<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536615138811181326</id><updated>2011-11-27T15:59:59.205-08:00</updated><title type='text'>AZORES ISLANDS</title><subtitle type='html'></subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://seeazores.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seeazores.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Follow dreams</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05736279037031469266</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>10</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536615138811181326.post-4344675284162738758</id><published>2007-11-17T02:01:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-17T07:03:22.694-08:00</updated><title type='text'>See Azores Islands</title><content type='html'>&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;THE &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;AZORES ISLANDS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; ARE NOT JUST A DESTINATION BUT A MAGICAL JOURNEY At the core of our &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;nine islands &lt;/span&gt;you will find a harmonious convergence of majestic scenery with the human warmth and way of life that is both timeless and contemporary. Over the years the &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Azores Islands&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; have gained the trust of visitors longing for a &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;holiday&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; that is both safe and exciting yet peaceful. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7FWNZOzZI/AAAAAAAAAC4/IhDkPdq6Qhk/s1600-h/azores-map111.gif"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133757610592226706" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7FWNZOzZI/AAAAAAAAAC4/IhDkPdq6Qhk/s320/azores-map111.gif" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The origin of the name &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Azores&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;was derived from the archaic Portuguese word "azures" the plural of the word blue. Some say that it was named after the goshawk bird (Açor in Portuguese). However, since such bird never existed in the &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Azores&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, most historians have concluded that this the least probable explanation. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Azores Islands&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; are located in the &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Atlantic Ocean&lt;/span&gt;, about two hours flying time and 930 miles (1500 Km) from Lisbon, and about five hours flying time and 2422 miles (3900 Km) from the eastern coast of North America. The &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Azores&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; have a total area of 910 square miles (2355 Km2). Their individual areas vary between S. Miguel's 290 square miles (747 Km2) and Corvo's 7 square miles (17 Km2). Its &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;nine island&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;archipelago&lt;/span&gt; extends over the parallel that runs through Lisbon (39º43'/39º55' north latitude), giving it a moderate climate with mild annual temperature oscillation.&lt;br /&gt;The &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Azores&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; sit atop of the Atlantic ridge and are of volcanic origin. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Santa Maria&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; is the only island that has signs of reef sediment. The volcanic origin of all &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Azorean islands&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; is revealed by their volcanic cones and craters. &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pico&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, a volcano that stands 7725 feet (2,351 meters) high on the island of the same name has the highest altitude in the &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Azores&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;The archipelago of the &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Azores&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt; is and Autonomous &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Region of the Portuguese Republic&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; since 1976 extending for 373 miles (600 km) from &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Santa Maria&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; in the western group to &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Corvo&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; on the eastern group. It forms an exclusive economic zone of 425 square miles (1.1 million km2). Portuguese is the official language, although there are some dialects of Flemish and African origins. The current president of the Azores is Cesar Carlos. The Presidency for the autonomous government sits in Ponta Delgada (&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;S. Miguel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;), with the Supreme Court in Angra do Heroismo (&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Terceira&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;) and the Legislative Assembly in Horta (&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Faial&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;). Ponta Delgada is the largest city with about 55,000 habitants.&lt;br /&gt;The &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Azores&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;where discovered in 1427 by Goncalo Velho (a contested fact by historians), a captain sailing under the command of Henry the Navigator. The colonization of the &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Islands &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;started in 1439 with people from &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Portugal&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, North Africa, Flanders and Spain. There were no humans living in the &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Azores&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; at time of discovery. