We could have booked better connecting flights from Graciosa to Toronto, but the inter-island flights are sometimes delayed or canceled due to weather. So I had scheduled a couple nights in Ponta Delgada as a buffer.
Our last time through the Azores in 2019, we spent five days on San Miguel island, but it was all about seeing the natural wonders of the island. We only went into Ponta Delgada for dinners. So this also gave us a chance to see the capital.
Ponta Delgada is sometimes described as the town that is a city. It has all the things you’d expect in a big city - a central plaza, a boardwalk along the waterfront, pedestrian-only streets, hip restaurants and bars, museums - but everything is within walking distance. Even the airport is just a ten minute drive.
We were lucky that there were no cruise ships in port today. Some days, these can dump over 5,000 tourists into the town. It’s almost impossible to get into restaurants during this time.
We walked over to the main plaza and visited Igreja Matriz de São Sebastião. Then we took more pics in the plaza, this time with a blue sky in the background. It was a pleasant day, 16C that felt like 16C. We were too used to the high winds and rain in Graciosa and Terceira where it was 16C-feels-like-3C, that we overdressed with both our puffy jackets and windbreakers. We shed both of those quickly.
Next we climbed up the clock tower. The last bit is a narrow spiral staircase, which we barely fit in, and we’re not big people. I could see this being a major bottleneck when cruise ships are in port. There’s a cool view from up top of the water fountain in the plaza below, the city, and the port.
We could see a large church in the distance so that’s where we headed next. Turned out the church bordered on the same park as Santuário do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, the focal point of the festival.
Nearby was Forte de São Brás, another site on my list to see. We circled around trying to find the entrance. It houses the Military Museum of Azores, 5 EUR entry cash-only. We bought our tickets and entered.
The museum is well-mapped out for independent visiting. Some of the exhibits are in the old tunnels of the ramparts, which were cool to walk through. I’m not much for military museums, although they did have a nice collection of old minesweepers and communication equipment. Someone into this stuff could probably spend a couple hours wandering through. They also had some art interspersed throughout, which I found more interesting. The main attraction for me though was walking up top of the ramparts, and the views from there.
We had lunch at a very local diner, with only four tables and three stools at the bar. We ordered two bifanas and were able to get seats at the bar. After we ordered two espressos and a chocolate mousse. The mousse wasn’t on the menu, but one of the regulars had ordered one and we saw the owner pull out the tray from the fridge. The food was excellent and we didn’t overeat.
The diner was right across the street from Portugal Nice Things, a souvenir shop with some cool stuff. We bought a bunch of nice things.
We dropped off the souvenirs at the hotel and then did some more souvenir shopping. There’s a four block neighbourhood that is artsy and are branding themselves as a place to shop. It reminded us of Leslieville before it gentrified, when the local boutiques distributed flyers showing the location of all the shops along Queen St E. Anyways bought of few more things.
We had dinner at Pedro Homen Bîstro. We had a regional assortment of cheeses as an appetizer, and then the mixed grill (flank steak and striploin), both of which were excellent. It was a nice way to end our ten week trip.
A Travel Blog
by Heather and Eric
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Monday, May 11, 2026
Ponta Delgada, Azores
We were homeward bound, with a flight today from Graciosa to Ponta Delgada via Terceira. We then have a couple nights in Ponta Delgada before flying back direct to Toronto. It’s a lot shorter than our epic four-day journey back home from Waiheke Island, New Zealand in 2023!
We had gotten pretty quick at packing up our stuff. We loaded up the car and drove to the gas station. There’s only two on Graciosa, right beside each other. They didn’t take international credit cards, which I knew from reading the comments, but we had enough cash on us. Plus it’s a small island, so despite circumnavigating the island, we only spent 9 EUR in gas.
Onto the airport. Our car rental folks were supposed to meet us at 8:30am, but we didn’t see them. We checked in for the flight, and decided if they didn’t show by 9am we’d just leave the keys in the car. However the guy showed up around 8:50, he actually worked at the airport and was just waiting for a break.
We had to dump our water before going through security, and there were no facilities airside. Our flight was delayed by ten minutes, which meant we had just 30 minutes to transfer in Terceira.
We heard the boarding announcement for our connecting flight while we were walking into the terminal in Terceira. Luckily we were familiar with the airport so I knew where to buy water in the short time we were there.
It was then another quick flight to Ponta Delgada. It was raining as we disembarked, and looked like it had just finished a downpour. We were wearing our rain jackets with hoods so we didn’t get too wet.
Our luggage made the tight connection as well. Our hotel was picking us up at the airport and had WhatsApp’d as soon as we landed that they might be a few minutes late (they had tracked our flight and knew when we landed).
We chatted with our driver on the ten minute drive to the hotel. Heather had read that we would arrive in the middle of the Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres (Festival of the Holy Christ of Miracles), the biggest celebration in the Azores. Thousands of expats return to the Azores just for this event. The big day was yesterday, with a five hour procession through town. Today was a municipal holiday (I had just tracked national holidays on my spreadsheet), so most things were closed.
We checked into the Casa da Galeria, and went out for lunch. We stumbled across a popular burger place that got 4.7 on Google so tried it out, it was pretty good.
We walked to the centre and took some pics with cloudy backgrounds, and then went back to the hotel and relaxed. Later in the evening I went out for some small bites at a restaurant just up the street (Heather was still full from the burger place). It hit the spot, considering most other places were closed.
We had gotten pretty quick at packing up our stuff. We loaded up the car and drove to the gas station. There’s only two on Graciosa, right beside each other. They didn’t take international credit cards, which I knew from reading the comments, but we had enough cash on us. Plus it’s a small island, so despite circumnavigating the island, we only spent 9 EUR in gas.
Onto the airport. Our car rental folks were supposed to meet us at 8:30am, but we didn’t see them. We checked in for the flight, and decided if they didn’t show by 9am we’d just leave the keys in the car. However the guy showed up around 8:50, he actually worked at the airport and was just waiting for a break.
We had to dump our water before going through security, and there were no facilities airside. Our flight was delayed by ten minutes, which meant we had just 30 minutes to transfer in Terceira.
We heard the boarding announcement for our connecting flight while we were walking into the terminal in Terceira. Luckily we were familiar with the airport so I knew where to buy water in the short time we were there.
It was then another quick flight to Ponta Delgada. It was raining as we disembarked, and looked like it had just finished a downpour. We were wearing our rain jackets with hoods so we didn’t get too wet.
Our luggage made the tight connection as well. Our hotel was picking us up at the airport and had WhatsApp’d as soon as we landed that they might be a few minutes late (they had tracked our flight and knew when we landed).
We chatted with our driver on the ten minute drive to the hotel. Heather had read that we would arrive in the middle of the Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres (Festival of the Holy Christ of Miracles), the biggest celebration in the Azores. Thousands of expats return to the Azores just for this event. The big day was yesterday, with a five hour procession through town. Today was a municipal holiday (I had just tracked national holidays on my spreadsheet), so most things were closed.
We checked into the Casa da Galeria, and went out for lunch. We stumbled across a popular burger place that got 4.7 on Google so tried it out, it was pretty good.
We walked to the centre and took some pics with cloudy backgrounds, and then went back to the hotel and relaxed. Later in the evening I went out for some small bites at a restaurant just up the street (Heather was still full from the burger place). It hit the spot, considering most other places were closed.
Sunday, May 10, 2026
Graciosa Island, Azores
Another day, another Furna Do Enxofre Caldeira. The lava cave here was the reason we came to Graciosa. I didn’t realize there was one on Terceira as well, until we got there.
We had given a load of laundry to Isabel yesterday, with instructions to wash and not dry. She came back with a drying rack, and by this morning all our clothes were dry. We’re now good to get ourselves home with clean clothes.
After breakfast, we dropped by the local supermarket (it closed at 1pm on Sundays) to get some charcuterie for dinner. It was slim pickings, and no bread as the bakers all take Sundays off.
Anyways the lava cave was just a 15 minute drive from our bnb. (The island is so small that anything is within a 30 minute drive). It’s in the middle of a larger caldera. From the parking lot, it’s about 150 steps down to the visitor center. We bought our tickets, taking note of the monitors displaying the CO2 levels at various locations in the cave. The lowest point of the cave accessible to tourists was at 0.04%, which was slightly above normal atmosphere of 0.033%, and well below the permissible exposure limit of 0.5%. The danger is from CO2 suddenly degassing from the lake.
From the visitors centre, it’s another bunch of stairs down to the tower, and then another 37m down a circular staircase to the cave entrance. There’s windows along the staircase to look out, except pigeons are fond of landing on the window ledges and then pooping. Luckily there was no one climbing up at the same time as we didn’t want to brush up against the sides of the narrow staircase.
At the bottom, there’s an elevated boardwalk leading into the cave. At the end is a view down into a bubbling mud fumarole. Only then did I notice that in the background of the cave was a lake! There’s dim lighting throughout the cave, so it’s easy to see but hard to get context. There’s also a rowboat used by researchers, and once I saw that it was easier to see the lake. Back in the day, tourists were allowed down to lake level, but there’s more danger there from sudden CO2 emissions.
We took a bunch of pics, trying to illustrate the lake and cave in the frame. Then it was back up all those stairs.
We spent some time in the visitor centre reading all the displays. Then back up a bunch more stairs to the car.
