Day Two: Sete Cidades

Day two of our excellent adventure brought us ALLLL over the island and was probably my favorite day of the trip. The weather was absolutely perfect so we took advantage since Apparently the weather on the Azores is rather unpredictable: although the temperature is temperate, rain comes and goes quickly and unexpectedly.

We mainly went off this great itinerary we found on www.geekyexplorer.com and then adjusted it to our personal needs. I strongly suggest checking out his blog if you are planning on visiting the Azores any time soon. He used to be a local and has fantastic tips and advice. I’ll also be posting some similar details but he’s probably more reliable since he was raised there and I merely spent a week lol.

So we started at this abandoned hotel called Monte Palace which was sooo cool! It was supposed to be this sort of super hotel and has one of the best views of the lakes of Sete Cidades, known as Vista do Rei. It was only functional for about two years and then completely cleared out and abandoned. It was incredibly surreal and the view from the roof was unbeatable.

You can't tell very well from my pictures because we were not there at the time of day to capture the colors properly, but one of the lakes is green and the other is blue. The locals have a legend as to why that is and i've copied/pasted it below from this site. https://mysticalportugal.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/legend-of-the-lakes-of-sete-cidades/

LEGEND OF THE ‘LAKES OF SETE CIDADES’

This legend is very well known in Portugal, as it is about one of the most beautiful lakes in the country, located in the Azores. It is a beautiful love story that I believe will touch your hearts.

Legend has it that many, many years ago, a kind young Princess with bright blue eyes lived in a great kingdom, in the place where the village of Sete Cidades exists today.

The Princess loved her life in the countryside and one of her favourite things do was to walk through the fields, smelling the flowers, dipping her feet in the stream or simply admiring the beauty of the mountains and valleys that surrounded the kingdom.

One day along her walk, the young Princess saw a herd of sheep grazing in a meadow. Nearby watching the herd was a lovely green-eyed Shepherd and the Princess decided to talk to him.

The Princess and the Shepherd talked for a long time – about the animals, the flowers and the weather. From this moment on, they met every day to talk to each other.

As the days and weeks went by, the princess and the shepherd met every day in the very same spot that they first met. As time passed, they fell in love and they promised each other their eternal love.

When the King heard that the Princess had been meeting with the Shepherd, he was not pleased. The King wanted for his daughter to marry a Prince from one of the neighbouring kingdoms and so he forbade her from seeing the Shepherd again.

Out of respect to her father, the Princess accepted this cruel decision but she pleaded with him to allow them to meet one last time, so that she could say goodbye. Touched by her plea, the King agreed.

The Princess and the Shepherd met one last time, in the green fields where they first met. Once again they talked and talked, not only of their love but of their parting as well.

As they talked, they cried. They cried so much that the tears shed from the Princess’s blue eyes streamed down the valley and formed a blue lagoon. The tears which poured from the Shepherd’s green eyes formed a green lagoon.

At last the couple said their goodbyes and the tears which they cried formed two lagoons that would remain together forever- just like the Princess and the Shepherd who could never be together, but would never part.

They are called the ‘Lakes of Sete Cidades’. On bright, sunny days the colours of the lagoons are so intense, that you can almost imagine the passionate way that the young Shepherd looked at his Princess…

There you have it, the tale of the two lakes.

Anyhoo, We hiked behind the hotel for a bit and fun fact: There are no native mammals on the Azores, only those introduced by the Portuguese. There are also no snakes or anything poisonous so you can hike pretty much anywhere without worrying about being mauled by a bear or cougar. I am from Colorado and that is a real concern. However, Ryan is younger than me so I guess that kind of makes me a cougar or so he says…anyways…

From Vista do Rei we went to Miradouro da Boca do Inferno which is the location you will most frequently see when you google Azores or Sao Miguel. Google it, you’ll see similar but better pictures. There were a lot of tourists but we went off the beaten path a little and got some really cool shots. It was an absolutely breathtaking view and probably my favorite part of the trip. Here's a little slideshow of the view.

We went into town to try and eat but apparently there are very few dining options in Sete Cidades and they all needed a reservation so we moved onto the next town where I ate shrimp that still had the heads on and Ryan kept popping the eyes…needless to say, I did not enjoy lunch very much.

Then we went to Ponta Da Ferraria which is this cool little cove with hot springs and lava rocks. We just sat, relaxed, and watched the waves for a bit and it was a nice way to end our afternoon.

We stopped at a few scenic view points then went back to Ponta Delgada and Ryan, being the little foodie that he is, spent forever trying to find the perfect restaurant and we landed on “Tasca” which ended up being the best meal we had on the Island.

We went at 5pm and were told that the only opening in 4 days was that evening at 11pm. Apparently we found the most popular restaurant in town and decided to take the 11pm slot. They had the most amazing, authentic tapas and although we were tired, 100% worth the wait.

And that was day 2 of our trip! Stay tuned for more details on our vacation, things you should know about driving there, eating, where we stayed, and other random information that I think is helpful if you plan on visiting in the future!