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The 9 islands of the &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Azores archipelago&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; are divided into three groups:&lt;br /&gt;The Eastern Group of &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Sao Miguel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Santa Maria&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Central Group of &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Terceira&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Graciosa&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Sao Jorge&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Pico&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Faial&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;The Western Group of &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Flores&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Corvo&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Azores&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, an outline of garden-like islands on the horizons of the &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Atlantic ocean&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;. Peace and quiet, flowers in the fields, in the villages, in the houses. The blue and green of dreamy lagoons. A pace of life in which there is time to stop and appreciate living. Art treasures that recall pages of a centuries-long history. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Nature&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; in its original splendor. A meeting with the past involved in everyday life. An invitation to discover and experience a different world, repeated on each of the&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt; nine islands of the Azores&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3536615138811181326-4344675284162738758?l=seeazores.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/4344675284162738758'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/4344675284162738758'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seeazores.blogspot.com/2007/11/see-azores.html' title='See Azores Islands'/><author><name>Follow dreams</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05736279037031469266</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7FWNZOzZI/AAAAAAAAAC4/IhDkPdq6Qhk/s72-c/azores-map111.gif' height='72' width='72'/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536615138811181326.post-5171133066950718372</id><published>2007-11-17T02:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-17T07:06:41.472-08:00</updated><title type='text'>S. Miguel Island</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;S. Miguel (Sao Miguel), known as "The Green Island", is the largest and most populated island of the Azores as well as the home to the Presidency of the Autonomous Region of the Azores. S. Miguel island has a surface area of approximately 910 Square miles (759 km2). S. Miguel population is around 150.000 inhabitants.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7HodZOzbI/AAAAAAAAADI/VgjAgBWvC74/s1600-h/saomiguel_bkg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133760123148094898" style="WIDTH: 306px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 211px" height="222" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7HodZOzbI/AAAAAAAAADI/VgjAgBWvC74/s320/saomiguel_bkg.jpg" width="324" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;S. Miguel's diverse scenery is a pleasant awakening to visitors. Its beautiful lakes, sandy beaches, rolling hills, high mountains, green plains, and blue ocean exults a sense that sometime somewhere Switzerland and Hawaii had a child.&lt;br /&gt;S. Miguel is also the island in the Azores with the most offer. Its cosmopolitan town of Ponta Delgada (50 thousand habitants) offers the visitor a blend of contemporary amenities with a historic flavor. Its monuments, turn of the century architecture, parks and cobble stone streets are interlaced with a modern marina, nice restaurants, shopping, bars, night-clubs, and ocean-front cafes.&lt;br /&gt;S. Miguel is known for is award winning Terra Nostra Park, wonderful golf courses, lakes, beaches, land, century-old architecture, majestic scenery, and most of all, its people. S. Miguel is unlike any other destination in the world. Once you come you will want to come back.&lt;br /&gt;Activities in S. Miguel include whale watching, swimming with dolphins, walking and trekking, diving, fishing, jeep safaris, bird watching, sailing, snorkeling, swimming, golf and many other outdoor and indoor activities.&lt;br /&gt;The weather is best between June and October with the hottest months being July, August and September. November to January is also pleasant but temperatures dip a bit. February through May tend to be on the rainy side. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7HHdZOzaI/AAAAAAAAADA/0H93m8moYbk/s1600-h/saomiguel_bkg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133759556212411810" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7HHdZOzaI/AAAAAAAAADA/0H93m8moYbk/s320/saomiguel_bkg.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of the places to visit:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Convent and Chapel of Our Lady of Hope, known as Convento de Esperança or simply Saint Christ's Church Igreja do Senhor Santo Cristo, is home to the magnificent statue of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres (Christ of Miracles), the patron of the largest religious festival in the Azores.&lt;br /&gt;The Sant'Ana" Palace, a 19th century construction surrounded by beautiful gardens is actually the residence of the President of the Regional Government of the Azores (it is not open daily).&lt;br /&gt;The museum Carlos Machado in Ponta Delgada, an excellent institution with permanent exhibitions.&lt;br /&gt;The Lagoa do Fogo (Fire Lake). The hiker may reach the lake along well travelled paths.&lt;br /&gt;The Ermida da Senhora da Paz (Our Lady of Peace Chapel), an authentic Marian sanctuary constructed on a mount provides an excellent view of the village and of the islet. The Ilheu (Islet) of Vila Franca do Campo, protected as a Natural Reserve, is approximately 1 km from the coastline. The Ilheu is also a great swimming hole.&lt;br /&gt;The Furnas lake, surrounded by a beautiful flowered shore.&lt;br /&gt;The area of the Caldeiras ( Hot Springs ) at the lake, serve as a natural kitchen. Cooking by burying pots of food in the earth is a tradition that provides a fantastic meal of mixed meats and vegetables.&lt;br /&gt;In the town of Furnas the Caldeiras are even more spectacular. Many openings in the earth sprout geysers of boiling hot water.&lt;br /&gt;The "Terra Nostra" Park, behind the hotel of the same name, is one of the most beautiful parks in São Miguel . This 18th century park consists of small lakes, and streams, bushes of colourful and exotic flowers and century old trees of great botanical value. A lake that works like a pool of thermal iron water where you can relax in hot water.