“Gabriel, look at that”! He gazed at the purple and orange sunset disappearing behind the mountain, but quickly lowered his eyes back to the clothes pegs he had been playing with. He handed me one, with a condescending expression that could only mean “why are you wasting time with that? Here, check out one of these”. I accepted his offer, shrugged my shoulders, and looked back at the sunset while twiddling the peg between my fingers. Sitting in that porch overlooking the sea and the mountains, we both got back to appreciating the dwindling moment, each one with our very own notion of beauty.
This is the second instalment of our trip through Azores, a Portuguese archipelago that sits on the Atlantic Ocean, roughly a third of the way from Lisbon to New York. Read the first part here.
São Jorge is a long and thin strip of land, a mere 20km (12 miles) from the Pico island. On a clear day, there’s not many places you can hide away from Pico’s mountain, Portugal’s tallest summit. Amidst puffy white clouds, it seemingly floats above the surrounding ocean.
On our first day at São Jorge, Jules and I would endlessly stare at that steep and barren old volcano. At lunch, we asked for a table overlooking the sea and the nearby island. The waiter offered us a puzzled look – not unlike Gabriel’s – and swept his arm across the room, pointing out that every single table had the same inescapable view.
We sat down and started looking around us, rather than beyond us. It was still early for lunch, so only a couple of tables were occupied. On one, a lively group of old classmates, now working on different islands, enjoyed the get together they had been trying to organize for months. On the other, a painter that had been touching up the place gladly accepted the owner’s offer for lunch, chucking aside his packaged sandwich.
The owner had an eye on the painter and another one on Gabriel, who was now blaring “pa, pa” (“bread, bread”) while wolfing down his soup. He came over, bearing a basketful of home-made bread and two glasses of wine. With the same level of enthusiasm, Gabriel took care of the former and Jules and I of the latter.
Perhaps things are more rushed during the summer months, when Azores receives the bulk of its visitors. During those early May days, we were made to feel at home right from the start.
At the airport arrivals hall, there were two signs with our name, two more than we were expecting. One was from the car rental place, which had brought the car to save us a trip into town. The other one was from the lady that rented us an apartment, who wanted to make sure we got there safely. Both sign bearers were merrily chit chatting when we got there, and warmly welcomed us like old friends.
While sipping wine, Jules and I theorized about what made Azoreans so hospitable. Gabriel is certainly part of it: from the first time we traveled with him, we noticed that people became particularly welcoming, as if parents are somehow more approachable and trustworthy.
Perhaps Azores’ diaspora also has something to do with it. In North America alone, there are more than a million Azorean descendants, more than four times the archipelago’s population. Many have also moved to mainland Portugal, creating bonds and familiarity with both the West and the East.
With the bottom of the glasses quickly approaching came the most fantastic theory: the hospitality of Azoreans was rooted in their acknowledgement that our existences are too brief to become bogged down by suspicion and estrangement. Indeed, Azores may look like paradise on earth but, deep beneath its surface, an untameable clash has been going on for millions of years.
The archipelago sits on top of a triple junction, where the North American, Eurasian and African tectonic plates meet. Throughout the centuries, dozens of earthquakes have created havoc. In the first day of 1980, the people of the Terceira, São Jorge and Graciosa islands – still groggy from the New Year festivities – were shaken by an earthquake that left 25% of them homeless.
Our days in São Jorge passed away, but our theory on the origins of Azorean hospitality remained untested, unproven and unconvincing. Nevertheless, there were many other chances to witness the effects of the island’s ill volcanic temper.
On the north-western tip of the island, called Ponta dos Rosais, once stood Portugal’s most advanced lighthouse. The six families that lived there had to abandon it after the 1980 earthquake, as the structure – built very close to the cliffs – risked tumbling down to the ocean.
In the small village of Urzelinas, only the bell tower of the old church survived the earthquake, and now stands stoically in the middle of an orchard.
The island itself seems to have been shaped by a mythological clash of titans, with steep and jagged cliffs on all sides. At the very bottom of some of these precipices there are “fajãs”, flat slabs of land formed over time from landslides and falling lava.
In my early teens, I remember hiking the steep path down to one of these fajãs with my uncle. When we got there, we saw an old man sitting on the porch of a small stone house. Like the few others that surrounded it, the house was in disrepair and seemingly on the verge of collapsing.
“Good day youths, what brings you down here?”
“We saw the steep trail down the cliff and wondered where it led to. Do you live here?”
“Yes, I was born in this place and lived here all my life. We’re just four now, but used to be more. The others slowly left over the years. Some moved to the village on top of the cliff. Some moved further, to other islands or to the mainland”
“That sounds terrible, don’t you feel alone here?” asked I, with the finesse of a thirteen-year-old. He laughed gently, brushing off the discourtesy. “I do”. He looked around him, briefly pausing at his house, then the small plot of land next to it, and finally resting his eyes at the ocean.
“But it’s home”.
Verne*
Jules Verne Times Two 
…and there’s no place like home. Thanks for sharing. Great writing and stunning images.
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Thank you!