We stopped by another supermarket on the north end, hoping for bread, but it was the same story. Picked up some crackers instead. While I was shopping, Heather was able to watch a Holy Spirit procession. We had read about these in the museums, and it was cool to see it in real life. (Editor's note: the procession more likely was related to Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres)
Next we drove up to the lighthouse on the east side of the island, Farol do Carapacho, up top of a hill. It was a beautiful looking lighthouse per Heather. It had nice viewpoints for taking in the view. There’s also an old whaler’s lookout, where the lookout person was stationed all day watching for whales. We had seen these on a couple other islands in the Azores so we knew what it was :)
We then drove back down the hill to a lunch place I had found on Google Maps. The restaurant turned out to be part of a spa, open to non-spa users. The spa was busy, based on the number of cars in the parking lot.
Lunch was pretty good, we had a potato soup starter and then I had the grilled calamari and Heather the seafood with rice. It was our big meal of the day, as it was Sunday and not much open for dinner.
It was still early afternoon so we continued our drive around the island to the lighthouse on the west end, Farol da Ponta da Barca. It was another nice-looking lighthouse, although without the visitor viewpoints. It was super windy (it was this way the whole time we were on Graciosa) and we were worried about a gust taking us over the cliff edge so we stayed safely away.
We then drove about five minutes east to the capital of Graciosa, Santa Cruz. We parked in the centre, and then walked over to a windmill to take pics. Graciosa is also known for its restored windmills, some of which have been converted to bnbs.
We also saw (and heard) cars on a race track just below the windmills. It looked like a closed circuit where folks could race their cars one at a time. There was a crowd watching the cars (as much as you can get a crowd on Graciosa), looked like the thing to do on a Sunday.
We also walked a bit around Santa Cruz and took more pics, everything picturesque.
We then tried to visit a couple more windmills, but it was five minutes later and the weather had changed, with sideways rain. We decided we already had enough pics of windmills.
We drove back to the bnb, waited five minutes in the car and it was sunny again.
We relaxed the rest of the day. The charcuterie was so-so, we were still full from our big lunch so it was okay. We meant to get a start on packing but figured we’d have time in the morning.
We had given a load of laundry to Isabel yesterday, with instructions to wash and not dry. She came back with a drying rack, and by this morning all our clothes were dry. We’re now good to get ourselves home with clean clothes.
After breakfast, we dropped by the local supermarket (it closed at 1pm on Sundays) to get some charcuterie for dinner. It was slim pickings, and no bread as the bakers all take Sundays off.
Anyways the lava cave was just a 15 minute drive from our bnb. (The island is so small that anything is within a 30 minute drive). It’s in the middle of a larger caldera. From the parking lot, it’s about 150 steps down to the visitor center. We bought our tickets, taking note of the monitors displaying the CO2 levels at various locations in the cave. The lowest point of the cave accessible to tourists was at 0.04%, which was slightly above normal atmosphere of 0.033%, and well below the permissible exposure limit of 0.5%. The danger is from CO2 suddenly degassing from the lake.
From the visitors centre, it’s another bunch of stairs down to the tower, and then another 37m down a circular staircase to the cave entrance. There’s windows along the staircase to look out, except pigeons are fond of landing on the window ledges and then pooping. Luckily there was no one climbing up at the same time as we didn’t want to brush up against the sides of the narrow staircase.
At the bottom, there’s an elevated boardwalk leading into the cave. At the end is a view down into a bubbling mud fumarole. Only then did I notice that in the background of the cave was a lake! There’s dim lighting throughout the cave, so it’s easy to see but hard to get context. There’s also a rowboat used by researchers, and once I saw that it was easier to see the lake. Back in the day, tourists were allowed down to lake level, but there’s more danger there from sudden CO2 emissions.
We took a bunch of pics, trying to illustrate the lake and cave in the frame. Then it was back up all those stairs.
We spent some time in the visitor centre reading all the displays. Then back up a bunch more stairs to the car.
We stopped by another supermarket on the north end, hoping for bread, but it was the same story. Picked up some crackers instead. While I was shopping, Heather was able to watch a Holy Spirit procession. We had read about these in the museums, and it was cool to see it in real life. (Editor's note: the procession more likely was related to Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres)
Next we drove up to the lighthouse on the east side of the island, Farol do Carapacho, up top of a hill. It was a beautiful looking lighthouse per Heather. It had nice viewpoints for taking in the view. There’s also an old whaler’s lookout, where the lookout person was stationed all day watching for whales. We had seen these on a couple other islands in the Azores so we knew what it was :)
We then drove back down the hill to a lunch place I had found on Google Maps. The restaurant turned out to be part of a spa, open to non-spa users. The spa was busy, based on the number of cars in the parking lot.
Lunch was pretty good, we had a potato soup starter and then I had the grilled calamari and Heather the seafood with rice. It was our big meal of the day, as it was Sunday and not much open for dinner.
It was still early afternoon so we continued our drive around the island to the lighthouse on the west end, Farol da Ponta da Barca. It was another nice-looking lighthouse, although without the visitor viewpoints. It was super windy (it was this way the whole time we were on Graciosa) and we were worried about a gust taking us over the cliff edge so we stayed safely away.
We then drove about five minutes east to the capital of Graciosa, Santa Cruz. We parked in the centre, and then walked over to a windmill to take pics. Graciosa is also known for its restored windmills, some of which have been converted to bnbs.
We also saw (and heard) cars on a race track just below the windmills. It looked like a closed circuit where folks could race their cars one at a time. There was a crowd watching the cars (as much as you can get a crowd on Graciosa), looked like the thing to do on a Sunday.
We also walked a bit around Santa Cruz and took more pics, everything picturesque.
We then tried to visit a couple more windmills, but it was five minutes later and the weather had changed, with sideways rain. We decided we already had enough pics of windmills.
We drove back to the bnb, waited five minutes in the car and it was sunny again.
We relaxed the rest of the day. The charcuterie was so-so, we were still full from our big lunch so it was okay. We meant to get a start on packing but figured we’d have time in the morning.
Saturday, May 09, 2026
Graciosa Island, Azores
We had a transit day to get from Terceira to Graciosa, the last destination on this trip before we head back home. Our flight wasn’t until 12:20 so we had time for a relaxing breakfast before checking out at 11am. Returning the car was easy too, we just had to find an empty spot in the parking lot (P1 was full so went to P5) and then leave the keys in the car.
It was only a 30 minute flight, once again we chose our seats poorly and the view was on the other side.
Graciosa opened a new terminal building just a few months ago, and it looked very modern, with standard signage in Helvetica font. It’s still a small airport, with just the one conveyor belt.
We met the car rental folks in arrivals, and picked up our last rental of the trip, a Citroën C3. Graciosa is a small island, 10km by 7km. Its population is about 4,000, roughly the same as Flores.
We drove to our bnb, Portas do Ilhéu, and were welcomed by the caretaker, Isabel. She was really nice. We were right on the ocean, with the waves crashing on the rocks just 10m away. Normally we don’t like being so close to sea level, in case of earthquakes and tsunamis. We had booked so long ago I forget our reasoning for picking it.
We rushed out to have a bite for lunch, as it was nearing 2pm and we had dinner reservations at 8pm. We had some cheese sandwiches in a little cafe in the nearby village of Praia.
The weather changed even more frequently here. It went from sunny to pouring rain and then back every five minutes. We had started to walk around Praia but the weather was just too inconsistent. Instead just went to the local market and picked up water and some after dinner drinks.
We sorted ourselves out in the bnb. It had a loft area above the main living area with a big window to watch the waves. There must have been a reef or something in front, cause the waves were huge, maybe 10-15 feet high.
Later we went for dinner at Costa do sol by-the-sea (they have a sister restaurant in the capital). It was a cosy restaurant, overlooking the harbour. We split a bunch of dishes: Azorean cheese with honey, grilled lapas, grilled catch-of-the-day, and finally grilled steak local style (served with a fried egg on top). We had a chocolate brownie and espressos for dessert. It was all excellent.
It was only a 30 minute flight, once again we chose our seats poorly and the view was on the other side.
Graciosa opened a new terminal building just a few months ago, and it looked very modern, with standard signage in Helvetica font. It’s still a small airport, with just the one conveyor belt.
We met the car rental folks in arrivals, and picked up our last rental of the trip, a Citroën C3. Graciosa is a small island, 10km by 7km. Its population is about 4,000, roughly the same as Flores.
We drove to our bnb, Portas do Ilhéu, and were welcomed by the caretaker, Isabel. She was really nice. We were right on the ocean, with the waves crashing on the rocks just 10m away. Normally we don’t like being so close to sea level, in case of earthquakes and tsunamis. We had booked so long ago I forget our reasoning for picking it.
We rushed out to have a bite for lunch, as it was nearing 2pm and we had dinner reservations at 8pm. We had some cheese sandwiches in a little cafe in the nearby village of Praia.
The weather changed even more frequently here. It went from sunny to pouring rain and then back every five minutes. We had started to walk around Praia but the weather was just too inconsistent. Instead just went to the local market and picked up water and some after dinner drinks.
We sorted ourselves out in the bnb. It had a loft area above the main living area with a big window to watch the waves. There must have been a reef or something in front, cause the waves were huge, maybe 10-15 feet high.
Later we went for dinner at Costa do sol by-the-sea (they have a sister restaurant in the capital). It was a cosy restaurant, overlooking the harbour. We split a bunch of dishes: Azorean cheese with honey, grilled lapas, grilled catch-of-the-day, and finally grilled steak local style (served with a fried egg on top). We had a chocolate brownie and espressos for dessert. It was all excellent.