&lt;br /&gt;Nordeste (Northeast), is one of the most attractive municipalities in Sao Miguel . The look-out points, Ponta da Madrugada, Ponta do Sossego, Salto da Farinha, and the Ponta do Estorninho, among others are worth stopping at to admire the flowers and the amazing landscape.&lt;br /&gt;Pico da Vara, the highest point on the island, with an altitude of 1105m, is a challenging one and a half to two hour walk along a path which offers magnificent scenery of nature in the most primitive form. Pico da Vara is considered Natural Reserve, and a previous authorisation by the Regional Forestry Ministry may be required. Sete Cidades twin lakes, the biggest extinct volcano crater in the Azores with 12 km perimeter.&lt;br /&gt;Several beaches all over the island where you can swim, including Melicias (just outside Ponta Delgada, Agua D'Alto (Agua de Pau), Vinha d'Areia (Vila Franca do Campo), Moinhos (Porto Formoso), Mosteiros and Ribeira Quente. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of the local Festivals:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Festa Sr dos Enfermos (Furnas-the streets are covered with azaleas and other flowers for the procession - first Sunday after Easter Sunday.&lt;br /&gt;Festa Sr Santo Cristo dos Milagres (Ponta Delgada) - fifth Sunday after Easter Sunday.&lt;br /&gt;Festas de S. Joao da Vila (Vila Franca) - 23th of June&lt;br /&gt;Cavalhadas de S. Pedro (Ribeira Grande) - 28th of June&lt;br /&gt;Semana do Chicharro (Ribeira Quente) - middle of July&lt;br /&gt;Directions&lt;br /&gt;The airport is about 1.2 miles (2 km) from downtown Ponta Delgada and provides daily flights to Europe via Lisbon as well as regular inter-island flights. Weekly flights from and to the United States and Canada as well as European cities such as London, Frankfurt and Zurick also available.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3536615138811181326-5171133066950718372?l=seeazores.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/5171133066950718372'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/5171133066950718372'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seeazores.blogspot.com/2007/11/s-miguel.html' title='S. Miguel Island'/><author><name>Follow dreams</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05736279037031469266</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7HodZOzbI/AAAAAAAAADI/VgjAgBWvC74/s72-c/saomiguel_bkg.jpg' height='72' width='72'/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536615138811181326.post-1257725062622781539</id><published>2007-11-17T01:59:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-17T07:07:22.932-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Santa Maria Island</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The green plaid of the fields. Ripe, yellow crops. The dots of white-washed houses with lace-like chimneys. The black of the artistically chiseled basalt in the facades of churches. The rainbow color of the flowers. The dark ochre of the fertile earth. The gold of the sandy beaches. The palette of hues like a living water-color that is Santa Maria. The joy of folk festivities. The delicacies of a traditional cuisine&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7KatZOzcI/AAAAAAAAADQ/L0k_nultV_c/s1600-h/rock250.gif"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133763185459776962" style="CURSOR: hand" height="189" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7KatZOzcI/AAAAAAAAADQ/L0k_nultV_c/s320/rock250.gif" width="282" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;Santa Maria is about 55 miles from S. Miguel island (30 minutes by plane). It is the third smallest island of the Azores, known as the yellow island. The surface area is approximately of 38 sq miles (97 km2). The island has about 5500 inhabitants. The municipal seat is located in the parish of "Vila do Porto". &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7K1dZOzdI/AAAAAAAAADY/cZVCKemUBn8/s1600-h/smaria_bkg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133763645021277650" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7K1dZOzdI/AAAAAAAAADY/cZVCKemUBn8/s320/smaria_bkg.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of the places to visit&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Maia and S.Lourenço Bay - Two of the most beautiful bays in the archipelago, with its cliff side vineyards. Both have bathing facilities.&lt;br /&gt;Anjos - The village is historically very significant as the first landfall of Christopher Columbus on his return from Americas.&lt;br /&gt;Santo Espirito - A pretty village surrounded by pastures, with a beautiful parish church.&lt;br /&gt;Praia Formosa - Yellow sandy beach, one of the best in Azores&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some viewpoints&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Fontinhas", "Lagoinhas", "Espigao" and "Picos" and of course "Pico Alto" with 1926 feet (587 m). &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of the local Festivals&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Festas de Santo Antonio (Santo Espirito) - Second week of June&lt;br /&gt;Festas de S.Joao (Vila do Porto) - 23 rd of June&lt;br /&gt;Festas N. Sra da Assuncao (Vila do Porto) - 15th of August&lt;br /&gt;Festival Mare de Agosto (music festival in Praia Formosa) - Third week of August&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Directions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;How to get there: daily flight connections from S.Miguel and in the summer, ferry connections more or less twice weekly, four hours sailing.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3536615138811181326-1257725062622781539?l=seeazores.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/1257725062622781539'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/1257725062622781539'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seeazores.blogspot.com/2007/11/santa-maria-island.html' title='Santa Maria Island'/><author><name>Follow dreams</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05736279037031469266</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7KatZOzcI/AAAAAAAAADQ/L0k_nultV_c/s72-c/rock250.gif' height='72' width='72'/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536615138811181326.post-8964819458277815357</id><published>2007-11-17T01:58:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-17T07:08:12.674-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Terceira Island</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;Terceira Island is located approximately 90 miles off Sao Miguel and 66 miles off Faial, and has a surface area of 148 sq. miles (382 km2). The international airport, located in "Lajes", about 2 miles from the city of "Praia da Vitoria", serves both civilian and military needs, and includes both the Military Command for the Azores as well as an important American Air Force Base. Terceira is the second most populated Azorean island with 58000 inhabitants. