Spending a week in The Azores

Anyone who knows me know I’m possibly the palest person on the face of the planet. I have ginger skin without actually being ginger. On the off chance that I do get a tan, I presume its either dirt or my freckles have just merged together. Needless to say, the sun and I are not fantastic friends.

So, when my friends and I finished our undergrad degrees (phew!) we decided a getaway was the only thing for it. The Azores was our target – a cluster of Portuguese islands in the Atlantic that seemingly no one had heard of – perfect.

For anyone who wants somewhere a bit less crowded than the Canaries or Balearics with a more chilled, nature-y vibe, the Azores is the one. Now that there are direct, cheap flights from the UK it’s opened up even more, and island hopping is super easy (although we didn’t have time to explore the smaller islands).

We stayed in a gorgeous AirBnB in the capital of the Azores, Ponta Delgada on the main island of Sao Miguel. It’s the kinda of town where you can get lost in the back streets, but if you stick with the adventuring, you’ll always end up at a familiar square or at the bustling harbour.

With only a week on this beautiful island, we had to be strategic. Using Viator, we’d pre-booked a day trip going around the island visiting a ceramics factory, a liqueur factory (where there were plenty of samples for us thirsty travellers), geothermal pools which the island is famous for, and Sete Cidades – a series of lakes and lagoons that were absolutely breathtaking.

All the way through our travels, the highlights were the taxi drivers and tour drivers – Wilson and Jose. I’ve never been somewhere where the people are so genuinely friendly to tourists with no ulterior motives. Jose took us the longer way around the island to one of the geothermal spas at Furnas to show us a hidden photo spot of the island – for no extra cost.

So, onto my pale, pale skin… As the Azores are in the Atlantic, the weather is highly changeable – particularly the deceptive sea breeze. After a lovely morning/afternoon on one of the volcanic, black sand beaches near Ponta Delgada it turns out the sun definitely got the best of us, even those who have never been burnt – despite factor 50 sun cream. In summary, I should just wear a full-length wetsuit everywhere.

Now the important stuff – food and drink. The Azores are famous for their soft cheeses and the chilli jam that comes with it, you can get it nearly anywhere on the island. As it is an island fish is everywhere and super fresh, normally cheaper than meat in most restaurants. As with most European countries, wine and beer are the cheapest drinks; we had a go-to place for lunch which did mini jugs of wine (pictured below) for 2.50eurs. With coffee it’s easy to find it for under 1.50eurs, especially in the squares.

If you’re feeling fancy, head on to the harbour for some amazing cocktails (we’re talking about 8 varieties of caipirinhas here), and not break the bank at about 5euros for a cocktail.

Basically, don’t go out in midday sun but do go to the Azores before it gets too touristy. And make sure there’s room in your case for a wheel of cheese and a bottle or two…