Azores: prologue

Behold the middle of the Atlantic.

I beheld it in person, and it was awesome.

***

“You’re going where? What’s that??” was a common reaction when I told people I was going to the Azores. I answered the question and, for the ‘why’ that would follow, recommended an image search.

 

I’d put out feelers more than a year ago to various friends about an Azores trip. A couple of people tentatively bit, enough to do some initial planning, and then unbit. I’d offered it up to Nina, which led to our going to Romania instead. Romania was beautiful and much-needed, but not entirely a vacation (what with a five-year-old present), a month or so after getting back I’d worked myself into a desperate need for another vacation. At which point, from out of nowhere, one of the original takers wrote and said “let’s do this.”

The trip came together pretty fast (although barely fast enough: we had a hard time in July getting reservations for September). We took an entire weekend to figure out exactly where we wanted to go. The big choice was between “chill” and “ambitious,” and we were close to opting for the former when we decided we really should go to Flores, which pushed us toward the latter. The best way to get out of Flores was via Faial, so we may as well spend some time in that middle island group, and hike up Mt. Pico while we were at it. So it would be: four islands in twelve days.

The most efficient way to get to the Azores from the United States is via Boston, which worked out well for me. I’d visit my dad and depart from there. The most efficient way to get to the Azores is with Sata, or Azores Airlines—which Google autofills to “worst airline ever.” But if you check the results, it’s evidently only the fourth worst, or something like that. The negative results spike every couple of years when people get stranded (often in Boston). The Azores are a weather-rich environment, and Sata has a fleet of 14 planes, which means limited options to replace any plane that experiences issues. The food was atrocious even by airplane-food standards (in contrast, Turkish Airlines, which I took to Romania, had very decent food by airplane-food standards), the entertainment was minimal and device-based, and the seats were pretty cramped. But I’d rather be on a worse airline for four hours than a great one for six hours and then a layover followed by 2 more hours.

We did not get stuck in Boston, but I did get stuck on Sao Miguel largely as a result of the incompetence of Sata. There was a slight delay, which made for a precarious connection, especially with my bag the last one off the carousel in Sao Miguel (I didn’t want to check it but it exceeded the weight limit of 8 lbs by 2 lbs). I opted for my bigger, heavier-framed bag not because I needed the space but for its ergonomics and handy pockets. Lesson to self, so as not to be in an involuntary bag-check situation: get a smaller version of the same bag (looking forward to those Osprey sales in November). Also looking forward to camera sales, but more on that later.

Kiera was assured by the gate agents that I’d make it onto the connection, but the Sata people evidently rebooked us both (but she had no bag, so she was able to use her original boarding pass to board and they let her stay). I had to spend 8 hours on Sao Miguel, which ended up being fine, although it was definitely annoying. I checked my big bag to Flores, checked my medium bag at left luggage, and wandered into Ponta Delgada, where I explored, and found a SIM.

Now, there was a Vodafone at the airport but the saleswoman told me my only option was a 10GB SIM for €20, of which I had no need. The store downtown offered me 5GB for €15, and only when I was about to walk did they reveal the 3GB SIM for €10. That was twice as much as I’d paid in Romania, for half the data, but it was a price I was willing to pay and it was worth it. Having a local phone came in very handy.

I stuck the SIM into my dad’s old phone, which we replaced because he thought the microphone had stopped working (I discovered that it just has funky settings that keep it muted even when you’ve unmuted the volume). On this trip I had more electronics than I’d ever traveled with: my ‘good’ phone, the ‘burner’ phone with the local SIM, my iPad (for ongoing trip research, among other things), my good camera, and my underwater camera (for snorkeling, kayaking, or other watery adventures). And all the associated charging devices and other gear. And I used it all. I used just about everything I brought, except for the epipen (and that’s a good thing) and one pair of lounge pants (it was warm enough, even in the evenings, to lounge in dresses, but you never know). There wasn’t anything I hadn’t packed that I missed; I’d debated bringing trekking poles for Mt. Pico, but our guide had some for us to use. I’d also debated bringing snorkeling gear, but overpaying for it was still a better option than lugging it around.

I’d have liked more time on Pico; all we really did was hike, although we got to see wine grapes growing in stone-wall arrangements during the ride from the port, and I availed myself of the natural swimming pool a short walk from our hotel. There was a lot more to see on Sao Miguel, but I was happy with what I did see. On all the islands, when the fog comes in you can’t see much of anything. We were super-lucky with the weather on Flores, mostly lucky on Pico, occasionally lucky on Sao Jorge, and half-lucky on Sao Miguel. But we made the most of it.