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.portugal-info.net/images/travel/corvo3.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.portugal-info.net/images/travel/corvo3.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The municipal seat is located in "Angra do Heroismo", where the The Pacos do Concelho" (City Hall), a majestic construction of the 19th century, is an important example of the rich patrimony of Angra.&lt;br /&gt;After a violent earthquaque in 1980 and the subsequent reconstruction of the city, a large portion of Angra's historical center has been classified Public Interest, and is included in the UNESCO's list of World Patrimony since 1986.Angra has one of the best public libraries and archives in the country which also retains some important private art collections. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7VE9ZOzeI/AAAAAAAAADg/yLb-nhvvG54/s1600-h/terceira_bkg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133774906425527778" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7VE9ZOzeI/AAAAAAAAADg/yLb-nhvvG54/s320/terceira_bkg.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The network of streets of a town that is a monument in itself; Angra do Heroísmo was entitled as world-wide patrimony city. The colourful "impérios" or chapels that bear witness to popular devotion. The walls of a castle that was a royal prison. The constant presence of history. The gentle ondulation of a green countryside. The white triangle of the typical chimneys. Sides of the attractive and colourful prism that is Terceira.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of the places to visit&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;"Monte Brasil", classified as Protected Landscape, provides a recreational area and resting place as well as a fantastic view over the ocean and the city.&lt;br /&gt;The Sao Joao Baptista do Monte Brasil Fort, is a large, fortified wall 2.5 miles long.&lt;br /&gt;The Angra do Heroi&amp;shy;smo Museum, is located in the old Convent of St. Francis and is adjoined to the "Nossa Senhora da Guia" Church (Our Lady of Guidance).&lt;br /&gt;The "Imperios"(religious monuments) are all over the island and are considered interesting due to their coloured facade&lt;br /&gt;The "Algar do Carvao" is famous for its' grottoes that reach a depth of approximately 328 feet (100 meters). These spectacular grottoes contain stalactites, stalagmites and an interior lake. Near the "Algar" the "Enxofre, agua" and "Cabrito" Caves and the "Balcoes, Agulhas" and "Natal" Grottoes, are of special interest especially to scientists.&lt;br /&gt;"Praia da Vitoria" is a young city with one of the most inviting beaches of the Azores. The architectonic patrimony is concentrated in the churches and chapels.&lt;br /&gt;In "Biscoitos" you can visit the only wine museum in the Azores archipelago. This museum, inaugurated in 1990, illustrates the process of traditional wine making in the archipelago.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of local Festivities&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Sao Joaninas" (24th of June is the highest point of the festival though the celebrations take usually 10 days), the popular marches are the most important activity of the celebrations. The tauromathic fair is inserted in the Sao Joaninas.&lt;br /&gt;"Tourada a Corda" (Running of the Bulls) is another traditional activity all over the island. It consists in leaving the bull in the streets, tied with a rope, some men challenge the bull while other control the bull with the rope. There are touradas on a daily basis (sometimes 2 and 3 in one day). The season runs from May 1 to September 30.&lt;br /&gt;"Festas of Praia da Vitoria" (includes a gastronomical fair, with small restaurants from the whole of Portugal and some international as well)- second week of August.&lt;br /&gt;"Angrajazz" (jazz Festival in Angra do Heroí&amp;shy;smo: first weekend of October.&lt;br /&gt;"Ramo Grande Festival" (world music): End of October/beginning of November. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3536615138811181326-8964819458277815357?l=seeazores.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/8964819458277815357'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/8964819458277815357'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seeazores.blogspot.com/2007/11/terceira-island.html' title='Terceira Island'/><author><name>Follow dreams</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05736279037031469266</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7VE9ZOzeI/AAAAAAAAADg/yLb-nhvvG54/s72-c/terceira_bkg.jpg' height='72' width='72'/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536615138811181326.post-243414582964635402</id><published>2007-11-17T01:57:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-19T06:32:11.481-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Graciosa Island</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;Approximately 31 miles of Terceira lies the island of Graciosa. It has a surface area of 24 sq miles (61 km2). It is called the white island due to the landscape and the names given to certain places like "Pedras Brancas" or White Stones, "Serra Branca" or White Mountain, and "Barro Branco" or White Clay. The island has about 4600 in habitants. The main municipality is "Santa Cruz" .&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.tourmac.info/fotos/vistasobrecaldeira.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.tourmac.info/fotos/vistasobrecaldeira.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The islets along the coast of Graciosa add a peculiar beauty to the islands. The "Praia" Islet, totally covered by vegetation, and the "Baleia" Islet, named this way because of it has shape of a whale. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TgDvAkUY4dXhJXjYW8oXYQUn9p2J7XJsdjOOua0twmntKZZLx0j!v1shEg!vsO5qRsuTLjSj4NPHAZ5AYRfF9i1!MaWf0afwbs23wGedOa583kEjlrbCcA/MapaGraciosa2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 287px; CURSOR: hand" height="205" alt="" src="http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TgDvAkUY4dXhJXjYW8oXYQUn9p2J7XJsdjOOua0twmntKZZLx0j!v1shEg!vsO5qRsuTLjSj4NPHAZ5AYRfF9i1!MaWf0afwbs23wGedOa583kEjlrbCcA/MapaGraciosa2.