After driving to the sights on the island's west side, we returned to Ponta Delgada and found delicious, inexpensive "kebabs".
It's 7409 kilometres from YVR to PDL. We first flew to Toronto to catch an overnight flight to Ponta Delgada, which would serve as our base not only for exploring Sao Miguel, but also for connections to two other Azorean islands. Our accommodation was so central that we immediately found several key landmarks like the Portas da Cidade and the Igreja Matriz de Sao Sebastiao without any effort while killing an hour until the front desk staff's shift began. We were warmly welcomed to Ilha Hostel & Suites with a bonus breakfast with espresso coffees and an early check-in. Unfortunately, picking up our rental car wasn't as great an experience. Despite having booked an automatic Smart car for 10am, we were forced to accept a manual transmission Renault Clio at 2pm. Despite the delay and some anxiety, we were still able to complete our planned route to Sete Cidades for the day. After driving to the sights on the island's west side, we returned to Ponta Delgada and found delicious, inexpensive "kebabs". On the 28th, we used the rental car to visit Furnas and travel as far as Nordeste, before returning along the north coast. Back in Ponta Delgada, we got absolutely drenched walking to the Mercado da Graca where we bought a big bag of delicious locally grown bananas and later had fish at one of the city's recommended restaurants, O Museu. We completed our third and final driving itinerary of Sao Miguel, visiting Vila Franca do Campo and hiking to two lakes along the way before returning the car in Ponta Delgada. We walked around the city some more, visiting Antonio Borges Botanical Garden. We checked out Santuario de Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, Forte Sao Bras and strolled the seawall to the Portas do Mar. We continued to explore Ponta Delgada on foot, including seaking out the views from the Hermitage of the Mother of God, ate at the city's top rated restaurant, A Tasca, and then avoided the rain by visiting with the hostel's wonderful staff, Patricia and Helena, before flying to Santa Maria in the evening. After spending three nights on the island of Santa Maria, we returned to Ponta Delgada for two more nights before flying to Terceira. This time we stayed at Hotel Alcides. We'd already completed all of our planned sightseeing for Sao Miguel, so we had time for window-shopping and leisurely city walks whenever the weather cooperated. We revisited the Santuario de Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres. From the island of Terceira, we flew back to PDL only to connect with our international return flight at the end of our vacation.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
January 2024
Categories |