Sao Miguel, Azores (Wedding Anniversary)

On April 21^st Sam and I celebrated our 2^nd wedding anniversary. This was also the day that we reached land for the first time in a week, having crossed most of the Atlantic Ocean. We were scheduled to dock in Sao Miguel, Azores for the day. We took a tour around the Island, the largest in the Archipelago, formed by the meeting of three large tectonic plates.

We found out that the islands are the antipodes of New Zealand, being exactly on the opposite side of the world! It was only slightly surprising then, that the landscapes and general appearance of the land bore a startling resemblance to our homeland. I am actually feeling incredibly homesick for the first time today, and I wonder if perhaps this island had something to do with that!

The northern side is sheltered from the rough northern weather and has a vast amount of dairy farms, as well as many of the main towns and villages. There are many banana and pineapple plantations in this part too. We saw a small island not 300m from the coast, where the Red Bull Cliff Diving competitions will be held soon.

Our tour stopped in a the Furnas Valley, which is a vast valley formed from a volcanic eruption. The soil is incredibly fertile and also warm, so all manner of plants grow there. We visited a botanic garden named “Terra Nostra”, which was first created in the 1800s when romantic gardens were very popular in Europe. There were plants from all over the world and our tour guide boasted of the trees from New Zealand, the antipodes. We were incredibly excited and it only took us a few moments to identify them as a pohutakawa and cabbage tree.

There is a lot of volcanic activity in the valley (Rotorua, anyone??), and we saw a hot swimming pool with thermally heated iron water and a bunch of “caldeira” (geysers).

On leaving the valley we stopped for a photo opportunity looking down onto the quaint valley and the “fire lake”.

The northern side of the island met the ocean with large cliffs and was much more wild than the south. This side also had a large number of tea plantations. We stopped in the “city” of Ribeira Grande, which means large river, though in actual fact it was a small stream. I loved the quaint town though, and particularly the gorgeous bridge over the stream, which ran through the centre of the town.

 All in all, it felt like a small NZ meets Portugal meets the islands. It was a stunning place to visit and we enjoyed a glass of wine and local cheese in the capital Ponta Delgada afterwards. For those who are interested in the rest of our anniversary celebrations, we went to the fanciest restaurant on board the ship for an extensive French dinner including a rather large Chateaubriand steak, Muscovy duck and everything imaginable on either side. It was an amazing day.