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The undulating wheat-fields, green and purple vineyards. The vanes of windmills revolving in the wind. The colour of the vineyards. The mirror formed by a lagoon hidden in the depth of the earth. The peace and quiet of country life. The nectar of delicious wines. Pastoral attractions of Graciosa, which also offers, in dramatic beauty, the rainbow colours of underwater life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of the places to visit&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ethnographic Museum which contains items related to the culture of wine and the now gone whaling industry. From the "Monte de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda", you can have a look over the town of Santa Cruz.&lt;br /&gt;The "Furna do Enxofre" (Sulphur Cavern), in the interior of the "Caldeira", or crater of a former Volcano there's a tunnel about 330 feet (100 m) deep and has a lake filled with cold sulphur water.&lt;br /&gt;It is possible to visit other caverns such as "Bolos, Lembradeira, Manuel de Avila, Labarda, Furada, Linheiro, Cardo, Gato, Castelo, Calcinhas, Queimado, Vermelho, Cão, Urze and Luis".&lt;br /&gt;From the "Timao" summit, at an altitude of 1300 feet (398 m), and the "Facho" summit, at an altitude of 1230 feet (375 m), as well as from the "Dormida, Branca and Fontes" mountains you can get a glimpse not only of the island, but of the surrounding ocean and the islands of Terceira, São Jorge, Pico and Faial.&lt;br /&gt;The "Carapacho" Hot Spring Baths with medicinal waters.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of the Festivities&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Espi&amp;shy;rito Santo - 7 weeks after Easter&lt;br /&gt;Festival of Santo Cristo (early August) - boat races, bullfights, plus cultural happenings&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Pictures of Graciosa Island&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/0/0e/305px-GraciosaVolcano.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 165px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 117px" height="150" alt="" src="http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/0/0e/305px-GraciosaVolcano.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://carlosfelix.com.sapo.pt/grw1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 116px" height="150" alt="" src="http://carlosfelix.com.sapo.pt/grw1.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Graciosa_Azores_SW.jpg/350px-Graciosa_Azores_SW.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 164px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 120px" height="150" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Graciosa_Azores_SW.jpg/350px-Graciosa_Azores_SW.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.confluence.org/pt/all/n39w028/pic1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 155px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 121px" height="150" alt="" src="http://www.confluence.org/pt/all/n39w028/pic1.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.cruzado.com.pt/builder/galeria/graciosa.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 164px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 122px" height="147" alt="" src="http://www.cruzado.com.pt/builder/galeria/graciosa.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.eccn.edu.pt/alunos/acores/images/graciosa1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 121px" height="150" alt="" src="http://www.eccn.edu.pt/alunos/acores/images/graciosa1.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://acoresdesonho.no.sapo.pt/graciosa/graciosa5.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 165px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 111px" height="139" alt="" src="http://acoresdesonho.no.sapo.pt/graciosa/graciosa5.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://static.flickr.com/55/118294190_b065ad4e33.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 153px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 110px" height="102" alt="" src="http://static.flickr.com/55/118294190_b065ad4e33.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://pg.azores.gov.pt/drac/cca/fotos/registos/129200593423.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 164px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 109px" height="149" alt="" src="http://pg.azores.gov.pt/drac/cca/fotos/registos/129200593423.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.ipr.pt/imagens/conteudo/324.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://cm-graciosa.azoresdigital.pt/filecontrol/galeriamultimedia/imagem/st.cruz.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 110px" height="150" alt="" src="http://cm-graciosa.azoresdigital.pt/filecontrol/galeriamultimedia/imagem/st.cruz.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.acores.com/a/fotos/acores/graciosa/caldeira_graciosa030916.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 163px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 117px" height="153" alt="" src="http://www.acores.com/a/fotos/acores/graciosa/caldeira_graciosa030916.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://acores.sapo.pt/fotoacores/data/558/569VISTA_DA_PRAIA_DA_GRACIOSA_E_O_NOVO_PORTO_DE_PESCAS_DA_ILHA_GRACIOSA.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 152px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 115px" height="103" alt="" src="http://acores.sapo.pt/fotoacores/data/558/569VISTA_DA_PRAIA_DA_GRACIOSA_E_O_NOVO_PORTO_DE_PESCAS_DA_ILHA_GRACIOSA.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://pierre.inazores.com/img/graciosa1_s.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3536615138811181326-243414582964635402?l=seeazores.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/243414582964635402'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/243414582964635402'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seeazores.blogspot.com/2007/11/graciosa-island.html' title='Graciosa Island'/><author><name>Follow dreams</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05736279037031469266</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536615138811181326.post-4859945382927453314</id><published>2007-11-17T01:56:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-17T07:09:40.891-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Pico Island</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;Pico island, named for its imposing mountain, is one of the most beautiful and most underrated island of the Azores. Only second to S. Miguel in size the 'Mountain Island' stands majestically in the middle of the Azorean central group, at about 4.5 nautical miles from Faial Island and 11 miles from S. Jorge Island.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://213.161.84.220/images/tourpics/aazptl03.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://213.161.84.220/images/tourpics/aazptl03.