Friday, May 08, 2026
Terceira Island, Azores
We drove into Angra do Heroísmo this morning. Historically, it’s the most important city in the Azores. According to Wikipedia, its official name is “Very Noble, Loyal and Ever Steadfast City of Angra do Heroísmo”, but it also goes by just Angra. It was hit by a major earthquake in 1980, was rebuilt and became a UNESCO site a few years later. It now looks amazing, one of the prettiest cities I’ve seen. It’s a small city with a population of only 35,000.
We started at the Fortress of St. John of Monte Brasil. We parked on the outskirts of the centre, cause it looked like paid parking in the core.
You can only see the Fortress from outside the walls, but it’s still a nice walk and interesting to see. Plus there’s good views of Angra from Mt Brasil.
We then walked around the cute little streets around the harbour. It looked like the same cruise ship we had seen in Flores was now docked here in Terceira.
We found a cafe for lunch, which was very popular with locals. We were lucky and got one of the last tables. Their brunch menu was really good.
We then walked down the main street towards the Museu de Angra do Heroísmo (MAH). Along the way we passed by the Cathedral of Angra and stopped in to visit.
The MAH was a really good museum. It had the historical context of Angra as you’d expect, but also had some art exhibits, and a former church restored. The church was more impressive than the cathedral we had just visited!
On the upper floor of the museum, we could hear the pipe organ in the church, and I wondered if it was a recording. It turned out that it was actually being played! I googled after, and the organ was built in 1788 by António Xavier Machado Cerveira, one of the leading Portuguese organ builders. The organist was the museum’s resident organist, Gustaaf van Manen. It was quite the treat to hear it being played. We had tried in Mexico City to attend a performance in the main cathedral but had a mix up. Here we got to hear it and it wasn’t even planned!
Anyways it took us about two hours to get through the MAH. It was almost 4pm by this point, so we walked back to our car in the on-again off-again rain, drove back and got ready for dinner. We had booked Restaurante Doze Ribeiras, the same place we ate at a couple days ago. It was excellent again, we were glad to have booked it.
We started at the Fortress of St. John of Monte Brasil. We parked on the outskirts of the centre, cause it looked like paid parking in the core.
You can only see the Fortress from outside the walls, but it’s still a nice walk and interesting to see. Plus there’s good views of Angra from Mt Brasil.
We then walked around the cute little streets around the harbour. It looked like the same cruise ship we had seen in Flores was now docked here in Terceira.
We found a cafe for lunch, which was very popular with locals. We were lucky and got one of the last tables. Their brunch menu was really good.
We then walked down the main street towards the Museu de Angra do Heroísmo (MAH). Along the way we passed by the Cathedral of Angra and stopped in to visit.
The MAH was a really good museum. It had the historical context of Angra as you’d expect, but also had some art exhibits, and a former church restored. The church was more impressive than the cathedral we had just visited!
On the upper floor of the museum, we could hear the pipe organ in the church, and I wondered if it was a recording. It turned out that it was actually being played! I googled after, and the organ was built in 1788 by António Xavier Machado Cerveira, one of the leading Portuguese organ builders. The organist was the museum’s resident organist, Gustaaf van Manen. It was quite the treat to hear it being played. We had tried in Mexico City to attend a performance in the main cathedral but had a mix up. Here we got to hear it and it wasn’t even planned!
Anyways it took us about two hours to get through the MAH. It was almost 4pm by this point, so we walked back to our car in the on-again off-again rain, drove back and got ready for dinner. We had booked Restaurante Doze Ribeiras, the same place we ate at a couple days ago. It was excellent again, we were glad to have booked it.
Thursday, May 07, 2026
Terceira Island, Azores
I had planned out activities for Day 1 in Terceira back in summer 2025: Gruta do Natal, Algar do Carvão, and Furnas do Enxofre. I no longer remembered what these were about, so we had to look them up again. The internet called the overpriced and underwhelming. The weather was iffy, 14C with feels-like of 3C due to high winds, and chance of rain. Yikes. The day was not looking promising.
We layered up and headed out into the weather. First up was Furnas do Enxofre. This was a little trail around sulphur vents. We’ve seen geothermal parks in other places, most recently in New Zealand. The trail here was lined on both sides with wooden railings. These prevent people from walking off-piste and stepping into a vent; on windy days like today, it also helped to keep us from being blown off the trail. The loop was longer than it first appeared. It took us about 30 minutes to walk around. There’s no bubbling fumaroles, just steam escaping from vents. The high winds minimized the sulphur smell. There’s unique vegetation and some good signage explaining everything. It was interesting to see, and free to visit.
Next up was Algar do Carvão, an ancient volcanic vent. Unfortunately it was only open for limited hours (14:30 - 17:30) due to construction.
We looked at the map to figure out something else to do. There was a walking trail to a miradouro overlooking Angra but we couldn’t find the trailhead. It was getting closer to lunch, so we decided to skip the trail and just go eat.
I had picked out a nearby restaurant (Bota Que Tem) on Google Maps. It turned out to be a popular lunch spot for locals. It was buffet-style, but the idea was more around self-serve rather than all-you-can-eat. We had the soup (potato I think) and then ribs / grilled chicken / grilled sardines. It was really good, and we didn’t overeat. We had an espresso to finish.
We then walked around the neighbourhood (Posto Santo) which was quite cute.
We drove back to Algar do Carvão. It was just after 2pm, and there were about five other cars already there, waiting for 2:30. We parked in line and waited too.
The fence opened right at 2:30, and we all streamed in on the access road. We bought our ticket (9 EUR) and entered the park.
We could see the new welcome centre under construction. There’s now a tunnel that deposits you about half way down the volcanic vent. There’s then stairs the rest of the way down. The inside drips water constantly, which we had read about and worn our rain jackets.
We thought that was it, just a big hole in the ground. But there was more! Another set of stairs took us down near the lagoon at the bottom, and another set of stairs into another large chamber. The whole cavern system is subtly lit, so that you can get a sense of the scale. Wikipedia has a good pic of the layout. There were interesting stalactites hanging from the ceiling, looking like chandeliers.
Anyways we really liked the cavern and thought it was well worth the cost of admission. Not sure about all those negative reviews on Google Maps. Maybe it was earlier in construction and there wasn’t much open yet?
Next up was Gruta do Natal, a 697m long lava tube. This was way better than the one we saw in Pico. There’s lots of signage explaining all the different geological formations. We liked this as much as Algar do Carvão.
Overall the three volcano-related sites we saw today were really interesting. We were lucky with weather too, as we avoided the big downpours.
We took the long way home around the northwest corner of Terceira. There’s some cool miradouros. We also checked out Farol da Serreta, a lighthouse.
Later we went for dinner, at a restaurant that supposedly had good grilled beef. It was just okay.
We layered up and headed out into the weather. First up was Furnas do Enxofre. This was a little trail around sulphur vents. We’ve seen geothermal parks in other places, most recently in New Zealand. The trail here was lined on both sides with wooden railings. These prevent people from walking off-piste and stepping into a vent; on windy days like today, it also helped to keep us from being blown off the trail. The loop was longer than it first appeared. It took us about 30 minutes to walk around. There’s no bubbling fumaroles, just steam escaping from vents. The high winds minimized the sulphur smell. There’s unique vegetation and some good signage explaining everything. It was interesting to see, and free to visit.
Next up was Algar do Carvão, an ancient volcanic vent. Unfortunately it was only open for limited hours (14:30 - 17:30) due to construction.
We looked at the map to figure out something else to do. There was a walking trail to a miradouro overlooking Angra but we couldn’t find the trailhead. It was getting closer to lunch, so we decided to skip the trail and just go eat.
I had picked out a nearby restaurant (Bota Que Tem) on Google Maps. It turned out to be a popular lunch spot for locals. It was buffet-style, but the idea was more around self-serve rather than all-you-can-eat. We had the soup (potato I think) and then ribs / grilled chicken / grilled sardines. It was really good, and we didn’t overeat. We had an espresso to finish.
We then walked around the neighbourhood (Posto Santo) which was quite cute.
We drove back to Algar do Carvão. It was just after 2pm, and there were about five other cars already there, waiting for 2:30. We parked in line and waited too.
The fence opened right at 2:30, and we all streamed in on the access road. We bought our ticket (9 EUR) and entered the park.
We could see the new welcome centre under construction. There’s now a tunnel that deposits you about half way down the volcanic vent. There’s then stairs the rest of the way down. The inside drips water constantly, which we had read about and worn our rain jackets.
We thought that was it, just a big hole in the ground. But there was more! Another set of stairs took us down near the lagoon at the bottom, and another set of stairs into another large chamber. The whole cavern system is subtly lit, so that you can get a sense of the scale. Wikipedia has a good pic of the layout. There were interesting stalactites hanging from the ceiling, looking like chandeliers.
Anyways we really liked the cavern and thought it was well worth the cost of admission. Not sure about all those negative reviews on Google Maps. Maybe it was earlier in construction and there wasn’t much open yet?
Next up was Gruta do Natal, a 697m long lava tube. This was way better than the one we saw in Pico. There’s lots of signage explaining all the different geological formations. We liked this as much as Algar do Carvão.
Overall the three volcano-related sites we saw today were really interesting. We were lucky with weather too, as we avoided the big downpours.
We took the long way home around the northwest corner of Terceira. There’s some cool miradouros. We also checked out Farol da Serreta, a lighthouse.
Later we went for dinner, at a restaurant that supposedly had good grilled beef. It was just okay.
