Ponta Delgada. It was yummy! We shared the octopus salad, I got the seafood fettucine, and Roobz got the steak. And we got green wine, of course. Even pretty basic restaurants were good because the ingredients were so fresh.
Later on, we went to the famous Furnas to enjoy some natural thermal pools at Poça da Dona Beija. Despite a tiny parking lot spectacle and closing our locker with the key in it, we had a great time. It was so nice, relaxing, and iron-ful! We hopped around pools and stayed for an hour and a half.
For dinner, a few of our first options were busts, but we ended up at Bar Caloura. It was great! I had the rock fish, and Roobz got the barracuda, which he said was the best fish of his life?!
Day Four: Pool and Beach
On our last day, we wanted to be car-free and enjoy the hotel pool and nearby beach. In the morning, we attempted to go on a hike and walked to a trail entrance near the hotel. It was a lot of uphill climbing after many days of sitting and eating, so we took some photos and then promptly went to the pool.
The rain had different plans, though, so we ran inside a couple of times. We still enjoyed the hotel and ate lunch on our balcony. For dinner, we went back to Bar Praia de Agua d’Alto and got the steak and tuna.
Overall, São Miguel was really fun. It’s a great vacation spot for families, groups of friends, couples—there’s something for everyone! We definitely could have stayed longer to see more of the island. It was a lot bigger than Pico, so I feel like I didn’t know Miguel like I knew Pico. But hopefully, we’ll be back! If we stay on São Miguel again, we’d like to lodge or explore the west side of the island more to see those gorg sunsets.
The Azores were a great first honeymoon stop and had everything I need: mountains, ocean, wine, fish, and cheese. But it was time to say goodbye and see the main land!