Wednesday, day #4 on Sao Miguel - we wanted to see a beach and a waterfall and we found both and so much more.
So, naturally we were curious if there is any windsurfing on the island, unfortunately, we didn’t find any. I am sure though if you bring your own gear and like wave surfing - it’ll be great. It has been windy pretty much the whole time we were on Sao Miguel, it was great!
We did find a real beach, you know sand and rolling surf, beach goers - here’s proof. This is Santa Barbara beach on Sao Miguel, apparently, rather famous for surfing (just not windsurfing).
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Most of the island has a rocky shore line, no wonder considering the volcanic nature of the Azores. Personally, I find rocky coastlines gorgeous but, of course, every now and then it’s also nice to be able to actually get into the water, right?
Anyways, we found a beach, now what about the waterfall? We also found one of those buuuut - we didn’t get close to it. Here you can see it in this photo. Or - can you? The view was absolutely gorgeous. The mountains, shoreline and ocean in the distance.
Basically, we had missed the turn off that would get us closer to the waterfall and instead went further up the mountain, Mount Escudo, which gave us this beautiful view down to the ocean and over the mountains. I tell you this was one steep and winding road. Mind you I have been in the Alps and had my fair share of them. This one - it was steep! And no guard rails or anything.
We got pretty high and the vegetation changed completely. From tropical and sub-tropical to high altitude complete with moss and lichen.
We did double back downhill to the road turning off towards the waterfall and also found something that resembled a car park but the way towards the waterfall seemed extremely overgrown, uneven with boulders and also quite a ways and the only parking spots along the narrow road closer to the waterfall and less perilous were taken. So, we called it a wash out, we weren’t going to risk it with David’s bad foot and us not knowing exactly the way, there were going to be other waterfalls.
Instead we went back up the mountain again and followed along the road a little further before circling back to the northern coastal road to explore the north east of the island. I had found mention of a lighthouse and several coastal view points that needed exploring.
But first - does this picture remind anyone else of Switzerland with the green hills and cows (minus the ocean)?
Farol do Arnel
The lighthouse is no longer in use but it is one of the oldest if not the oldest in Portugal, And with its red roof it makes for some awesome photos, don't you think? However, fair warning - the climb down to the lighthouse and fishing village and then back up to the car park is extremely (!) strenuous. We parked our car and started walking to the entrance with a sign saying that going down by car to the lighthouse is not recommended. We were joking around about the wording because while it is not forbidden to drive down it is not recommended. Later, after having walked a little we learnt why.
To say that the road is steep is an understatement. Technical specs: 22 % descent/ascent, altitude meters = 152 and only a total of 700 m - all in several s-curves. The way down is okay, not hard yet can be tough on knees but the way up… oh my, together with the heat it got our hearts pumping. So much that every few minutes we needed to stop for a few moments to catch our breath again and try not to overheat. And, trust me, we were not alone in doing this. That short hill mountain was pretty murderous. But - we made it!!
Oh, and I'm very glad we followed the recommendation and didn't take the car - oncoming traffic up or down hill, no visibility in the s-curves, extremely narrow and extremely steep road, two cars had a little run in with each other while we were walking down. Glad we parked on top.
You see this hillside or almost cliffside in the first picture? That is how steep it was if you were to go down straight line. We're about half way down here when I took the picture and see how small the cars and boats at sea level are. I constantly wondered how people live there? How do they get deliveries? Where do they park their cars? No idea.
After that adventure we were happy to continue our drive along the coast line a little further to another view point. And it was a good one in the form of a cute, little botanical garden with public BBQs (which reminded me of Australia).
Never mind my goofy smile and wind tousled hair but look at how far and steep it is to sea level. It was just amazing sitting there among the pretty flowers on that stone wall overlooking the ocean being cooled off by the breeze - so nice.
We decided to use this moment to write a few postcards to send home before turning around and head back to Ponta Delgado. It was going to take us another hours drive. So pretty good timing to get back in time to clean off the sweat, have dinner and prepare for another day in paradise and maybe finally finding a waterfall.
Till next time!
Have a great rest of your day!
Cheers,
(Ocean)Bee
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