Wednesday, May 06, 2026
Terceira Island, Azores
Our flight schedule from Flores to Terceira via Horta looked much better when I booked it back in June 2025. But as is common on smaller regional airlines, the flight schedules for the fleet were optimized closer to the date, and so we ended up with a five hour layover in Horta. (The flights themselves are only 50 minutes and 40 minutes respectively).
We packed up from our bnb in Flores, one of our favourite places on this trip. I topped up the tank at the gas station just across from the airport, and then we returned the car and checked in for the flight. The carry-on suitcase weighed 8.1 kg, but the agent didn’t mind, and checked it for free. Our flight wasn’t until 11:15 and the agent suggested we go through security around 10:35. We had about 40 minutes to kill so we walked back out of the airport and down to the waterfront (it’s a small airport).
There was a cruise ship visiting Flores today, the Hanseatic Nature, with 230 passengers. It was too large to dock, so it anchored outside the harbour and sent passengers in via a zodiac. We ran into some of the passengers walking around the waterfront while we waited for security to open for our flight. It didn’t seem like they were getting a good flavour of Flores (the waterfront is not exactly a highlight here), but I guess to each their own.
Anyways walked back to the airport and went through security. The captain of our adventurous boat ride from Corvo recognized us and said hi (presumably he was there to pick up incoming clients). That reminded me to post reviews for all the folks that helped us that evening, which I did while we waited to board.
It’s only 50 minutes from Flores to Horta. We were on the wrong side of the plane again for pics :(
Most of the folks on the flight were carrying on to Ponta Delgada, leaving just five of us in the terminal waiting for the 16:40 flight to Terceira.
Luckily I had made sandwiches to use up the rest of our charcuterie, as there was just a vending machine in the terminal at Horta. The sandwiches were good, followed with a coffee from the vending machine and some chocolate Heather had bought in Flores.
Finally our flight time rolled around, and we boarded for the 40 minute flight to Terceira. We were on the wrong side yet again for pics :(
Picked up our luggage at the conveyor belt (Corvo was too small for conveyors, they just push the luggage through the floppy rubber flaps like how beer used to be delivered at Brewers Retail stores in the 80s). We looked around for P1 where our rental car was. We walked out the complete opposite end of the airport from P1; oh well, we needed the walk as we’d been pretty sedentary all day.
The keys were in the glove compartment, as well as the rental agreement for me to sign. It was a Dacia Sandero, a very basic model, with no console screen. So no CarPlay and no rear view cam for reversing. Just like my old 89 Honda Civic :) At least all our luggage fit in the trunk.
Our hotel was across the island, 35 minutes away. We checked in, and then got ready for dinner. We had earlier asked the hotel for dinner recommendations, and they had made reservations for us at Restaurante Doze Ribeiras.
It’s a bit of a foodie restaurant. We had the lapas (limpets) in butter garlic sauce which was amazing. Then we had a couple fishes, grilled perfectly in the open kitchen. It was way too much food and very yummy. We even tried their dessert after which was great too.
It was a bit tricky driving back to the hotel in the dark. The roads are very narrow, especially down the smaller roads lined with rock walls. We fell asleep pretty quickly.
We packed up from our bnb in Flores, one of our favourite places on this trip. I topped up the tank at the gas station just across from the airport, and then we returned the car and checked in for the flight. The carry-on suitcase weighed 8.1 kg, but the agent didn’t mind, and checked it for free. Our flight wasn’t until 11:15 and the agent suggested we go through security around 10:35. We had about 40 minutes to kill so we walked back out of the airport and down to the waterfront (it’s a small airport).
There was a cruise ship visiting Flores today, the Hanseatic Nature, with 230 passengers. It was too large to dock, so it anchored outside the harbour and sent passengers in via a zodiac. We ran into some of the passengers walking around the waterfront while we waited for security to open for our flight. It didn’t seem like they were getting a good flavour of Flores (the waterfront is not exactly a highlight here), but I guess to each their own.
Anyways walked back to the airport and went through security. The captain of our adventurous boat ride from Corvo recognized us and said hi (presumably he was there to pick up incoming clients). That reminded me to post reviews for all the folks that helped us that evening, which I did while we waited to board.
It’s only 50 minutes from Flores to Horta. We were on the wrong side of the plane again for pics :(
Most of the folks on the flight were carrying on to Ponta Delgada, leaving just five of us in the terminal waiting for the 16:40 flight to Terceira.
Luckily I had made sandwiches to use up the rest of our charcuterie, as there was just a vending machine in the terminal at Horta. The sandwiches were good, followed with a coffee from the vending machine and some chocolate Heather had bought in Flores.
Finally our flight time rolled around, and we boarded for the 40 minute flight to Terceira. We were on the wrong side yet again for pics :(
Picked up our luggage at the conveyor belt (Corvo was too small for conveyors, they just push the luggage through the floppy rubber flaps like how beer used to be delivered at Brewers Retail stores in the 80s). We looked around for P1 where our rental car was. We walked out the complete opposite end of the airport from P1; oh well, we needed the walk as we’d been pretty sedentary all day.
The keys were in the glove compartment, as well as the rental agreement for me to sign. It was a Dacia Sandero, a very basic model, with no console screen. So no CarPlay and no rear view cam for reversing. Just like my old 89 Honda Civic :) At least all our luggage fit in the trunk.
Our hotel was across the island, 35 minutes away. We checked in, and then got ready for dinner. We had earlier asked the hotel for dinner recommendations, and they had made reservations for us at Restaurante Doze Ribeiras.
It’s a bit of a foodie restaurant. We had the lapas (limpets) in butter garlic sauce which was amazing. Then we had a couple fishes, grilled perfectly in the open kitchen. It was way too much food and very yummy. We even tried their dessert after which was great too.
It was a bit tricky driving back to the hotel in the dark. The roads are very narrow, especially down the smaller roads lined with rock walls. We fell asleep pretty quickly.
Tuesday, May 05, 2026
Flores Island, Azores
We had a slower day today, the first time in almost a week that we had some down time. I had fallen a few days behind in my blog over this time :( It started with the early flight from Lisbon, the rush to trek up to the caldera in Corvo while the weather was nice, and then unplanned fast boat to Flores. Anyways it was nice to have a relaxing day.
We saw the Atlânticoline ferry come in around 10am. This was the same as the Saturday one that was cancelled due to the high winds. It was small, holding only 16 people. It’s fully enclosed so folks didn’t get wet, but that would also cut down on visibility. When our Saturday ferry was cancelled, I had tried to rebook for today’s (Tuesday) but it was sold out - no wonder, considering it only holds 16.
We got to the Fábrica da Baleia do Boqueirão (Whaling Museum) around 11:15. Google said they closed at noon for lunch but they’re open straight through the day. It cost us 1 EUR each to enter. We had previously seen both the Whalers Museum and the Whaling Industry Museum in Pico which we really liked. The museum here in Flores was a combination of both, housed in a former whaling factory. It was more extensive than I had thought, it took us almost 90 minutes to get through. We really liked it.
We decided to have a big lunch and then just munch on our leftovers for dinner. We ate at the other recommended restaurant in Santa Cruz, O Mergulhador. It was excellent, we liked it better than O Moreão. We split the octopus salad, grilled steak and marrow bone.
We walked around town for a bit after lunch, looking for a souvenir shop, but it was slim pickings.
We checked out the Flores Museum. The history of ship wrecks was interesting, as well as the notable corsairs.
We stopped in at the grocery store to get some fresh buns to make sandwiches for the layover tomorrow. The supply ship (or plane) must have just come in - the fruits and vegetables were fully stocked. We saw the owner from O Moreão stocking up. She recognized us and said hi.
We got back to our bnb around 4:30pm and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. I mostly caught up in my blog. Later we packed up a bit, getting ready for the flight tomorrow. Our suitcases were disorganized after the mad rush to pack and catch the fast boat from Corvo. I had taken a pic of the 7.9kg contents of the carry-on suitcase so we could repack it. Heather’s cottonballs were now in her big suitcase so I swapped in her gloves. Hopefully that won’t push it over.
We saw the Atlânticoline ferry come in around 10am. This was the same as the Saturday one that was cancelled due to the high winds. It was small, holding only 16 people. It’s fully enclosed so folks didn’t get wet, but that would also cut down on visibility. When our Saturday ferry was cancelled, I had tried to rebook for today’s (Tuesday) but it was sold out - no wonder, considering it only holds 16.
We got to the Fábrica da Baleia do Boqueirão (Whaling Museum) around 11:15. Google said they closed at noon for lunch but they’re open straight through the day. It cost us 1 EUR each to enter. We had previously seen both the Whalers Museum and the Whaling Industry Museum in Pico which we really liked. The museum here in Flores was a combination of both, housed in a former whaling factory. It was more extensive than I had thought, it took us almost 90 minutes to get through. We really liked it.
We decided to have a big lunch and then just munch on our leftovers for dinner. We ate at the other recommended restaurant in Santa Cruz, O Mergulhador. It was excellent, we liked it better than O Moreão. We split the octopus salad, grilled steak and marrow bone.
We walked around town for a bit after lunch, looking for a souvenir shop, but it was slim pickings.
We checked out the Flores Museum. The history of ship wrecks was interesting, as well as the notable corsairs.
We stopped in at the grocery store to get some fresh buns to make sandwiches for the layover tomorrow. The supply ship (or plane) must have just come in - the fruits and vegetables were fully stocked. We saw the owner from O Moreão stocking up. She recognized us and said hi.
