Who doesn't keep hearing about the "Azores High" or the "Azores Low" on the daily news, depending on the weather and the season? The fact is that the Azores are mostly known to the Germans as weather makers or weather causers. An Azores high usually results in calm and sunny weather, but if it is said that "an Icelandic low meets a moderate Azores high" then it means slush in winter and constant rain in summer in Germany. But the Azores are also known for being an escape for stressed people all over the world. Here, "deceleration" takes place like nowhere else: that's when you walk the green paths, let yourself be thrilled by the spectacle of the whales in the Atlantic, go diving in the depths of the Atlantic, explore the vastness of the Atlantic by sailboat or visit the thermal springs. The Azores are all of these things, and the Germans are right at the forefront with 3.6% of the population of the islands, making up the largest proportion of all EU states on the Azores. They are followed by the Swedes. The Azores consist of 9 islands, each of which is unique and therefore cannot be lumped together as "just the" Azores.


To the east, we start with Santa Maria. There are sandy beaches and vineyards whose slopes resemble "stairs for giants". The island of São Miguel is the largest island and enchants with the lakes "Sete Cidades" and "Fogo". Here you will find the famous geysers of volcanic origin with hot thermal water, which is also used for cooking the island speciality "Cozido das Furnas", in which the same is slowly cooked inside the earth. In the central archipelago are Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, Faial and Graciosa. Here you can watch whales and dolphins on land and in the water. Terceira is home to the city of Angra do Heroísmo, which is a World Heritage Site.


Faial delights with the fresh blue of its hydrangeas and its marina. Pico rises from the sea with its vineyards embedded in black lava fields and is, so to speak, the "Zugspitze of the Azores". São Jorge is known for its cheese and as "Graciosa" (The Elegant), the name and appearance of this green island. It is covered with vineyards, which contrast with the unique windmills. To the west is the island of Flores (Flowers). Its beauty is based on the nature of the waterfalls and the lakes that were formed from the volcanoes and leave every visitor breathless like Helene Fischer's hit songs leave their fans. Corvo is also the smallest of the islands and a nature reserve that is home to various species of birds from Europe and America.

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These are the Azores. Nine islands, nine small worlds that have as many similarities as differences, but in which the friendliness of their inhabitants is common to all. All the islands of the archipelago are of volcanic origin. Only the oldest of the islands, Santa Maria, has additional sedimentary rocks. But besides all the nature, the gastronomy is also an argument to mention and not to omit. The gastronomy of the Azores is authentic and exotic in taste. The volcanic richness of the soil makes possible all the tropical foods that make the regional cuisine even more special and full of flavour.


Most visitors believe that on islands the sea is the main source of food, and that there is plenty of seafood and fresh fish all year round - and there is! Fish is one of the mainstays of local gastronomy, and it couldn't be more delicious. But meat lovers also get their money's worth in the Azores. But the Azores offer all visitors much more than what has been described so far. There is so much to discover in the Azores. Whoever visits the Azores and gets involved will see that they do not only produce high and low areas that influence our weather. No, the Azores will give everyone an "emotional high" when they think of their experiences in and with the Azores.


by Paulo Lopes - Casaiberia Mediação Imobiliária, Lda

Author

Paulo Lopes is a multi-talent Portuguese citizen who made his Master of Economics in Switzerland and studied law at Lusófona in Lisbon - CEO of Casaiberia in Lisbon and Algarve.

Paulo Lopes