Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel Island, the Azores
We felt big entering the harbor of Ponta Delgada in a large vessel. This is a small city (population 125,000) and is the capital of the Island of Sao Miguel. Saint Michael Island is only one of the eight important islands of the Azores Archipelago, and also the westernmost of all. It is called "The Green Island" due to the great amount of rain and the fantastic growth of the plants and trees on the island. This archipelago was discovered in 1427, yet the Medici Atlas of 1351 shows the islands there already. It is said that Prince Henry the Navigator, of Portugal, ordered one Goncalo Velho Cabral to sail westwards to find the islands he thought must exist.
As soon as we had finished breakfast, we took a lovely drive around a good part of the island, going west along the shore line to the great volcano of the island, Pico da Vara, with two lovely colored lagoons inside, Lagoa Azul (Blue Lagoon) and Lagoa Verde (Green Lagoon). The drive led us along verdant pastures, where we had the opportunity of seeing the Azores’ principal product: cattle. The preferred race of cows is Friesian and Holstein, and a good amount of powdered milk and butter and cheese are produced, most for export. The area we visited was near Sete Cidades, a small cute town of farmers. A few miles ahead the sand road we stopped, and had refreshments. One species of plant attracted our attention: Tibouchina, with big, absolutely purple flowers! We enjoyed the scenery for a while, and then had a nice walk along the lakeside, seeing many different plants, and the fat cows of the area. The forest consisted of Japanese cedars, which are used as a very important wood source for the houses.
Our drive back was very scenic, as the fog coming in from the ocean made the views more interesting.
We felt big entering the harbor of Ponta Delgada in a large vessel. This is a small city (population 125,000) and is the capital of the Island of Sao Miguel. Saint Michael Island is only one of the eight important islands of the Azores Archipelago, and also the westernmost of all. It is called "The Green Island" due to the great amount of rain and the fantastic growth of the plants and trees on the island. This archipelago was discovered in 1427, yet the Medici Atlas of 1351 shows the islands there already. It is said that Prince Henry the Navigator, of Portugal, ordered one Goncalo Velho Cabral to sail westwards to find the islands he thought must exist.
As soon as we had finished breakfast, we took a lovely drive around a good part of the island, going west along the shore line to the great volcano of the island, Pico da Vara, with two lovely colored lagoons inside, Lagoa Azul (Blue Lagoon) and Lagoa Verde (Green Lagoon). The drive led us along verdant pastures, where we had the opportunity of seeing the Azores’ principal product: cattle. The preferred race of cows is Friesian and Holstein, and a good amount of powdered milk and butter and cheese are produced, most for export. The area we visited was near Sete Cidades, a small cute town of farmers. A few miles ahead the sand road we stopped, and had refreshments. One species of plant attracted our attention: Tibouchina, with big, absolutely purple flowers! We enjoyed the scenery for a while, and then had a nice walk along the lakeside, seeing many different plants, and the fat cows of the area. The forest consisted of Japanese cedars, which are used as a very important wood source for the houses.
Our drive back was very scenic, as the fog coming in from the ocean made the views more interesting.