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;Pico island history was built on the destiny of is whale hunting and winery traditions. The famous Pico wines and the UESCO world patrimony designated vineyards, as well as wooden boat building, are contemporary fixtures of Pico. Whale hunting, long gone, gave way to a movement of fair treatment study and observation of whales, dolphins, and other sea mammals. Whale and dolphin watching trips can be organized from Madalena or Lajes. Volcanic eruptions ended 300 years ago. Pico is considered a dormant volcano adding to the mystique of the island and serving as a magnet for scientists.&lt;br /&gt;The Pico island landscape is a sublime mixture of lava rock and exotic vegetation in an ever changing scenery that envelopes this scarcely populated island. Pico features the best swimming holes in the Azores, and every so often an occasional sand beach appears. In 2006 is Prainha’s turn to offer a beach to the delight of the locals and the tourists. Pico is also the ideal island to trek, hike, jog, walk, bird watch, whale and dolphin watch, swim, fish, ride bikes and motto-quad bikes. Speleology is also a favorite pastime of Pico and its visitors.&lt;br /&gt;Why is it better in Pico? Because it has great roads and trails and it is not crowded. Take a day to ride a bicycle or walk from Cabrito to Madalena passing by Arcos, Lajido, Cachorro and Cais do Mourato and taste the history of this island. Pico is an Island where calm and peace can be found around every corner, yet there's always the choice of escaping to the village and experience the bustling culture or the occasional festival. Trips to Faial and S. Jorge are one ferry trip away. While it takes no time to know the smaller Faial Island, it takes a long time to get to know Pico as it is the type of destination where one must get out of the car to explore all that it has to offer.&lt;br /&gt;As one local governor puts it, Pico is California of the Azores Islands (well at least until the gold rush), offering the sun, the ocean, the plains and the mountain. It is a puzzle for locals that people will consider stay in Faial and make one day trips to Pico. Pico is the place to visit if you want to experience the unadulterated Azores. Hurry up, it won’t last.&lt;br /&gt;Pico island is best from June to January. However as any island in the Azores the weather can be unpredictable and February through June can also be delightful.&lt;br /&gt;To really experience Pico stay at one of the local rustic villas such as Villa Cabrito or Adegas do Pico. All those are listed on the Azores.com lodging pages. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7ZhdZOzgI/AAAAAAAAADw/u7gTEX9NnpM/s1600-h/pico_bkg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133779794098310658" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7ZhdZOzgI/AAAAAAAAADw/u7gTEX9NnpM/s320/pico_bkg.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of the Festivals&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Espirito Santo Festivities - Seven weeks after Easter, from Friday to Tuesday in several villages of the island, but Tuesday in Madalena is one of the most significant ones.&lt;br /&gt;Cais de Agosto (music festival) in S. Roque - Last weekend of July or the first of August.&lt;br /&gt;Festa do Senhor Bom Jesus Milagroso (religious) in Sao Mateus - First week of August.&lt;br /&gt;Semana dos Baleeiros in Lajes (religious and music festival) - Last week of August&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3536615138811181326-4859945382927453314?l=seeazores.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/4859945382927453314'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/4859945382927453314'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seeazores.blogspot.com/2007/11/pico-island.html' title='Pico Island'/><author><name>Follow dreams</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05736279037031469266</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7ZhdZOzgI/AAAAAAAAADw/u7gTEX9NnpM/s72-c/pico_bkg.jpg' height='72' width='72'/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536615138811181326.post-6473486470833949356</id><published>2007-11-17T01:55:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-17T07:10:20.924-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Faial Island</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;Faial island is part of the central group of the archipelago, about 66 miles from Terceira, 4.5 miles from Pico and 11 miles from S. Jorge. The surface area of Faial island is approximately 67 square miles (173 km2). The island has about 15.000 inhabitants and its main municipal seat is located in the city of Horta. Different colours of blue decorate the houses, divide the fields and line the roadsides, giving Faial the name of Blue Island.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.billetkontoret.dk/presse/presseazorerne/View%20of%20Horta_Faial%20Isl.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.billetkontoret.dk/presse/presseazorerne/View%20of%20Horta_Faial%20Isl.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;In the 18th century the development of whale hunting brought the early whaling fleets to Horta. By 19th century, Horta had become an important sea port, and a stopping point for a large number of yachts crossing the Atlantic.&lt;br /&gt;In 1957 a great volcanic eruption from the "Ilheu dos Capelinhos", about 1 km from the coast, projected large quantities of lava and ash forming an islet that later became connected to Faial island by an isthmus.&lt;br /&gt;The green circle of a volcanic cone at the top of a hill. The white houses of a town mirrored on the sea. The masts of sailing boats that have come from all over the world. The ochre walls of a fortress that has witnessed naval battles. The unforgettable sight of sunrise with the island of Pico in the background. The quiet inlets with beaches of soft sand. The hydrangeas standing out against the landscape, framing houses and roads, thus ustifying the fact that Faial has been called the "blue island".&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7ap9ZOzhI/AAAAAAAAAD4/w7_jibKARuM/s1600-h/faial_bkg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133781039638826514" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7ap9ZOzhI/AAAAAAAAAD4/w7_jibKARuM/s320/faial_bkg.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Faial Highlights:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Cabecao Gordo - With an altitude of 3422 feet (1043 meters). Located in the centre of the island, it offers amazing views of the neighbour islands of Pico and Sao Jorge&lt;br /&gt;The Caldeira - Also a great attraction, an enormous crater with 6560 feet (2 km) diameter and 1300 feet (400 m) deep. This area is classified as a natural reserve.&lt;br /&gt;Monte da Guia - A mountain from where you can have a look over the town,it is also a protected natural reserve.