"a pineapple, for you"

Did you know a pineapple takes two years to ripen to maturity? But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First stop today was Ponta da Ferraria. As you know people swim in the Atlantic here. It's not freezing (like the Pacific) but it's not exactly warm.

But at low tide, on this volcanic island, hot water emerges from the vents on the ocean floor. And if you happen to arrive at just the right moment, during the 4 hours of low tide in the morning or evening, hot water mixes with cold water for a unique soaking experience.

Yes, it's a scene. This was the first time in a week I saw so many people in one place.

I was glad I had hiking sandals and a stick for navigating the sharp lava. Highly recommended.

This is the westernmost part of São Miguel. There's a farol (lighthouse) nearby.

 Dairy cows, working hard on that delicious Azorean cheese.

The view north to Mosteiros, a village with really narrow streets

where I had amazing prawns in garlic sauce for lunch. Everyone else was eating octopus, but I remembered Soul of an Octopus and stuck to crustaceans.

More enormous wild hydrangea lining the roads. I felt guilty taking photos while I drove, until I noticed everyone else doing the same thing.

 Next stop: Sete Cidades, or the 7 cities. These brightly colored aqua lakes lie inside a dormant volcano crater.

 They are also why I wanted to come to the Azores.

The lakes turn bright blue and green when the sun comes out. The skies were never blue, but the sun kept right on trying.

(These ducks are for my mom.)

 So many exquisite flowers.

 Aah.

At the lookout at the top of the hill lies the ruins of a luxury hotel, which closed 7 years ago. It says you can't go in, but there were people up on the roof. I took a quick look at the "lobby" and spiral staircases.

Last look at Sete Cidades. Although this is when I knew I had to come to the Azores, it doesn't even rank among the best things I've done here. You can make a day of it and hike down from the crater rim to the town at the bottom.

My final stop of the day was one of many pineapple plantations in the Azores. 

Getting there was comical. I don't have a European sim card for my phone, so I rely on wifi and offline maps. I mapped the route with Google before I left the wifi at the restaurant.

The freeway part was fast and easy, but then I got off on a series of roundabouts. Google would say unhelpful things like "make the second right" (which was a left) or "turn southeast." There's nothing like a roundabout in an unfamiliar place to make you lose your sense of direction.

Pineapples are grown in greenhouses, with their peers at similar stages of development. 

Are you hungry yet? They sell pineapple liqueur at the gift shop, and pineapple pastries at the gazebo.

They even have a private collection of pineapple-iana. Cases and cases of pineapple kitsch. I loved it. Is it any wonder Portuguese cowboys known as paniolos went to Hawaii?

Clear skies walking back to the hotel in Ponta Delgada. It's weird to be back in the "big" city again. The streets are incredibly narrow. People tailgate and honk. My hotel is on a pedestrian mall, and all the streets nearby are one way. So parking nearby is kind of a nightmare. 

The Hotel Alcides is also home to the Restaurant Alcides. And whenever I mentioned to locals like Antonio and Felipe that I was staying here, they commented on how good the steak was.

And was it ever! Along with my perfectly rare steak, served with melted butter, I had a copa de vinho tinto made by the Freitas family. The cheese course is extra, and I asked if they could wrap it up for me; my server did that and more, adding some bread and jam and more pieces of cheese.

The only thing missing from this deeply satisfying meal is the grilled pineapple, which I devoured.

the north shore

A fajas with Terceira on the horizon.

You turn down the lane (a canada) to a faja. The road goes from paved to clay and gets progressively steeper. I worry if the car I borrowed from Felipe is really rugged enough to get down this. Or up it. At the bottom, I head back immediately, afraid of being trapped before I have to leave for the airport in a few hours.

Sao Jorge has steep slopes, with the bays of the island separated by a tall ridge, which was completely foggy when I drove through it.

 At the bottom are the towns: fajas. This one has a swimming pool too.

Or you can just dive in.

 It's pretty rugged. I'm glad I don't live somewhere so remote. But even the farther spot on the island is less than an hour's drive to the airport.