We got back to our bnb around 4:30pm and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. I mostly caught up in my blog. Later we packed up a bit, getting ready for the flight tomorrow. Our suitcases were disorganized after the mad rush to pack and catch the fast boat from Corvo. I had taken a pic of the 7.9kg contents of the carry-on suitcase so we could repack it. Heather’s cottonballs were now in her big suitcase so I swapped in her gloves. Hopefully that won’t push it over.
Monday, May 04, 2026
Flores Island, Azores
May the fourth be with you! We had a slow start to the morning, enjoying the nice sunny day. It was the clearest view we’ve had of Corvo since we arrived here in Flores.
We saw a fast ferry arrive in Flores, the first boat crossing since the windstorm dissipated. Their captain was not anywhere near as good as ours, you could actually hear the thump-thump-thump as they crested waves. They had a tarp over the windward side of the boat, which probably kept them dry, but blocked half the view. We would have got seasick.
We finally got our day underway around 11am. First up was the cheese factory / museum across the island, in Fajãzinha (population 71). The cheese factory is down some pretty narrow streets on the edge of town.
Turns out the only thing available to the public is a small fridge selling two kinds of cheese. Not sure why it’s so hyped up on Google Maps. Even the tourist info folks had suggested we check it out.
That was really the only thing we had planned, so now we had some time on our hands. Walked around Fajãzinha and took some pics, it’s a cute little place. After we saw the parking lot outside town and realized we were supposed to park there and then explore the town on foot.
We drove down to Igreja de Nossa Senhora Do Carmo, on the outskirts of Fajã Grande. I had taken a bunch of pics of the church from afar a couple days ago. The road leading to the church was fairly level and picturesque, so we decided to have lunch and then park and revisit the church again on foot.
We went to the same lunch spot as the first day in. We were there at 1pm, and our lunch order was queued up behind all the other tables. We only got our food around 2pm. We tried their breaded shrimp, which was good, but we’re probably done with deep fried food for a while.
After we parked at the trailhead (so to speak), and walked along the road to the church. There’s numerous waterfalls visible along the way. They fall from 600m cliffs, and the flow is low so about half way down they disappear into mist. It wasn’t that long of a walk (only about 2km) but it was nice.
We did not feel like waiting for food for dinner, so instead decided to get some charcuterie from the local grocery store and just have dinner at our bnb. I also got a bottle of Pico wine, which we really enjoyed back in 2019. The vineyards are a UNESCO site and the wine has a slight hint of sea salt. Anyways I took the opportunity to try it again.
The views were beautiful from our bnb on the hill as the sun went down. It was a nice relaxing end to the day.
We saw a fast ferry arrive in Flores, the first boat crossing since the windstorm dissipated. Their captain was not anywhere near as good as ours, you could actually hear the thump-thump-thump as they crested waves. They had a tarp over the windward side of the boat, which probably kept them dry, but blocked half the view. We would have got seasick.
We finally got our day underway around 11am. First up was the cheese factory / museum across the island, in Fajãzinha (population 71). The cheese factory is down some pretty narrow streets on the edge of town.
Turns out the only thing available to the public is a small fridge selling two kinds of cheese. Not sure why it’s so hyped up on Google Maps. Even the tourist info folks had suggested we check it out.
That was really the only thing we had planned, so now we had some time on our hands. Walked around Fajãzinha and took some pics, it’s a cute little place. After we saw the parking lot outside town and realized we were supposed to park there and then explore the town on foot.
We drove down to Igreja de Nossa Senhora Do Carmo, on the outskirts of Fajã Grande. I had taken a bunch of pics of the church from afar a couple days ago. The road leading to the church was fairly level and picturesque, so we decided to have lunch and then park and revisit the church again on foot.
We went to the same lunch spot as the first day in. We were there at 1pm, and our lunch order was queued up behind all the other tables. We only got our food around 2pm. We tried their breaded shrimp, which was good, but we’re probably done with deep fried food for a while.
After we parked at the trailhead (so to speak), and walked along the road to the church. There’s numerous waterfalls visible along the way. They fall from 600m cliffs, and the flow is low so about half way down they disappear into mist. It wasn’t that long of a walk (only about 2km) but it was nice.
We did not feel like waiting for food for dinner, so instead decided to get some charcuterie from the local grocery store and just have dinner at our bnb. I also got a bottle of Pico wine, which we really enjoyed back in 2019. The vineyards are a UNESCO site and the wine has a slight hint of sea salt. Anyways I took the opportunity to try it again.
The views were beautiful from our bnb on the hill as the sun went down. It was a nice relaxing end to the day.
Sunday, May 03, 2026
Flores Island, Azores
It was another windy day, with bigger waves than yesterday out on the Atlantic. We had a relaxing breakfast in our bnb. I made up some scrambled eggs, along with local cheeses, bread and pineapple jam. Mmm good.
Just like yesterday, it was mostly sunny, just really windy, which was fine for sightseeing and pics.
Today’s road trip started at Farol de Albarnaz, a lighthouse just past Ponta Delgada on the north end of Flores. From there you can see Monchique Islet, supposedly the westernmost point in Europe. It sits on the North American tectonic plate, so it’s more of a marketing claim than anything.
We had lunch at Flor de Lótus, a permanent food truck just outside Ponta Delgada. It was just what we were looking for. Heather had a hotdog which is what I should have ordered too, as I didn’t care for my bifana. We also had onion rings and fries, which were pretty good. Heather couldn’t remember the last time she had a hot dog, lol. Probably at a Jays game.
It was still early in the afternoon, so we decided to try our luck at the Seven Lakes in the interior district of Lajes. It seems like it’s permanently cloudy there, with humid air rising up 700m inland.
First we saw Caldeira Branca. The lake was just beneath the cloud cover, enough that we had a full view. It was really windy though, not as bad as Iceland windy, but still pretty strong.
Next up was Caldeira Seca, which as the name suggests is a dry lake. This was less photogenic. Caldeiras Negra and Comprida were a combined miradouro, and the windiest of the bunch.
The next caldeiras were down the road a few minutes. We saw the same tourists at each of them, doing the same route. Caldeiras Funda and Rasa were also a joint miradouro.
Along the way to Caldeira da Lomba, we passed by another miradouro for Caldeiras Funda and Rasa, this time from a distance. The difference in elevation (Rasa 530m, Funda 360m) is striking, which we didn’t notice at the previous miradouro which sits between them.
Caldeira da Lomba was a bit of a dud, there’s not even signage like the other caldeiras. Oh well. The other six were cool to see, although they look better in person than in pics.
Almost all the restaurants in Flores are closed on Sundays. The only options were burger places and a Chinese restaurant, Restaurante Macau. After the hotdog and onion rings lunch, we didn’t feel like a burger, so opted for Restaurante Macau.
The reviews on Google said there was a long wait for food on Sundays (cause everyone in town is eating there), so we decided to head there at 6pm to get takeout, and then reheat it later in the evening at our bnb.
The kitchen didn’t open until 6:30pm, so we chatted with the person (the son of the family-run restaurant) and placed a takeout order for 7pm. They use locally sourced ingredients so we weren’t expecting authentic Cantonese. We did go off-menu and order a vegetable stir fry.
We had an hour to wait, and rather than drive back to the bnb and then back to the restaurant, we just walked around Santa Cruz. We hadn’t done much walking today, so it was good to get in our steps.
We drove to the south end of town and parked in the lot. We’ve realized that each of the towns has a designated parking area for tourists from which you can then explore on foot. It’s a great idea, although the car rental companies should mention it!
We took a bunch of pics of the Church of Santa Cruz das Flores which towers over the town. We then walked over to Parque Boavista. There’s cool views of the town over the harbour from the park. It also has a skateboard park (so did Corvo, a brand new one!).
It was getting close to 7pm so we got back to the car. We stopped a few times to get pics of street art of birds on various walls and buildings. Later I googled and most of the street art is by Morgan Bricca.
Restaurante Macau was bustling when we returned. Heather went in to get our take-out, while I waited in the car, illegally parked as the lot was full.
The food was pretty good, and went well with Sagres (the local beer). It was a decent option for a Sunday, plus we got to watch the sunset. There’s not much colour cause we’re on the east side of the island, but it was still nice to see night approach from up on our hill.
Just like yesterday, it was mostly sunny, just really windy, which was fine for sightseeing and pics.
Today’s road trip started at Farol de Albarnaz, a lighthouse just past Ponta Delgada on the north end of Flores. From there you can see Monchique Islet, supposedly the westernmost point in Europe. It sits on the North American tectonic plate, so it’s more of a marketing claim than anything.
We had lunch at Flor de Lótus, a permanent food truck just outside Ponta Delgada. It was just what we were looking for. Heather had a hotdog which is what I should have ordered too, as I didn’t care for my bifana. We also had onion rings and fries, which were pretty good. Heather couldn’t remember the last time she had a hot dog, lol. Probably at a Jays game.
It was still early in the afternoon, so we decided to try our luck at the Seven Lakes in the interior district of Lajes. It seems like it’s permanently cloudy there, with humid air rising up 700m inland.
First we saw Caldeira Branca. The lake was just beneath the cloud cover, enough that we had a full view. It was really windy though, not as bad as Iceland windy, but still pretty strong.
Next up was Caldeira Seca, which as the name suggests is a dry lake. This was less photogenic. Caldeiras Negra and Comprida were a combined miradouro, and the windiest of the bunch.
The next caldeiras were down the road a few minutes. We saw the same tourists at each of them, doing the same route. Caldeiras Funda and Rasa were also a joint miradouro.
