Nord by Nordeste

To be honest, Nordeste (Northeastern Sao Miguel) wasn't even on my radar. I'd heard about the tea plantations, the only ones in Europe. And everyone knows about the thermal baths at Furnas. Even people who do cruise stops go to Furnas.

But the second day of my trip, a week ago (!), I met a couple on the Yellow Bus, and they showed me their photos from Nordeste. The waterfall. The hydrangeas. Now I had to get there.

As it turns out, none of the distances here amount to much. You can go all the way from Ponta Delgada to Nordeste (the town, which is part of the region) in under an hour on a fast road. But that's only if you don't stop. And the real fun is meandering.

First stop is Cha Porto Formoso, the less famous tea plantation. (Unless you count the cops on scooters who pulled me over for changing lanes in Ponta Delgada, trying to listen to Google Maps and get on the freeway. They were perplexed by my International Driving Permit and sternly told me to respect the laws of Portugal. Never drive in Ponta Delgada if you can help it.)

So I really needed a tea plantation tour. Gorreana is the more famous tea plantation, but I'd been told they machine cut the tea leaves. Plus I'd tasted their teas at breakfast and not liked them much. Tea came to the Azores in the 19th century. Chinese experts were brought in and selected pekoe (as in Lipton's orange pekoe) as well suited to the climate.

 It's a bucolic setting on the north coast.

They have a full museum of historic equipment, used for drying and weighing and sorting.

Not so modern art.

British scales

The drying tea smelled divine.

I don't know what this machine did (maybe air drying? It looks like my old dehydrator), but it has a lot of character.

After the short tour, you enjoy a complimentary cup of tea. In true tea fashion, you can stay as long as you like.

I of course wanted to taste all the teas, so I got three pots plus milk and honey and had a proper tea party. The honey was remarkable, though not for sale, and I loved the honey spoon too.

I made a quick stop at a waterfall, and then headed to the town of Nordeste, pictured at the top of this post.

 

They were preparing for a festival. But outside of Ponta Delgada, you don't see a lot of tourists.

There are noticeably more Americans here than a week ago, presumably because of July 4th weekend. If I lived near New York, I could come to the Azores for a long weekend!

 Last stop was the Terra Nostra gardens in Furnas. This was a madhouse.

 This duck speaks for me.

It may look bucolic, but everyone was lining up to go in the hideous thermal pools.

Yes, that's really the color (below). No strong sulphur smell, but your swimsuit will turn colors.

They're about 5 feet deep and pleasantly warm. There are people of all ages lounging around, hogging the stairs, the usual. Most hotels have beach towels you can bring, so you don't ruin their regular towels. The people at the fancy hotel adjacent to the gardens have gray and maroon robes, like they're at an actual spa.

 

My joints felt good after soaking, but after being on less crowded islands, I couldn't wait to get out of Furnas.

I hadn't had lunch, so I drove half hour to Caloura, on the south coast, where Antonio had recommended his favorite seafood restaurant. Antonio knows best. And there I found the perfect sea pool.

I didn't go in the water, but it was wonderful just to be there, and watch the lifeguard doing push ups on the sea stairs when he thought no one was watching.

Bar Caloura overlooks the pool and the sea, and I had the most delicious grilled barracuda, with a glass of Portuguese wine and this splendid pineapple cake for dessert. I am going to miss crisp, drinkable wine for $2.50 a glass. And 90¢ espressos, served at 9 pm.

And then it was time to be on my way back to town. I'm all packed. My flight leaves much too early in the morning. My only concern is remembering the cheese—the cheese!—in the kitchen fridge.

Thanks for coming with me to the Azores. This trip came about because of a voucher I got from Delta for giving up my seat the day after the eclipse. I'm so glad it did.

The earth's soul may always be made of fire. 

—from the film at the Capelinhos volcano and lighthouse museum