Category: Island
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Monte Brasil
Terceira, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Monte Brasil is an odd appendage hanging off of Terceira’s south central coast (map). It forms a bay and a natural harbor with its teardrop shape. Additionally it deflects prevailing winds that come from the west and the southwest. Its heights allowed defensive positions that protected the land…
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Angra do Heroísmo Harbor
Terceira, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) We drove west along Terceira’s southern coastal road. The scenery became increasingly impressive all along the way. Finally we turned a corner and noticed a spit of land jutting outward from the island across the pastoral landscape. This marked Monte Brasil, the volcanic caldera at Angra do Heroísmo…
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Angra do Heroísmo
Terceira, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Angra do Heroísmo (map) has been important to Portuguese history since the 16th Century. Traditionally it provided a convenient central landing point in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Here, mariners could rest, resupply and shelter their ships as they plied the trade routes between Europe, Africa and…
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Ilhéus das Cabras
Terceira, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Two dramatic rocks rise above the ocean off of the eastern end of Terceira’s southern coast (map). These are the Ilhéus das Cabras, the “Goat Islands,” and they serve as silent witnesses to the power of the Earth. Not too long ago these jagged fragments joined to form…
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Porto Martins
Terceira, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Porto Martins lies due south of Praia do Vitória along Terceira’s eastern shore (map). It is a scenic fishing village and summer resorts with a popular natural swimming pool at the waterline. We stopped where land met water. This was the location of the swimming hole set among…
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Serra do Cume
Terceira, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Serra do Cume is a mountain in eastern Terceira. It quickly rises to 545 meters (1,788 feet) from the relatively flatter terrain that surrounds it. However, the summit is actually quite accessible. Visitors can drive right up to a viewpoint, the Miradouro da Serra do Cume (map). This…
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Praia da Vitória
Terceira, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) The town of Praia da Vitória (“Victory Beach”) formed around a natural harbor on Terceira’s eastern coastline (map). It was named in tribute to a victory over Spanish forces that took place in 1581 when the Portuguese thwarted an invasion by releasing cattle onto a nearby beach. This…
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Miscellaneous Scenery of São Miguel
São Miguel, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) This page focuses on miscellaneous scenery throughout São Miguel. We took lots of photographs as we drove throughout the central and eastern portions of the island. However there weren’t enough photos to justify an individual page for each of the locations shown below. Caloura The picturesque town…
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Furnas Fumaroles
São Miguel, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Furnas (map) is reputed to be one of the most active geothermal areas in Europe. It is like a miniature version of Yellowstone in Wyoming. However, visitors generally don’t have to deal with swarms of tourists. Steam and heat scorch the earth, leaving behind a barren landscape…
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Furnas Scenery
São Miguel, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Furnas is a Portuguese word that is similar to its English cognate “Furnace.” In this case it applies to a town and a region in a broad interior valley on the eastern side of São Miguel. Furnas rests in a caldera basin surrounded by mountains on all…