I had fish for lunch, and a half bottle of Casal Garcia. Refrescante vinho verde!

 In my last hours on Sao Jorge, I discover the coast north of Urzulina. This is a collapse crater.

While most of Sao Jorge is quite old, with many fajas and town established in the 19th century and earlier, Velas decided it needed a municipal auditorium with a modern look. That's the library to the left of the sailboat.

A soccer match was playing when the sun came out.

 As I flew back to San Miguel, I looked out the window and saw my cottage!

Even better, there was a rainbow.

So now I'm back in Ponta Delgada, the land of beautiful churches. There are so many more people here than on Faial or Pico or Sao Jorge. Though I went to dinner, and had my first piripiri, and ran smack into Antonio and Lino, who had recommended it to me.

The church was all lit up tonight. I headed out for a free concert (at 10 pm on a Sunday). For some reason I thought it would be organ music, but instead it was 70s and 80s rock and rock.

 Whoever she was, she has undenial charisma. She reminded me of Tina Turner.

water nymphs

A day that involves swimming and soaking in hot springs warmed by a volcano is a very good day. Especially when it ends at Lagoa de Fogo, in a volcanic crater, above. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Antonio recommended I take the hop on/hop off bus to Ribeira Grande, a village on the north shore of Sao Miguel. Highways are good here, so it only took about 15 minutes. Each seat has a headset jack, so the drivers play a tape that corresponds to the location. Not a bad deal for 14 euros.

Last month was the ghost festival, which happens on all the islands. Sao Miguel is known as the green island. You'll see why soon.

Azorean buildings have distinctive black lava bricks. They're used in the streets too.

According to the bus audio, which also featured the music of Madredeus!, Sao Miguel was first discovered by Europeans in the 14th century (not sure if there were any indigenous people), and was a frequent stop of Genovese in the 15th. 

Christopher Columbus came on the way to the Americas to restock, and was arrested. In the early 19th century, Jewish merchants began to come here. Portugal has perhaps always been a melting pot, with Christians, Jews, and Muslims and sea farers. These islands off the coast of where Europe meets Africa even moreso.

I took a short walk to the northern edge of the bay. There's a big public swimming pool (1.5 euros admission plus .5 euros for a locker) and a public beach.

 Don't forget sunscreen.

This is the view facing west from the swimming pool and public beach. There's a cove famous for surfing to the far left.

Cheese break. I headed back to the main square for a snack. This is Sao Jorge (aka St George), an island I'll be visiting. Not a coincidence that one of my favorite Sonoma cheese is St George, from the Matos family. 

Laranjada is a local orange soda. Portugal grew oranges for export to Britain until a blight wiped them out in the 19th century.

Traffic light condiments. Back on the bus. The next stop was Caldeira Velha, a park on the edge of the volcano. 

 The forest is breathtaking.

 Spring water from the volcano feeds a variety of pools.

I probably could have gotten a better picture, but I wasn't willing to risk my phone for a selfie under the waterfall.

 This place wasn't even on my top ten for the Azores, but it was unmissable.

 A whole ecosystem in miniature.

 I don't remember Costa Rica being this lush. Maybe because it rained so much.

The last leg of the loop took us up to Lagoa do Fogo, up Fogo volcano, for a view in every direction.

Yeah.

I headed back to the guesthouse, where Antonio created a completely custom itinerary for the rest of my days on Sao Miguel. It's that kind of place. Also he offered me a home-made snack, a quiche with asparagus. He and Lino are excellent cooks. They are also both on diets and can't eat the banana cinnamon bread or breakfast burritos they lovingly prepare for guests.

After a shower, I thought it might be nice to see the sun set, and jokingly asked if there was a rooftop bar in town. Turns out the fancy hotel around the corner has one—with a sushi bar.

Who needs a Wimpi snack bar when you can have this?

To get here, I had to find the entrance behind a hidden door on a hall full of guest rooms. (It's the white doorbell on the right.)

Local fish for the win. With passionfruit sauce.

A little pricey, by Azorean standards. But well worth it.

Tomorrow I'm flying to Horta, in the central Azorean group. Lots of excitement to come.