Along the way to Caldeira da Lomba, we passed by another miradouro for Caldeiras Funda and Rasa, this time from a distance. The difference in elevation (Rasa 530m, Funda 360m) is striking, which we didn’t notice at the previous miradouro which sits between them.
Caldeira da Lomba was a bit of a dud, there’s not even signage like the other caldeiras. Oh well. The other six were cool to see, although they look better in person than in pics.
Almost all the restaurants in Flores are closed on Sundays. The only options were burger places and a Chinese restaurant, Restaurante Macau. After the hotdog and onion rings lunch, we didn’t feel like a burger, so opted for Restaurante Macau.
The reviews on Google said there was a long wait for food on Sundays (cause everyone in town is eating there), so we decided to head there at 6pm to get takeout, and then reheat it later in the evening at our bnb.
The kitchen didn’t open until 6:30pm, so we chatted with the person (the son of the family-run restaurant) and placed a takeout order for 7pm. They use locally sourced ingredients so we weren’t expecting authentic Cantonese. We did go off-menu and order a vegetable stir fry.
We had an hour to wait, and rather than drive back to the bnb and then back to the restaurant, we just walked around Santa Cruz. We hadn’t done much walking today, so it was good to get in our steps.
We drove to the south end of town and parked in the lot. We’ve realized that each of the towns has a designated parking area for tourists from which you can then explore on foot. It’s a great idea, although the car rental companies should mention it!
We took a bunch of pics of the Church of Santa Cruz das Flores which towers over the town. We then walked over to Parque Boavista. There’s cool views of the town over the harbour from the park. It also has a skateboard park (so did Corvo, a brand new one!).
It was getting close to 7pm so we got back to the car. We stopped a few times to get pics of street art of birds on various walls and buildings. Later I googled and most of the street art is by Morgan Bricca.
Restaurante Macau was bustling when we returned. Heather went in to get our take-out, while I waited in the car, illegally parked as the lot was full.
The food was pretty good, and went well with Sagres (the local beer). It was a decent option for a Sunday, plus we got to watch the sunset. There’s not much colour cause we’re on the east side of the island, but it was still nice to see night approach from up on our hill.
Saturday, May 02, 2026
Flores Island, Azores
I didn’t sleep very well last night cause we were still hopped up on adrenaline from the crazy boat ride to Flores.
Our bnb is up top of a hill with a great view of the town of Santa Cruz and the Atlantic Ocean. We could see the whitecaps and big waves, it’s no wonder there’s no boat crossings today.
First up was some admin stuff. Our driver from yesterday met us at 10:45 to drive us to the car rental pickup at the airport in Santa Cruz. The Ilha Verde folks were very quick. In the meantime, Heather dropped into the Info booth and got some good tips on seeing the island. Aside from the big winds, there was good visibility and it was a good day to tour around Flores, per the info lady.
We then stopped into a little cafe for breakfast. Breakfast isn’t much of a thing here, so we just had a cappuccino and bread with cheese, enough to keep us going. We then stopped into the local supermarket, Helios, to stock up on breakfast supplies for the next few days.
We drove back up to our bnb to get ourselves situated. The rental was a Renault Clio, a fun little car to drive. CarPlay worked well with the car.
We cut across the island on the ER2-2 towards Fajã Grande (there’s only two major roads in Flores, ER1-2 which circumnavigates the island from 12 o’clock to 9; and ER2-2 which goes straight from 9 o’clock to 3). We stopped at a few miradouros (lookout points) to take pics.
We had lunch at an ocean-side little restaurant and had bifanas, the best ones we’ve had this trip. We got there around 2:05 and the kitchen closed at 2pm but luckily they still served us.
Then we did a little more driving around and sightseeing. The area around Fajã Grande is surrounded by 600m cliffs, from which dozens of waterfalls make their way down. There’s lots of hikes in and around the area, although a bit technical cause of the extreme up-and-downs. The hikes are all rated difficult on AllTrails. However, there’s lots of miradouros accessible from the road, which is what we did.
We took the long way home, circling south through Lajes das Flores. Along the way we passed by Rocha dos Bordões, basalt rocks shaped like pipe organs. We’ve seen these in different countries, most recently in Iceland.
There’s a beautiful tiled church in Fazenda which we made a detour to get some pics.
We stopped at a few more miradouros on the way back to the bnb.
We didn’t have much time to relax as we wanted to get to Restaurante O Moreão for dinner. It was one of the few restaurants open this early in the season, and was packed. We waited 10 minutes to get seated, and then over an hour for our food. The restaurant only seats about 30 people, of which 20 were taken up by a group. We got stuck behind the group in our food orders, thus the wait. We had grilled squid skewers and grilled swordfish, both of which were excellent.
It was past 10pm by the time we got home, and we fell fast asleep.
Our bnb is up top of a hill with a great view of the town of Santa Cruz and the Atlantic Ocean. We could see the whitecaps and big waves, it’s no wonder there’s no boat crossings today.
First up was some admin stuff. Our driver from yesterday met us at 10:45 to drive us to the car rental pickup at the airport in Santa Cruz. The Ilha Verde folks were very quick. In the meantime, Heather dropped into the Info booth and got some good tips on seeing the island. Aside from the big winds, there was good visibility and it was a good day to tour around Flores, per the info lady.
We then stopped into a little cafe for breakfast. Breakfast isn’t much of a thing here, so we just had a cappuccino and bread with cheese, enough to keep us going. We then stopped into the local supermarket, Helios, to stock up on breakfast supplies for the next few days.
We drove back up to our bnb to get ourselves situated. The rental was a Renault Clio, a fun little car to drive. CarPlay worked well with the car.
We cut across the island on the ER2-2 towards Fajã Grande (there’s only two major roads in Flores, ER1-2 which circumnavigates the island from 12 o’clock to 9; and ER2-2 which goes straight from 9 o’clock to 3). We stopped at a few miradouros (lookout points) to take pics.
We had lunch at an ocean-side little restaurant and had bifanas, the best ones we’ve had this trip. We got there around 2:05 and the kitchen closed at 2pm but luckily they still served us.
Then we did a little more driving around and sightseeing. The area around Fajã Grande is surrounded by 600m cliffs, from which dozens of waterfalls make their way down. There’s lots of hikes in and around the area, although a bit technical cause of the extreme up-and-downs. The hikes are all rated difficult on AllTrails. However, there’s lots of miradouros accessible from the road, which is what we did.
We took the long way home, circling south through Lajes das Flores. Along the way we passed by Rocha dos Bordões, basalt rocks shaped like pipe organs. We’ve seen these in different countries, most recently in Iceland.
There’s a beautiful tiled church in Fazenda which we made a detour to get some pics.
We stopped at a few more miradouros on the way back to the bnb.
We didn’t have much time to relax as we wanted to get to Restaurante O Moreão for dinner. It was one of the few restaurants open this early in the season, and was packed. We waited 10 minutes to get seated, and then over an hour for our food. The restaurant only seats about 30 people, of which 20 were taken up by a group. We got stuck behind the group in our food orders, thus the wait. We had grilled squid skewers and grilled swordfish, both of which were excellent.
It was past 10pm by the time we got home, and we fell fast asleep.
Friday, May 01, 2026
Flores Island, Azores
We woke up a bit sore from the 14km walk up and down from the caldera (550m) in Corvo yesterday. Looked like today would just be on as level ground as possible.
It was pretty crowded at the breakfast area in the hotel, with about a dozen other guests.
After breakfast we checked in with reception, to see about boats to Flores on Sunday. Originally I had planned for us to take the ferry, but it’s still early in the season and it only ran Sat-Tue-Thu. It didn’t look good for the fast boats either, as they originate in Flores and are typically used by day trippers to Corvo.
We also were running out of things to do in Corvo. There are a couple more treks we could have done, if we were younger and didn’t wreck our knees / ankles etc on the first day’s trek up to the caldera.
So we decided to cut our time short in Corvo, and leave a day earlier on the Saturday ferry. Luckily our place in Flores was available for the extra day too. I was able to book the ferry online. The 9am ferry was sold out but we got tickets for the 4pm one. (I also hadn’t realized when planning that the ferry could sell out). I also called the car rental folks at Ilha Verde and our car was available early too.
With our revised itinerary sorted out, we started touring around Vila do Corvo. Most of the things we wanted to see were around the runway, with limited elevation changes. Good for our knees and ankles.
First up was an art installation by Bordalo II. He is known for his murals made from recycled trash. Near the west end of the runway, there’s an image of a grouper on the side of a beached boat. It’s somewhat hidden unless you’re actually looking for it. (Or you can just go to Google Maps like us, which is how I found out about it). It was pretty cool. He has another installation in Corvo on the outside the Community Sports Centre which we saw yesterday.
Around the south side of the runway are a three moinhos (windmills), so we took some pics.
We went back to BBC for lunch, and tried their bifanas. These were okay, we preferred the special yesterday. After lunch we wandered through the old cobblestone streets overlooking the docks. The streets rise sharply from the water up the slopes of the faja. It’s very picturesque. The steep streets weren’t helping our joints though.
We watched a fast boat loading passengers in the harbour. It was bobbing up and down in the waves, making it hard to embark. We then watched them boucing around as they left the harbour. We were glad we had booked on the ferry, and not the fast boat.
