Azores

theoldsmithy

Hall of Famer
Location
Cheshire, England
Name
Martin Connolly
Just back from a week in the Azores, a destination my wife and I had long wanted to see.
Full set here: Azores
We had an unscheduled stop in Angra do Heroismo on Terceira, as the airport on Sao Miguel was fogbound. Time for just a short stroll round a very interesting town.

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Vasco da Gama statue
by Martin Connolly, on Flickr

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Angra do Heroismo
by Martin Connolly, on Flickr

Some highlights from Sao Miguel in no particular order:

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Near Furnas
by Martin Connolly, on Flickr

The water here really is that colour due to volcanic activity:
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Furnas Lake
by Martin Connolly, on Flickr

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More hydrangeas!
by Martin Connolly, on Flickr

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Towards Povoacao
by Martin Connolly, on Flickr

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Salta do Prego waterfall
by Martin Connolly, on Flickr

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Path from Faial da Terra
by Martin Connolly, on Flickr

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Village dog
by Martin Connolly, on Flickr

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Vista do Rei on a cloudy day by Martin Connolly, on Flickr

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Sao Miguel North Coast 1 by Martin Connolly, on Flickr

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Australian Fig
by Martin Connolly, on Flickr
 
We just decided that we're going next year. Of course that means I've started to agonize over what gear to bring :crying:
I gave up agonizing about lenses and took my LX100 with the TZ60 as backup. You don't want heavy gear as the weather - at least in summer - is really humid and quite oppressive.
Sue - I didn't see any other examples of that tree TBH although there were quite a few eucalyptuses (eucalypti?) if not as many as on the Portuguese mainland.
I was surprised at how busy and developed Sao Miguel and Terceira were. However they have about 80% of the total population so I guess the others would be quieter. Sao Miguel seemed to have very little in the way of tourist infrastructure - very few bars/cafes/restaurants that you'd feel safe going into, and the food is limited and not very exciting. But you go there for the scenery which is (when not covered in thick fog) really spectacular. It goes from looking like English moorland to rolling fields, then alpine meadows, then rainforest, sometimes within a few hundred yards. And hydrangeas and agapanthuses...the roadsides are absolutely covered in the things which is quite a sight.
 
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