&lt;br /&gt;Ponta dos Capilinhos - One of Faial's main tourist attractions. Here the visitor can see the results of the eruption of 1957/8 which transformed the landscape, burying fields and houses. The old lighthouse can still be seen.&lt;br /&gt;Lajinha and Ponta Furada - Great attraction for their caves and strange lava arches, where the sea often flows violently against the rocks.&lt;br /&gt;Vale de Flamengos - Attractive area full of colourful plantations, flowers and picturesque houses.&lt;br /&gt;Scrimshaw Museum - This is a private collection belonging to the owner of the popular Peter's Cafao. Over a hundred pieces are exhibited here, engraved with beautiful sailing boats, mermaids, images of whale-hunting, among many others.&lt;br /&gt;Horta Museum - Housed in the former Jesuit College, the museum is noted for its collection of fig wood, one of the island's traditional handicrafts.&lt;br /&gt;Port of Horta - Built in 1876, this important sea-port is a principal port-of-call for many transatlantic yachts. The sea wall is of special interest as it is covered with hundreds of paintings and messages left by the sea-travellers who call in at the port.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of the Festivals&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;The "Semana do Mar" or Sea Week, which begins on the first Sunday in August, is organized by various institutions connected with water sports and tourism. It includes all sorts of activities connected with the sea, as well as other cultural events, and has become internationally famous.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3536615138811181326-6473486470833949356?l=seeazores.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/6473486470833949356'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/6473486470833949356'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seeazores.blogspot.com/2007/11/faial-island.html' title='Faial Island'/><author><name>Follow dreams</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05736279037031469266</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7ap9ZOzhI/AAAAAAAAAD4/w7_jibKARuM/s72-c/faial_bkg.jpg' height='72' width='72'/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536615138811181326.post-2396824421185454374</id><published>2007-11-17T01:54:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-17T07:11:04.206-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Sao Jorge Island</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The green of the broad pastures sprinkled with wild flowers. The yellow circles of delicious cheese. The vertical line of tree-covered cliffs. Discover the silence of nature. The multicoloured blobs of rugs woven on primitive looms. The flat pieces of land of the fertile "fajãs" where vineyards and orchards grow. Attractions of São Jorge, an island that is like a ship anchored on the ocean.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7bc9ZOziI/AAAAAAAAAEA/Y1lSqoivW9o/s1600-h/pontadosrosais.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133781915812154914" style="CURSOR: hand" height="196" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7bc9ZOziI/AAAAAAAAAEA/Y1lSqoivW9o/s320/pontadosrosais.jpg" width="296" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The island of Sao Jorge, another island from the central group, lies 21,6 miles off Graciosa, 11 miles off Pico, 32,4 miles off Terceira and 16,2 miles off Faial. It has an approximate area of 95 sq. miles (246 km2). The island has about 9500 inhabitants. The main municipalities are Velas and Calheta. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7bxdZOzjI/AAAAAAAAAEI/1fB80igjW1w/s1600-h/sjorge_bkg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133782267999473202" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7bxdZOzjI/AAAAAAAAAEI/1fB80igjW1w/s320/sjorge_bkg.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;S.Jorge Island has an indented coastline appearing with an oblong shape. A mountain range forms the back-bone of the island, its highest peak the Pico da Esperança at 3455 feet (1053 m) it offers views of the other islands of the central group.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of the places to visit&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;The faja of the Caldeira do Santo Cristo, is in the Ribeira Seca area and it is a protected nature reserve where you can find an underground cave and a lake.&lt;br /&gt;The Topo islet lies on the eastern tip of the island, and it is also a natural reserve. It is a breeding ground for the gulls of the central group of islands, as well as a home for migratory species of sea-bird.&lt;br /&gt;A walk along the sea-shore near Urzelina takes one to the Furnas da Pombas, a curious volcanic rock formation which is populated by wild pigeons.&lt;br /&gt;Urzelina - The church tower here is all that remains of an ancient church that was buried when the Pico de Esperança erupted in 1808.&lt;br /&gt;Manadas - A picturesque village with attractive country houses surrounded by orchards and cultivated fields. Church of Santa Barbara - Built in the 18th century, in Baroque style with carved archway and chancel with a carved cedar roof, a valuable collection of hand-painted tiles depicting scenes of the life of St. Barbara.&lt;br /&gt;All the "Fajas" along the coast offer spectacular views.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of the Festivities&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Espi&amp;shy;rito Santo – 7 weeks after Easter&lt;br /&gt;Cultural week (in Velas) - First week of July.&lt;br /&gt;The July festival in Calheta - Music festival, last week of July&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3536615138811181326-2396824421185454374?l=seeazores.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/2396824421185454374'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/2396824421185454374'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seeazores.blogspot.com/2007/11/sao-jorge-island.html' title='Sao Jorge Island'/><author><name>Follow dreams</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05736279037031469266</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7bc9ZOziI/AAAAAAAAAEA/Y1lSqoivW9o/s72-c/pontadosrosais.jpg' height='72' width='72'/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536615138811181326.post-9063894532984327637</id><published>2007-11-17T01:53:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-17T07:11:25.317-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Flores Island</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The island of Flores is the westernmost point of the Archipelago and of Europe. Flores is about 15 miles from Corvo. These two islands make up the western group of the archipelago. The area is about 55 sq miles (143Km2). The island has more or less 4000 inhabitants. The main municipalities are Santa Cruz and Lajes.