Hi everyone!
A short(ish) review which really won't do this incredible destination justice! Sao Miguel is the main island of the Azores and is called the Green Island for a very good reason - you really have to see the scenery for yourself to truly appreciate it. It is truly stunning, so many deep shades of green and we were lucky, the hydrangeas were just coming into bloom when we were there. They are scattered throughout the island, on every road and hedgerow, along with many other colourful flowers, shrubs and trees. We saw green and blue lakes, waterfalls, rugged coastlines and at one point, we could see the whole width of the island - both coasts in the one view! It was stupendous, a joy to see and to photograph and I am very glad I went.
We had a half day whale watching excursion as an optional and almost everyone in our group of 20 went - we were rewarded with two sightings of a sperm whale and pods of dolphins, who performed wonderfully for us, jumping out of the water and following alongside the boat. A magical experience and I am very happy to have finally seen a whale!
The food was very good throughout the tour and this year it is half board (the number of included dinners next year is being reduced) - we ate in the hotel every night and it was generally excellent, with plenty of choice. I am afraid to get on the scales!! The hotel, the Marina Atlantico, is very good, with comfortable beds, a great shower and nice balconies overlooking the marina (if you upgrade to a sea view). There is a public outdoor pool opposite the hotel (and an ATM). There are places to eat around a ten minute walk along the seafront and the hotel is around 10 minutes from the centre.
My only criticism of this great tour is that there is too much free time. If you do the optional whale watching tour (and you'd be mad not to!), there are still three half days and a full day free. There is not much to do around Ponta Delgada (the capital) - we did the toy train of the gardens in the city one day and it was really lovely. We were going to do a different tour on the toy train on our last day, but it was cancelled. We asked our wonderful tour manager, Filomena Lima, for some help and she very kindly organised two optional excursions on our free day - a half day visit to a pottery workshop (very interesting) and even better, a trip to see Lagoa do Fogo, which is the most picturesque lake on the island (utterly stunning! Why isn't this included in the itinerary?!). For the afternoon, she organised a trip on the Big Truck, which took us back to Sete Cidades, where you can view the twin green and blue lakes - the difference being that the truck can take you along the ridge of the caldera for a much closer and different perspective of the lakes. Just over half of the group did the two extra tours and we declared it to be the best day of the holiday! The only other way the tour could be improved is to take a day trip to one of the other islands - there are several ferry and flight options I understand and this could be offered as an optional excursion, I feel. We are most grateful to Filomena, who went above and beyond to ensure that we all had a wonderful time on our tour. She is an excellent tour manager, one of the best that I have had. The local guide, Emma, was not very inspiring I'm afraid.
I strongly recommend this tour to a unique destination - it is presently only attracting small numbers of tourists, so go soon before it becomes commercialised. I loved the traditional Portuguese architecture and food. And flying Ryanair was not a problem! All in all, a lovely week, not too hectic and I greatly enjoyed the company of some familiar faces. Do go!
All the best,
Bob
