PORTUGAL
Azores,
an anticyclonic break
Apart from the volcanoes and their sulphurous setting, go
venture into the centre of the island and see the Lagoa do
Fogo in the crater of an old volcano. The enormous lake, with
its crystal clear water, edged with endemic vegetation, is
natural reserve. Sao Miguel, like the other islands in the
archipelago, has not escaped from its volcanic destiny which,
during the 16th century, had most of its homes destroyed by
huge earthquakes.
Long ago the
capital, Ponta Delgada,
used to be a simple fishing hamlet, with a provincial atmosphere,
not the least of its charms. The sea front stretches three
kilometres and brings together the biggest activity of the
town, maritime trading with the continent, and the port attracts
quite a lot of yachtsmen. By going into the town, the historical
part with its mansions dates from the 17th and 19th centuries.
The most remarkable of these being those of Marques Mareira,
Soares de Albergaria and the former home of Thomas Hickling,
which is now the Hotel Sao Pedro.
The Las Portas
de Cidade Square and the pompous Arc de Triomphe are examples
of the typical Baroque architecture that can be found in most
of the buildings of the town, such as the Sant'Ana Palace,
the town hall, the churches and the group of monasteries of
Santa Barbara or Nossa Senhora do Esperenca.
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The
favourite attraction for tourists, is the Vales das Furnas and
the Caldeiras, which are area of intensive volcanic activity
with bubbling mud and sulphurous water. It is also the place
that the Ponta Delgada inhabitants go for Sunday outings in
order to take ferruginous spa baths, bathe in the hot water
swimming pool of the Terra Nostra Hotel, or to have a meal at
Tony's who cooks a wonderful cozido, a kind of stew cooked in
a hermetically sealed pot in the hot sun.
Another curiosity that shouldn't
be missed is the crater-lake of 'Sete Cidades' which has a
circumference of 12 kilometres. In some places the sheer face
plunges 300 metres like a curtain of greenery.
Hotel Talisman
Ponta Delgada
Tel : 00 351 9500 089
Portugal Tourist Office
135, Bd Haussmann
75008 Paris, France.
Tel : 01.56.88.30.30
How
to get there
=> TAP-Air Portugal
daily flights from Lisbon (2 hours)
=> SATA has flights from Lisbon to Ponta
Delgata, also 2 hours.
Golf
=> Batalha Golf Course
=> Furnas Golf Course
Tel : 00 351 296 498 560 www.virtualazores.com/verde.
golf
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Typical
chuirch
Ponta Delgada
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