São Miguel, Azores

remygertrudables

May 30, 20244 min read

Updated: Jul 13, 2024

We recently came back from a 10 day trip in the Azores, specifically São Miguel Island. It was the most magical and lush place I have been to, incorporating so many different landscapes and activities. The pace of life there was very refreshing, and the food was so fresh. I feel like I stepped into a scene of Mamma Mia - I have come back inspired and ready to book my return flight haha.

A collection of iphone pictures from the island.

We partook in so many different activities, such as hiking and ATV-ing, as well as enjoying the hot springs & beach hopping. One of my favourite little trips we made was to Ceramica Viera in Lagoa. One of two ceramic studios still on the Island. When driving through the winding streets of Sao Miguel, it is not hard to miss all the beautiful hand painted ceramic tiles that adorn villas, churches, bus stations and businesses. They are used as signage for house numbers, company names and street signs. The amazing thing is that Ceramica Viera is the company that is responsible for hand painting a lot of these tiles and ceramic dishware on the island, as they have been up and running for five generations now.

While we were at the factory, we were able to witness the artisan's throw and shape the clay on the wheels, make final touches to a clay bowl before it is set to dry and watch how they hand paint each piece. Almost all of the pieces incorporate blue and white, which I find especially beautiful as my family is from the Netherlands. Delft blue tiles and ceramics are something I not only grew up with, but have admired for many years now.

An artist at her workstation hand painting floral designs on a glazed dish.

A collection of images from Ceramica Viera in Lagoa. I just love these images from the studios, so full of creativity and history.

Can you spot my name? ;) These letter tiles are used for houses, villas, churches and businesses' around the island.

It is interesting to note that Sao Miguel's beautiful surf coasts and landscapes were formed by volcanic rock. Sao Miguel is the most volcanically active island in the Azores, and three of the volcanoes on the island are still active. The last one that erupted on Sao Miguel from my understanding was in 1880, but the eruption that formed the landscape as we see it today was approximately 50,000 years ago. When we visited Santa Barbara we stumbled across a landmark showing the ruins of a water fountain that was buried by volcanic rock. It is so interesting to think of what has all been buried beneath the streets we walked upon. Another thing that is very interesting is the town Furnas, it is built in the middle of an active crater & their are hot springs scattered throughout the town to enjoy. They also are known for a unique dish called Cozido, which is a stew that has been slow cooked underground by volcanic heat. Each restaurant in town has their own identified hole in the ground, where they cook their stew all day and serve it at night.

Some horses grazing a open field overlooking Santa Barbara Beach.

The islands national flower is the Hydrangea, which can be seen throughout the entire island from May to September in shades of blues and purples. It actually is an invasive species that is believed to come from Japan in the 19th century, but because the soil in the Azores is moist and there is a moderate climate the flowers thrive.

Images from around the island, showing the lush rolling landscapes and a close up of the hydrangea flower.

Bar Caloura, a hot spot to jump into the ocean, sun bathe and hangout.

Some examples of the local architecture from Furnas and Caloura, & a photo of me!

The houses and public buildings on Sao Miguel are constructed with alluvial rock or volcanic stone. Their is an abundant amount of the material and therefore it is the perfect building material. The volcanic rock also apparently retains heat better and resists earthquakes ( seismic activity ).

Stuck behind cattle... a frequent experience on the island.

It is a little known fact that was told to us on many occasions throughout the trip that their are more cows than people on the islands!

A hike up Lagoa Do Fogo showing us all kinds of beautiful views including rolling hills, lush forests, farmland and abandoned buildings.

When we were ATVing and hiking we kept coming across these stone aqueducts. We learned that they were built to transport water from one place to another to provide fresh water to people in the villages. Specifically the one we encountered near Sete Cidades was built to deliver water from the lakes of Lagoa do Cario and Lagoas das Empadadas to the city of Ponta Delgada. So interesting!