All of the islands in the Azores were formed millions of years ago from volcanic eruptions, and it’s obvious from the moment you see the island of Terceira. We anchored at the base of Monte Brasil, in the cove of Angra do Heroismo. The town itself is a UNESCO world heritage site (for its preservation of traditional Portuguese architecture), and the waters are even given a special Unesco designation for their purity (such an amazing shade of blue) year after year.
After clearing in and taking long hot showers (heaven), we found lunch at what would be our favorite restaurant – Tasca das Tias (Aunties’ Tavern). We had crusty bread with local Azorean butter, cured and smoked meats, local cheese, fried potato skins with aioli, local wine, and cold beer.
Maybe we were crazy, but we decided to test our poor weakened legs and climb Monte Brasil the next day. My shins paid for it, but the views of the cauldera (blown out depression from post volcanic explosion), shoreline, and ocean were magnificent. The mountain even has a resident population of feral cats and roosters!
The must see activities of the island are of course volcano related. We hired a cab the next day and started at the Natal – the lava chambers. After donning a helmet (critical attire as I whacked myself several times), we descended into hollowed out tubes that had been formed by cooling lava.
Then we headed out for a short walk around active sulfur springs. It’s amazing that there is any vegetation at all, as less than an inch below anything growing is igneous rock.
Then it was on to the highlight of the tour – the Algar al Carvao. Adventurers over 100 years ago discovered a fully preserved hollowed out magma chamber. They explored for decades and then were able to make it accessible to the public. Days later, Trip and I found a small museum in town dedicated to the opening of the chamber and all things volcanic on the island.
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