We got back to our hotel just in time for me to get an alert from the ferry company that tomorrow’s (Saturday) ferry was cancelled due to high winds :(
This did not bode well. We looked at other options to get off Corvo. The next flight with availability was leaving in a week’s time, the next ferry on Tuesday was already sold out, and the fast boats weren’t running for at least a couple days due to the high winds. We could be stuck on Corvo for a week! :( Also, there was a dance festival in Corvo the next three days and all the (limited) accommodation on the island was sold out. So we could be stuck with no place to stay :(
We reached out to anyone we knew in Corvo. The restaurant folks from yesterday suggested a boat person based in Flores. I sent them a WhatsApp, and they were willing to pick us up this evening if we bought out all the seats on the boat. The cost was not much more than flying, and would get us to Flores before the storm hit and shut down all transport for at least a couple days, so we agreed.
We rushed to pack up in less than an hour and were at the dock by 6pm. The winds had already picked up and it wasn’t guaranteed that the captain would make it from Flores to Corvo if he decided the weather was already too risky.
The nice folks from the restaurant (who had recommended the boat folks and were good friends with them) came down to the dock to wait with us and make sure we connected.
The boat rounded the corner into the loosely protected harbour, where the waves were over five feet high. I was nervous about loading our suitcases on to the bobbing boat, but the captain was excellent and everything was loaded safely.
We were just about to board ourselves when the couple that sat in front of us on the plane to Corvo ran up to the dock. It was obvious from the looks on their faces that they were in the same boat as us (ha ha), facing the option of being stuck on Corvo for a week. They asked if they could join us, and the captain said if they could be ready in fifteen minutes he’d wait. So they rushed off and packed and were back in less than ten minutes (very impressive).
And then we were off! It’s 21km to Flores, and it took us about an hour. The waves out in the open ocean were about 20 feet high. Our boat felt tiny in comparison. The captain was excellent, navigating through the waves without thumping. The seats were optimal too - it was like straddling a pommel horse with a seat back. We had a full view of the horizon, and never felt seasick at all, which was great. The winds were up to 40km/h blowing into my side of the boat, and I was soaked. We had dressed to get wet, with all our base layers. So I was wet but not cold. Heather had gloves but I didn’t, and my hands were freezing by the time we crossed. (It was about 14C, not sure of the wind chill). It started raining about half way through, which hurt like sleet in our faces. Luckily we knew enough to have worn our sunglasses, so that we could keep our eyes open to the horizon.
Anyways it was quite the adventure to get across. We finally got to the harbour in Flores, which was better protected from waves. We disembarked and unloaded our suitcases with frozen hands. The boat folks had connected us with a transport service, so we had a ride to our hotel.
The taxi guy was really nice too. It was too late to get in anywhere later to eat dinner, but one of his friends was the chef at a popular restaurant. So our taxi guy called his chef friend and arranged for take out to be picked up in an hour. We got dropped off at our hotel (really a bnb) and changed into dry clothes (I was soaked in salty water so had a shower too). Our driver came back in an hour and drove us to pick up our food.
It was hard to believe that a few hours ago we were looking at being stuck in Corvo for a week with no place to stay, and then through the kindness of the restaurant folks, the boat folks, the taxi guy, and the chef friend, we were now eating a fancy dinner in our bnb in Flores.
It was pretty crowded at the breakfast area in the hotel, with about a dozen other guests.
After breakfast we checked in with reception, to see about boats to Flores on Sunday. Originally I had planned for us to take the ferry, but it’s still early in the season and it only ran Sat-Tue-Thu. It didn’t look good for the fast boats either, as they originate in Flores and are typically used by day trippers to Corvo.
We also were running out of things to do in Corvo. There are a couple more treks we could have done, if we were younger and didn’t wreck our knees / ankles etc on the first day’s trek up to the caldera.
So we decided to cut our time short in Corvo, and leave a day earlier on the Saturday ferry. Luckily our place in Flores was available for the extra day too. I was able to book the ferry online. The 9am ferry was sold out but we got tickets for the 4pm one. (I also hadn’t realized when planning that the ferry could sell out). I also called the car rental folks at Ilha Verde and our car was available early too.
With our revised itinerary sorted out, we started touring around Vila do Corvo. Most of the things we wanted to see were around the runway, with limited elevation changes. Good for our knees and ankles.
First up was an art installation by Bordalo II. He is known for his murals made from recycled trash. Near the west end of the runway, there’s an image of a grouper on the side of a beached boat. It’s somewhat hidden unless you’re actually looking for it. (Or you can just go to Google Maps like us, which is how I found out about it). It was pretty cool. He has another installation in Corvo on the outside the Community Sports Centre which we saw yesterday.
Around the south side of the runway are a three moinhos (windmills), so we took some pics.
We went back to BBC for lunch, and tried their bifanas. These were okay, we preferred the special yesterday. After lunch we wandered through the old cobblestone streets overlooking the docks. The streets rise sharply from the water up the slopes of the faja. It’s very picturesque. The steep streets weren’t helping our joints though.
We watched a fast boat loading passengers in the harbour. It was bobbing up and down in the waves, making it hard to embark. We then watched them boucing around as they left the harbour. We were glad we had booked on the ferry, and not the fast boat.
We got back to our hotel just in time for me to get an alert from the ferry company that tomorrow’s (Saturday) ferry was cancelled due to high winds :(
This did not bode well. We looked at other options to get off Corvo. The next flight with availability was leaving in a week’s time, the next ferry on Tuesday was already sold out, and the fast boats weren’t running for at least a couple days due to the high winds. We could be stuck on Corvo for a week! :( Also, there was a dance festival in Corvo the next three days and all the (limited) accommodation on the island was sold out. So we could be stuck with no place to stay :(
We reached out to anyone we knew in Corvo. The restaurant folks from yesterday suggested a boat person based in Flores. I sent them a WhatsApp, and they were willing to pick us up this evening if we bought out all the seats on the boat. The cost was not much more than flying, and would get us to Flores before the storm hit and shut down all transport for at least a couple days, so we agreed.
We rushed to pack up in less than an hour and were at the dock by 6pm. The winds had already picked up and it wasn’t guaranteed that the captain would make it from Flores to Corvo if he decided the weather was already too risky.
The nice folks from the restaurant (who had recommended the boat folks and were good friends with them) came down to the dock to wait with us and make sure we connected.
The boat rounded the corner into the loosely protected harbour, where the waves were over five feet high. I was nervous about loading our suitcases on to the bobbing boat, but the captain was excellent and everything was loaded safely.
We were just about to board ourselves when the couple that sat in front of us on the plane to Corvo ran up to the dock. It was obvious from the looks on their faces that they were in the same boat as us (ha ha), facing the option of being stuck on Corvo for a week. They asked if they could join us, and the captain said if they could be ready in fifteen minutes he’d wait. So they rushed off and packed and were back in less than ten minutes (very impressive).
And then we were off! It’s 21km to Flores, and it took us about an hour. The waves out in the open ocean were about 20 feet high. Our boat felt tiny in comparison. The captain was excellent, navigating through the waves without thumping. The seats were optimal too - it was like straddling a pommel horse with a seat back. We had a full view of the horizon, and never felt seasick at all, which was great. The winds were up to 40km/h blowing into my side of the boat, and I was soaked. We had dressed to get wet, with all our base layers. So I was wet but not cold. Heather had gloves but I didn’t, and my hands were freezing by the time we crossed. (It was about 14C, not sure of the wind chill). It started raining about half way through, which hurt like sleet in our faces. Luckily we knew enough to have worn our sunglasses, so that we could keep our eyes open to the horizon.
Anyways it was quite the adventure to get across. We finally got to the harbour in Flores, which was better protected from waves. We disembarked and unloaded our suitcases with frozen hands. The boat folks had connected us with a transport service, so we had a ride to our hotel.
The taxi guy was really nice too. It was too late to get in anywhere later to eat dinner, but one of his friends was the chef at a popular restaurant. So our taxi guy called his chef friend and arranged for take out to be picked up in an hour. We got dropped off at our hotel (really a bnb) and changed into dry clothes (I was soaked in salty water so had a shower too). Our driver came back in an hour and drove us to pick up our food.
It was hard to believe that a few hours ago we were looking at being stuck in Corvo for a week with no place to stay, and then through the kindness of the restaurant folks, the boat folks, the taxi guy, and the chef friend, we were now eating a fancy dinner in our bnb in Flores.
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Corvo Island, Azores
We had our alarms set for 3:30am to catch our 6am flight to the Azores. We had arrived at the hotel at 2am yesterday, so we paid for two nights but were only in the hotel for 26 hours :(
Caught our scheduled Bolt at 4am, got to the airport and checked in. The TAP check-in was a zoo; we were flying Azores Airlines which had no one in line. We also had Fast Track on our tickets so skipped the security lineups too. It was almost like we were flying business!
We slept through most of the 2.5 hour flight to San Miguel. We had a 45 minute layover during which we had our 2nd cappuccino of the day.
Then we took a small 48-seater to Horta, on the island of Faial. We visited Faial on our 2019 trip and really liked it. Our visit this time was much shorter, just 20 minutes while the plane refueled. The passengers on the right side of the plane had an amazing view of Faial on the approach to Horta. We were on the left side, seats 6A and 6B. The person in the window seat on the right side (6D) had videoed the approach, and I asked him after if he could share it. He airdropped it to me, I’ve posted it unlisted on YouTube.
There were only about ten of us on the flight to Corvo. It’s a small island, population 435, and has only one hotel with about 16 rooms. There’s also a few bnb’s, but overall there’s not much accommodation for tourists. Most tourists visit as a day trip from nearby Flores Island, a 21km ferry.
I had wanted a pic of the approach to Corvo, as it’s quite stunning with the little town of Vila do Corvo on a fajã. But we flew on a direct approach without a fly-by, so there were no pics to be had from either side of the plane.