That snotty thirteen-year old didn’t understand what the old man meant, and it took him many years to finally get it 🙂
– Verne
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🤣😂🤣😂
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Pristine lands, and beautiful views!!
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Thank you Cristina!
Pristine is indeed the right word. There’s some places where one has to look hard for an unspoiled landscape. Not the case with Azores!
– Verne
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I love your blog. Every now and then a post arrives and transports me in the gentlest way to whatever beautiful corner of the world you are exploring. A lovely gift!
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Thank you Kay. It’s great to know that the tranquility and beauty we bring from our trips shines through these texts!
– Verne
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Excited to read this. I’m planning a trip to the Azores next year. It’s a long held dream. 🙂 🙂
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Great to hear you’re planning to go there! I think you’ll like our next stop at Azores, it involves a hike up the Pico mountain 🙂
– Verne
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I’ve been really enjoying your post series on the Azores. The archipelago’s position on top of where three tectonic plates meet reminds me of many islands in Indonesia, and unsurprisingly they are all volcanic. Nature’s unpredictability in these places have taken many lives of their dwellers, but at the same time it always creates a new layer upon which another chapter of life flourishes — based on my experience they are among the most fertile lands on the planet. Looking forward to the next posts!
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Thank you Bama!
While writing this text, I thought about Indonesia may times. The 1980 earthquake in Azores seems like a lifelong ago but, in geological terms, a mere instant has passed.
– Verne
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I wallowed in your photos and narrative shortly after reading that friends are having snow storms today.
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While writing this text, Azores also seemed very far. It wasn’t snowing in Lisbon (it hardly ever does!) but it rained uninterruptedly for the whole day.
– Verne
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Excellent review and photos
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Thank you!
– Verne
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Ah, beautiful story, beautiful pictures! Azores have stolen a piece of my heart, one of the few places I will want to return time and time again!
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I know exactly what you mean! We’ll return there soon to visit the three island we missed on this trip. After that, we’ll probably do the whole thing again 🙂
– Verne
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Great to hear there are others too who are addicted! Next time we are probably going for the Faial – Pico – Sao Jorge -triangle! I hope. All of them are so pretty and different that it is hard to choose! 😅
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We’ll be talking about Pico, Faial, Flores and Corvo on our next posts, hopefully you’ll be able to use them to come to a decision 🙂
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I’ll be looking forward to those! Though Flores I have already visited, such a paradise it is! 🙂
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It is indeed! Did you visit Corvo as well?
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Unfortunately we didn’t manage to get onto Corvo. We were on Flores during wintertime, when the connections are rather limited between the islands. 🙂
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Ah, that’s a pity! Stay tuned then, we managed to go there (on a rather small boat that would have indeed struggled in wintertime!) 🙂
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Yeah, we found it a pity too. It looked like a lovely place, seen from Flores 🙂 But at least we still have a reason to return to there too!
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Marvelous. You two are inspirational. I’m planning a trip to the Azores because of your series. Thank you!
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That’s great to hear, Cindy! Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.
– Verne
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THAT MAP! What a work of art. I’ve got deep map envy now. Even deeper than usual!
Oh, and what a nice trip to São Jorge, never thought that the Azores has such lush, green nature.
Fabrizio
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Ah, my fellow map aficionado! Thank you very much 🙂
I had a lot of fun drawing this map (although I got some funny looks from Gabriel from pilfering his drawing paper).
It wasn’t easy photographing it though, as the pencil strokes are very thin for such a large size. Will have to sort that out for the next one!
– Verne
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Lovely pictures. They give a feeling of calm and the passage of time. Perhaps that’s why the people are friendly, they have come to terms with time without being frazzled by it.
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That’s a great hypothesis! We were indeed frazzled when we got back to the hustle and bustle of Lisbon (which, compared with other European capitals, has very little of hustles and bustles).
– Verne
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Fabulous images, and a really warmly written account of the one part of Portugal I’ve never visited. It’s SO on my list now! I lived for a few years in Gois – very different landscapes – and see lots of my favourite places (Aveiro, Batalha, Obidos) in your blog, so I need to sit down and read lots more. Always good to meet another Jules too!
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Thank you, fellow Jules!
We’ve never visited Góis but, if someone with your travelling track record elected to live there, we’re probably missing something good. We need to correct that 🙂
– Verne
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River beaches, schist villages, great walks, deer in the forest, castles, markets…
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Sold!
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Oh how excellent, the story and glimpses, the attitude and facts, the colour scheme and details. The ones with the dog and steal it, as well as those shadow lines. Your descriptions of Gabriel are spot on, as if I could see him. I love it how meticulous your posts are, how much effort you put into them. I wish you, your family and the Azores much luck this year.
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Thank you very much, Manja Mexi the 4th! We have a bunch more travel lined up for 2019 (including Italy) and we haven’t even blogged about all our 2018 trips yet… we’ll eventually catch up 🙂
– Verne
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Ooo, Italy, nice! If you tell me in advance, we can arrange something – in case you visit between Florence and Rome. Bestia likes kids, especially if they are eating something. 😀
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Only Southern Italy this time, unfortunately! But we surely come back for Bestia at a later time, so they can share an ice cream 🙂
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