Day 5: Algarve; Évora–hero x 2

I’m not normally a morning person, but we booked the earliest kayaking tour we could find and were lucky we did–though not with a lucky start. We carefully navigated to the address we were given, only to discover they’d moved the launch site to another beach down the coast that required a bit of offroading to reach. Thankfully we still arrived in time, and it was worth the effort. While we couldn’t make it to the most famous algarve, it was a beautiful day on the water and so cool to kayak into sea caves and algarves (the official name when a cave has a hole in the roof). I’d told our guides we were there for Kara’s birthday, and it was at one of these stops that he had the group sing happy birthday–only to discover another girl in the group shared the same birthday. Small world! As the morning went on, the water got rough so we had the “full experience” of getting doused by the waves as we paddled onto a secluded beach, and by the tour’s end our return was more like surfing into shore than kayaking. The winter swells from Africa were arriving, and the seas were so rough that our tour ended up being the last one of the day, and possibly for the season. My arms were thoroughly tired, but it was worth it! The day provided a chance to be heroes, as we drove the birthday twin and her travel buddy, along with their luggage, up from the beach to an Uber pick-up spot for their ride to the airport. A small thing for us, but for them it meant not having to carry their suitcases up a steep road and back into town.

Kayaking into an algarve

Classic algarve: a cave with holes in the ceiling

This rock formation is called the submarine.

Perfect kayaking weather!

One of the formations we kayaked through

Enjoying a beach we reached by kayak

One of the prettiest beaches in Portugal

One last photo before the paddle back

Drying off at a supermarket, we hit the road for Évora. The small city center was full of beautiful buildings, including Roman ruins of a temple, and an usual one: a chapel of bones. Built by Franciscan monks when the town’s cemeteries were filling up, it was fascinating and macabre. They also housed a museum of religious artifacts, but as an interesting balance to the bones they had a display of nativities from around the world. The hilltop Cathedral of Évora was beautiful, and we happened to be on the roof when the bells chimed. Walking the narrow streets of the old city, I got the shopping bug and treated myself to a cork purse, a cork nativity, and olive oil from a nearby vineyard. When in…Évora? 

Chapel of Bones; a sign says "We the bones that are here for yours we are waiting"

A balance to the bones: nativities from around the world. This one shows the town of Évora.

Typical street in the old part of Évora

Remains of a Roman temple in Évora

Detail of the Évora cathedral's door

Detail from the roof of Évora cathedral

Roof of the Évora cathedral

Hallway in the Evora cathedral

Cloister in the Évora cathedral--I loved that every circular window had a different pattern

Évora cathedral chapel

 

Dinner was at a Portuguese restaurant recommended by the hotel called Piparoza, and it was perfect weather to dine outside–which was fortunate because the only seating was in the middle of the street. The local olives and sausages were delicious. 

Enjoying Alejento cuisine

 Back at the hotel, we encountered a new experience: the key cards to our room didn’t work, and there was no staff in the lobby. A few angry guests said they’d waited there for quite some time, and no one was answering the hotel’s phone or app. Deciding it was time to be heroic again (and so we could get into our room), I entered the staff area and kept calling out to find someone. Eventually I found the restaurant’s kitchen upstairs, and an equally surprised dishwasher was able to get a hold of a pair of staff to help out the guests. A girl said it was the battery of the key card reader and proceeded to try repairing it, but was unsuccessful. Good thing we were only there for a night! I wrapped up the day with a quick dip in their pool under a starry sky.

Day 4: Farol de Sagres; Lagos

We left the Azores with a pre-dawn flight to Lisbon, and immediately hit the road to drive south to “the end of the world,” aka Fortaleza de Sagres. Along the way I soaked in the landscape: lots of pine and eucalyptus trees, and sure enough some cork and olive groves. The fort was built to defend Portugal from southern attacks, and where Prince Henry the Navigator sent out explorers. The fort itself wasn’t much to see, but the ocean views were great, and so was their exploration museum. It was a helpful history refresher, and helped me appreciate how our connected world is a product of all that exploration. Plus, it's hard not to love a place full of maps!

View from the walk around Fortaleza de Sagres ("end of the world")

Gazing out at the horizon, watching for ships

Maps! (reproduction, but still)

The fortress walls

Arriving in Lagos, we enjoyed the gorgeous cliff walk near sunset, and after checking into our hotel did the downtown walking tour ala Rick Steves. Lots of interesting information, but seeing the jacaranda trees felt like a bit of home at the end of a long day. Amid all the glories of exploration, it was interesting to see how they acknowledged (or mostly didn’t) their role in the slave trade, with Lagos being the first slave market in Europe. Back at the hotel I attempted a bit of handwashing and a quick night swim in the pool before bed.

Ponta da Piedade

Ponta da Piedade

The small slave trade museum--the fenced off area has a plaque acknowledging it

Prince Henry statue, and jacaranda trees in the square

Castelo de Lagos, and the entrance to the old part of the city

Castelo de Lagos, blending into the walls of other buildings

Day 3: São Miguel Island, Azores

Today was our last day on Sao Miguel and before checking out of our hotel, I took a quick walk to the beach to dip my toes in the middle of the Atlantic and collect a shell or two.

Beach in Povoacao

Dipping my toes in the Atlantic

Calçada portuguesa in Povoacao

Our first stop was Farol do Arnel, the oldest lighthouse on the island. It sits on a small peninsula down a short road too steep for cars, and almost too steep for me. It was a little disappointing that the lighthouse isn’t open to the public, but the views of the surrounding coastline were gorgeous as we hiked back out. In the end, my favorite view of the lighthouse itself was from a nearby overlook. 