It started raining as we deplaned. By the time we got our luggage, it had turned into a downpour. We all dug into our packs to find our raincoats.
There’s no taxis (it’s a small island). We waited for the rain to slow down, and then walked out from the airport towards our hotel. It’s only a nine-minute walk, which wouldn’t have been a big deal if it wasn’t raining.
By the time we reached the hotel, it was sunny again, typical of island weather. We were able to check in (it was only 11am).
We ventured out for lunch. There’s only one place in town open for lunch, the BBC restaurant (nothing to do with British TV). We had their special, beans and chorizo with rice, which was excellent. We had an espresso after to keep us awake. (There's also a buffet restaurant near the airport that's open for lunch, but it gets only a 3.9 on Google Maps).
It had turned into a beautiful day. All the locals we spoke with said we should visit the caldera today, as the next few days the weather was turning and it would be unlikely we’d seen anything cause the caldera would be covered with clouds.
So we changed into our hiking gear and packed for three seasons - cold, rain, and heat.
It’s about 700m elevation gain from sea level to the entrance to the caldera. It took us about 2.5 hours to walk up cause it’s super photogenic and we stopped a lot for pics. It might have been a 1.5 walk if we didn’t stop.
There’s beautiful views of rock-terraced farmland and the ocean and old basalt buldings and green fields and blue sky. There’s even an old chapel built into the hill, and new wind turbines too. We did go through all the variations of clothing along the way.
We reached the top, already impressed by the views on the way up, and then had a look into the caldera. This was even more impressive, the best caldera I’ve seen. It’s possible to walk down and around the inside, but for us, the view was the thing. We sat on a rock and just took in the view for about half an hour.
The walk down was beautiful too, but not so nice on our knees and ankles. We were a bit sore by the time we reached our hotel. Probably, we’ll be even worse tomorrow.
We had dinner at Restaurante Irmãos Metralha. I had emailed them a week ago to pre-order, as you can’t just show up for dinner (they buy the ingredients on a just-in-time basis).
Dinner was excellent, two types of fish, blackspot sea bream and veja. Both were cooked and seasoned perfectly. We chatted with the owner, he was really friendly and genuine.
It was a long day and we weren’t expecting to see the caldera today, but you have to take advantage of the weather when it’s nice.
Caught our scheduled Bolt at 4am, got to the airport and checked in. The TAP check-in was a zoo; we were flying Azores Airlines which had no one in line. We also had Fast Track on our tickets so skipped the security lineups too. It was almost like we were flying business!
We slept through most of the 2.5 hour flight to San Miguel. We had a 45 minute layover during which we had our 2nd cappuccino of the day.
Then we took a small 48-seater to Horta, on the island of Faial. We visited Faial on our 2019 trip and really liked it. Our visit this time was much shorter, just 20 minutes while the plane refueled. The passengers on the right side of the plane had an amazing view of Faial on the approach to Horta. We were on the left side, seats 6A and 6B. The person in the window seat on the right side (6D) had videoed the approach, and I asked him after if he could share it. He airdropped it to me, I’ve posted it unlisted on YouTube.
There were only about ten of us on the flight to Corvo. It’s a small island, population 435, and has only one hotel with about 16 rooms. There’s also a few bnb’s, but overall there’s not much accommodation for tourists. Most tourists visit as a day trip from nearby Flores Island, a 21km ferry.
I had wanted a pic of the approach to Corvo, as it’s quite stunning with the little town of Vila do Corvo on a fajã. But we flew on a direct approach without a fly-by, so there were no pics to be had from either side of the plane.
It started raining as we deplaned. By the time we got our luggage, it had turned into a downpour. We all dug into our packs to find our raincoats.
There’s no taxis (it’s a small island). We waited for the rain to slow down, and then walked out from the airport towards our hotel. It’s only a nine-minute walk, which wouldn’t have been a big deal if it wasn’t raining.
By the time we reached the hotel, it was sunny again, typical of island weather. We were able to check in (it was only 11am).
We ventured out for lunch. There’s only one place in town open for lunch, the BBC restaurant (nothing to do with British TV). We had their special, beans and chorizo with rice, which was excellent. We had an espresso after to keep us awake. (There's also a buffet restaurant near the airport that's open for lunch, but it gets only a 3.9 on Google Maps).
It had turned into a beautiful day. All the locals we spoke with said we should visit the caldera today, as the next few days the weather was turning and it would be unlikely we’d seen anything cause the caldera would be covered with clouds.
So we changed into our hiking gear and packed for three seasons - cold, rain, and heat.
It’s about 700m elevation gain from sea level to the entrance to the caldera. It took us about 2.5 hours to walk up cause it’s super photogenic and we stopped a lot for pics. It might have been a 1.5 walk if we didn’t stop.
There’s beautiful views of rock-terraced farmland and the ocean and old basalt buldings and green fields and blue sky. There’s even an old chapel built into the hill, and new wind turbines too. We did go through all the variations of clothing along the way.
We reached the top, already impressed by the views on the way up, and then had a look into the caldera. This was even more impressive, the best caldera I’ve seen. It’s possible to walk down and around the inside, but for us, the view was the thing. We sat on a rock and just took in the view for about half an hour.
The walk down was beautiful too, but not so nice on our knees and ankles. We were a bit sore by the time we reached our hotel. Probably, we’ll be even worse tomorrow.
We had dinner at Restaurante Irmãos Metralha. I had emailed them a week ago to pre-order, as you can’t just show up for dinner (they buy the ingredients on a just-in-time basis).
Dinner was excellent, two types of fish, blackspot sea bream and veja. Both were cooked and seasoned perfectly. We chatted with the owner, he was really friendly and genuine.
It was a long day and we weren’t expecting to see the caldera today, but you have to take advantage of the weather when it’s nice.
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Lisbon, Portugal
We slept in a bit as the breakfast hours at our hotel were rather broad. We’re staying at the 1908 Lisboa Hotel, a hipster kind of place in the gentrifying neighbourhood of Intendente.
We didn’t have any sightseeing planned here, as we’ve been through Lisbon a couple times before, in 2010 and 2019. The only plans we had were to find a self-serve laundromat, and eat yummy food.
We took our laundry to Laundry Self Service Ideal. The lady there was super helpful, and an hour later we had a bag full of clean clothes. The spin got them pretty dry too, they would finish hang drying before we packed up for the Azores.
We had a bit of a shock at the changes in Lisbon and how tourism-focused it’s now become. There were six-seater tuktuks everywhere, carting around their cruise ship passengers like sedentary folks out of WALL-E. Lisbon still maintains its charm, but it was disillusioning to us. We had bifanas for lunch at a random little place that were excellent. We didn’t want a big lunch cause we had planned a big dinner, and the bifanas hit the spot.
Later we had dinner at Sacco, a little restaurant about five minutes from the hotel. It was really good. We chatted with the owners who also commented on the exponential growth of tuktuks in Lisbon.
We finished the night in our hotel bar, having a beer and non-alcoholic cocktail with our welcome-drink tickets.
We didn’t have any sightseeing planned here, as we’ve been through Lisbon a couple times before, in 2010 and 2019. The only plans we had were to find a self-serve laundromat, and eat yummy food.
We took our laundry to Laundry Self Service Ideal. The lady there was super helpful, and an hour later we had a bag full of clean clothes. The spin got them pretty dry too, they would finish hang drying before we packed up for the Azores.
We had a bit of a shock at the changes in Lisbon and how tourism-focused it’s now become. There were six-seater tuktuks everywhere, carting around their cruise ship passengers like sedentary folks out of WALL-E. Lisbon still maintains its charm, but it was disillusioning to us. We had bifanas for lunch at a random little place that were excellent. We didn’t want a big lunch cause we had planned a big dinner, and the bifanas hit the spot.
Later we had dinner at Sacco, a little restaurant about five minutes from the hotel. It was really good. We chatted with the owners who also commented on the exponential growth of tuktuks in Lisbon.
We finished the night in our hotel bar, having a beer and non-alcoholic cocktail with our welcome-drink tickets.
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Lisbon, Portugal
We had a travel day, flying from Malta to Lisbon via Zürich. They’re all Schengen countries, which with the new biometric entrance and exit requirements, is of more significance. It will be part of future trip planning for sure.
Zürich Airport (ZRH) is totally calm for an international airport. The flight announcements sounded like a meditation Swiss Air flight 182 is now boarding at gate 2. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. Or something like that.
We also used the lounge access benefit on my credit card, now that I was aware that I had this benefit. It wasn’t as nice as the free lounge in Istanbul, but hey, free food.
We arrived in Lisbon just before midnight, and lost our ZRH zen in the chaos of the ride-hailing app pickup zone. There must have been over a hundred people waiting for their Bolt (the European version of Uber).
We arrived at our hotel around 2am. With the hour gained (we were now GMT +0) it felt like 3am.
Zürich Airport (ZRH) is totally calm for an international airport. The flight announcements sounded like a meditation Swiss Air flight 182 is now boarding at gate 2. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. Or something like that.
We also used the lounge access benefit on my credit card, now that I was aware that I had this benefit. It wasn’t as nice as the free lounge in Istanbul, but hey, free food.
We arrived in Lisbon just before midnight, and lost our ZRH zen in the chaos of the ride-hailing app pickup zone. There must have been over a hundred people waiting for their Bolt (the European version of Uber).
We arrived at our hotel around 2am. With the hour gained (we were now GMT +0) it felt like 3am.
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