Home on the Roam

Windward Side

aluinal

Leaving Ponta Delgada, and passing through the lush interior, we headed to the north shore. Sao Miguel has so many pleasant surprises, and the windward coast didn’t disappoint.

Mystical Lagoa Furnas, in the island’s interior
Farmland and towns of the interior.
Aqueduct in the mist.

The windward coast: Verdant green farmland bisected with lava-stone walls border wild cliffs plunging several hundred feet into the bluest Atlantic.

If the Island depended on tourism and the indulgent whims of the super wealthy (like Hawai’i, for example) much of the coast would be walled in by €10 million houses.
But thanks to a diversified economy, poo-crusted tractors hauled weathered farmers to their happy flocks along some of the most lovely coastline you could hope to explore.

Seeing multigenerational farmland in use in such an exquisite setting is a joy to be sure!

Lighthouse Farol da Cintrao.
Lookout once used for spotting whales, back in the bad old days when whaling was big business
Smooching fish graffiti on the whale lookout.
Colorful stairs leading to a rocky swimming pool, in the town of Maia.
Swimming recommended only when the ocean is a bit warmer and calmer.
Chance encounters…
Chill, we’ll tanned local
Most buildings were stone or other masonry, likely due to the fierce mid-Atlantic weather.
Farol (lighthouse) da Ferraria, seen from the parking lot for the Termas da Ferraria geothermal ocean pool. Strains of Ireland?

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