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7cedZOzkI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/kHVmm2uzkbI/s1600-h/flores8%20copy.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133783041093586498" style="CURSOR: hand" height="204" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7cedZOzkI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/kHVmm2uzkbI/s320/flores8%2520copy.jpg" width="290" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The island of Flores has deep valleys and high peaks, lakes bordered by hydrangeas, cliffs carved with grottoes, hot springs and the remains of old volcanoes. The fields are divided by hydrangea hedges.&lt;br /&gt;There is a great profusion of wild flowers and small sized botanical species, many of which have come from the original flora. Permanent pastures and farm areas, including vineyards, complete the vegetal landscape of the islands. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7cxNZOzlI/AAAAAAAAAEY/oGd0HZInMUI/s1600-h/flores_bkg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133783363216133714" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7cxNZOzlI/AAAAAAAAAEY/oGd0HZInMUI/s320/flores_bkg.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The melodious sound produced by water-mills next to crystal-clear streams of Flores. The long, dense clumps of hydrangeas winding over hills and dales. The basalt petrified in eternal threads. The refreshing tranquillity of the lagoons. The musical creaking of an ox drawn cart. Picturesque old customs. White houses perched on green slopes. The harmony of Flores, a garden floating on the foam of the sea.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Flores Highlights&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;The Rochad dos Bordoes - solidification of basalt into vertical fluting.&lt;br /&gt;Ã?guas Quentes - Small hot springs of boiling sulphurous water.&lt;br /&gt;The peaks of Sete Pes, Burrinha, Marcel and Morro Alto (which at 3000 feet (914 m) is the highest point of the island).&lt;br /&gt;The seven lakes in the central part of the island make for a magnificent landscape, especially the Fundalake ("Lagoa Funda").&lt;br /&gt;The Waterfall of Ribeira Grande at Fajazinha drops hundreds of meters, and has at least twenty waterfalls many of which drop into the sea.&lt;br /&gt;The Groto de Enxareus is an enormous cavern, about 164 feet (50 m) long and 82 feet (25 m) wide.&lt;br /&gt;The Bay of Alagoa - A group of islets and peninsulas.&lt;br /&gt;Fajazinha - A characteristic village by the sea with picturesque ruins of water mills.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Some of the Festivals&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Festivities of San Joao in Santa Cruz - last week of June&lt;br /&gt;"Festa do Emigrante" in Lajes (cultural and musical) - middle of July &lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3536615138811181326-9063894532984327637?l=seeazores.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/9063894532984327637'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/9063894532984327637'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seeazores.blogspot.com/2007/11/flores-island.html' title='Flores Island'/><author><name>Follow dreams</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05736279037031469266</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7cedZOzkI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/kHVmm2uzkbI/s72-c/flores8%2520copy.jpg' height='72' width='72'/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3536615138811181326.post-5486208785598977818</id><published>2007-11-17T01:52:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-17T07:11:53.851-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Corvo Island</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The islands of Corvo and Flores, 15 miles apart, form the Western group of the Azores Archipelago. Volcanic in origin, Corvo is the smallest island in the Archipelago, with an area of 17.5 Km2 and 400 inhabitants. The municipal center is at Vila Nova do Corvo.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.horta.uac.pt/species/plantae/caldeirao.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.horta.uac.pt/species/plantae/caldeirao.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;The bottom of volcanic cones with legends that speak of the unknown. Houses piled up the side of a ravine facing the sea. The vastness of the views. The simple, calm life of a small Corvo community. The charms of Corvo, a tiny island, a green drop in the greatness of a turquoise ocean. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7eT9ZOzmI/AAAAAAAAAEg/2LozAhyy5mE/s1600-h/corvo_bkg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5133785059728215650" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7eT9ZOzmI/AAAAAAAAAEg/2LozAhyy5mE/s320/corvo_bkg.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Corvo Highlights:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;The Caldeirao - situated on Monte Grosso, crater of the volcano which gave origin to the island. At the crater's bottom are two lakes dotted with tiny islets.&lt;br /&gt;To the Southwest rise two unusual rock formations in basalt which are called Cavaleiro and Marco.&lt;br /&gt;Small windmills. Stout buildings in black stone, they have an ingenious mechanism in their interiors which turns the cupola so that its triangular sails are constantly in the wind. Corvo's windmills are different from windmills on the other islands, and are more like those left by the Moors on the Portuguese continent.&lt;br /&gt;The smallest island of the Azores Archipelago is also rich in handicrafts. These are represented by the traditional wool hats and bonnets, with the most typical colour being dark blue with a white stripe.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;Traditional dishes:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;"Barca" cabbage&lt;br /&gt;"Erva do Calhau" cakes&lt;br /&gt;Liver sauce and fried cabbages.&lt;br /&gt;Handmade cheese served with corn bread. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3536615138811181326-5486208785598977818?l=seeazores.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/5486208785598977818'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3536615138811181326/posts/default/5486208785598977818'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://seeazores.blogspot.com/2007/11/corvo-island.html' title='Corvo Island'/><author><name>Follow dreams</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05736279037031469266</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PcRNfSoJjls/Rz7eT9ZOzmI/AAAAAAAAAEg/2LozAhyy5mE/s72-c/corvo_bkg.jpg' height='72' width='72'/></entry></feed>
