Adventurers of the Atlantic
Sabone, who had shared stories about the island with us before and inspired the trip, was keen to show us his favourite places and we were grateful to be in the hands of a true adventurer. At only 19 years old he sailed from Azores to Lisbon and Azores to Madeira in a Hobie Cat, without food, no stopping, no support and without telling his family. With a mate like him, our trip was off to a good start! Living in an island in the middle of the Atlantic, and being sports lovers, it is easy to understand that the inhabitants of the Azores live their life inspired by and playing in the Ocean. It is a fisherman’s land and the island also hosts international surf, body board and triathlon events. It’s also a stopping place for travellers and adventurers, and because of this, is a meeting place for all kind of cultures and characters – the crazy, fearless and brilliant all find a place here to call home.
A living life island
The Azores seem to breathe with their own rhythm and one you soon find yourself moving to. Maybe it is because how close to nature you feel here. The forests couldn’t be more lush and leafy, the cliffs come from the sea and climb up vertical to the sky. The island is full of green, wild flowers colour the fields, and hill after hill, the paths draw lines between the multicolour colonial houses in the villages. Each town has a church that dominates the skyline, not so big but beautiful and built with black volcanic rocks. The clouds are passing by, loaded and powerful; some of them get stuck in the higher points of the backgrounds, adding to the drama and ambience. We visit many of the “lagoas”. Each crater in this island, and there are so many, has a lagoon. The colours are almost fluorescent, as if the rain was pulling the green of the vegetation downhill and the water was an iridescent potion of emerald light. With the sunlight, it seemed that a spotlight was turned on in the bottom of the crater; it was so impressive and unreal. Driving on some lanes, we saw thin columns of white smoke coming out of the forest or between houses. They are hot spots or boilers. In some places it heats rivers, lagoons or even the open sea, so the people take advantage of this, building natural hot baths. In Furnas, we couldn’t believe our eyes. Between the village streets there are boiling waters, and coming out of the walls, taps of hot water. Even soda in some of them! Always with a strong iron flavour, and the locals say full of beneficial health properties. These places are meeting points, where people fill bottles with soda, or bring their pot to take a coffee or a tea made with water boiled by the earth!