Farol do Arnel, up close after hiking down the road

Coastline near Farol do Arnel while hiking back up the road (our car is at the top of these cliffs)

overlook of Farol do Arnel (just a few feet away from our car)

Our next stop was Jardim Botânico da Ribeira do Guilherme, a combination of landscaped gardens and outdoor museum honoring the natural and agricultural history of the region. We briefly hiked along waterfalls and down paths past old mills-turned-exhibits, and capped our visit with sampling a brand of ice cream using local milk. I tried a flavor called “Queijada Graciosa” and can only say it was delicious.

Gardens and kinetic sculpture at Jardim Botânico da Ribeira do Guilherme

Waterfall at Jardim Botânico da Ribeira do Guilherme

Historic mill-turned-exhibit space at Jardim Botânico da Ribeira do Guilherme

Water channeled into the mills to power the grindstones at Jardim Botânico da Ribeira do Guilherme

Overlook at Jardim Botânico da Ribeira do Guilherme

Local gelato

Hydrangea hillside

Stopping in Ribeira Grande, I enjoyed a light vegetable soup for lunch overlooking the ocean and a brief walk around the pretty town, including a stop for pastries.

View from a bridge of the other historic bridges in Riberia Grande

Town hall in Riberia Grande

Fueled and with a free afternoon, we returned to Sete Cidades and were finally rewarded with views! Albeit, intermittent views. We went on the short Miradouro da Boca do Inferno trail which was mostly cloudy, but waiting it out revealed dramatic cliffs and a gorgeous view of the lakes below.

Lagoa Azul, at last!

What the view usually looked like: peeking through the clouds

When the clouds lifted, I saw the dramatic cliffs on either side of the trail.

More of the beauty of Sete Cidades

Afterward we returned to the coast and visited another overlook called Miradouro da Ponta do Escalvado. 

view from the overlook

By this point we’d nearly driven all the way around the island, so we completed the loop before returning the rental car and taking a taxi to our hotel downtown. The way the hotel was managed was a little quirky, but the location was great. It was a short walk to the waterfront where we found one of the few open restaurants for dinner, and while the service was slow the key lime pie was wonderful. It was a sweet ending to our time in the Azores.

A sweet finale to the Azores

Day 2: São Miguel Island, Azores

Our day started with a visit to a small church called Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Paz, which sits at the top of a hill and has tile images at each landing on the stairs leading to it. Of the handful of scenes depicted, I was surprised to see Gethsemane since it’s not as common in Catholic art. But by then I was less surprised to see hydrangeas in the landscaping, as they were planted along the roads all over the island. Beautiful, and no small feat to keep them trimmed! 

Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Paz

View from Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Paz

From there, it was a short drive to our hike to Lagoa do Fofo (another volcanic crater lake, but on the opposite side of the island from Sete Cidades). The trailhead was unassuming and it almost felt like we were cutting through someone’s farm to start our rainy hike. During the steepest part at the beginning we crossed paths with a tractor, and I wouldn’t have minded hitching a ride. But once up, the trail flattened and we cut through a pine forest before following along a concrete water channel. This came in handy for me, as I was able to rinse off my muddy sandals repeatedly during that section. We entered a valley and it felt like a lost world of scrubby bushes and tiny birds before reaching the lake. 

Trail along the aqueduct

Hiking in the mud with adjacent aqueduct foot bath

Hiking in the caldera (Kara for scale)

Hiking in the caldera

Lagoa do Fofo

Enjoyed these fragrant flowers along our hike

The hike back wasn’t as grueling, but I was worn out by the time we got back to the car, so I only agreed to the idea of visiting a nearby lake because I thought it was a short walk to an overlook. Not quite–more like a short and steep hike down to the lake, but Lago do Congro also had its charms. It was also on the way(ish) to Furnas, so named because the geothermal activity that formed the islands is still going strong there. 

Lago do Congro

Again, my inner geology nerd geeked out as we walked around the Caldeiras park of mini geysers, calderas, and fumaroles bubbling away. Ever ones to tame nature, they had landscaped the areas around them and even put dainty tile signs near the named features. The sulfur smell was unavoidable, but that didn’t prevent me from sampling the cooled water from a drinking fountain–and wishing I hadn’t. Too many minerals for my tastebuds! Luckily they sold corn on the cob across the street that was steamed by the ground without tasting like it, which helped to clear up my taste buds.

Caldeiras park

fumaroles

River along Caldeiras park

At this point Kara truly indulged me with a trip to a nearby thermal bath called Poca da Dona Beija. There was a line to enter and a time limit, but it was just the thing to calm my tired muscles at the end of a long day. They had several outdoor pools of various temperatures, with the hottest water closest to the source.

Entrance to Poca da Dona Beija

Poca da Dona Beija

Fully relaxed, we drove back to our hotel and the rains picked up so as we arrived in Povoacao, it was pouring. I opted to brave the elements to find a place to eat on a Saturday night, and had the streets virtually to myself in the downpour as I walked to a nearby restaurant. I must have looked pretty bad when the restaurant owner gave me a paper towel to dry myself off with before even handing me a menu! It was a small family restaurant with good food, but the highlight was when the family celebrating a birthday at the table next to me shared a slice of their cake. A small but kind gesture before I sloshed back to the hotel and sleep

birthday cake from a stranger