The Azores just might be the most interesting destination you’ve either never heard of or never seriously considered. It’s something of a mystery why more New Englanders don’t visit the archipelago, which functions as an autonomous region of Portugal.
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photograph from visitazores.com
The side-by-side lakes, one green, one blue, called Sete Cidades are a must-see on the Azorean island of Sao Miguel.
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PHotograph by istockphoto
Ponta Delgada’s downtown is immaculate.
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photograph by Denise Drower Swidey
A rainbow forms over Lagoa das Furnas, a volcanic crater lake on Sao Miguel.
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photograph by Denise Drower Swidey
Local chef Paulo Costa lowers a wrapped pot filled with meats and vegetables into the hot earth for slow cooking.
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photograph from visitazores.com
Boston is the only American city offering year-round nonstop flights to Sao Miguel, whose population of nearly 140,000 exceeds the combined total inhabitants of the eight other islands.
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Photograph from visitazores.com
And the flight there takes only about four hours.
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Photograph from visitazores.com
Tourists expecting to find the white-sand beaches of the tropics will probably be disappointed. Beaches are attractive but generally rugged. Above, Milicias Beach.
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Photograph from visitazores.com
Known for its hot springs, Furnas is a verdant village that hugs a light bulb-shaped lake sitting inside the rim of a volcano that last erupted in 1630. Everywhere you look there are fumaroles, those openings in the crust of the earth where steam and gases pour out.
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Photograph from visitazores.com
The furmaroles are unmistakable reminders that you’re standing on a volcano, and they make the center of the earth feel a whole lot closer than it really is.
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Photograph from visitazores.com
There are numerous fountains where you can sample water from various mineral springs, each one with its own distinctive taste.
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Photograph from visitazores.com
Lagoa do Fogo, or “Fire Lake,” is a gorgeous blue lake sitting in a volcanic crater rimmed by green mountains.
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