I was prepared for The Azores to be different from anything I had seen before, but I was not prepared for it to feel familiar.
We travelled from Madeira, our first time on a small propeller driven plane, to land close to Ponta Delgada, the main town on the Azorian island of Sau Miguel, the largest island of the archipelago.
Ponta Delgada reminded me of Funchal; the same winding cobbled streets, basalt and whitewashed architecture and busy harbour filled with fishing boats as well as yachts and tourist boats.
So what a surprise when we explored the western side of the island and discovered green rolling hills with fields full of cows and lush forested areas, we could easily have been in the Ribble Valley.
Of course there were many more differences than similarities, none more so than the view as we reached the 'Miradoura da Vista do Rei' appropriately translated as the view of the kings.
The viewpoint looks down on the Lagoa das Sete Cidades (Lagoon of the Seven Cities") a twin lake situated in the crater of a dormant volcano consisting of two small, ecologically different lakes, one blue and one green, connected by a narrow strait, which is crossed by a bridge.
We drove down into the crater to arrive in a small settlement, and after a light lunch, set of to walk around the smaller lake on a wide path, mesmerised by the water changing colour as the sun danced between the clouds. With the lake on our left, on our right the points of interest changed: sedimentary rock layered in colour and texture and covered in winter lichen, thick pine forests, small trees and shrubs clinging to vertical rock surfaces and early blooms of spring azalea alongside the bright red spikes of ginger lily.
Arriving at a grassed area at the end of the lake, the path became narrow as it entered a mixed woodland, twisting uphill beneath the canopy and between trees, natural steps created by their roots. But here our walk was cut short as a recent landslide had destroyed the path making passage impossible.
We returned by the same route and continued by car to the miradora at Lagoa de Santiago. A smaller crater, its steep sides covered in vegetation, with yet another almost perfectly circular jade green lake.
A path next to the viewpoint seemed to offer a way down, hopefully to the waters edge. We descended carefully, the steep trail winding through the laurel, pine and swathes of ginger lily, avoiding tree roots and navigating rocks and steps. After about 20 minutes we reached the bottom, where sizemic monitoring equipment provided us of a stark reminder of where we were.
Of course if the descent was steep then the ascent was going to be equally tricky, but at least gave an eye level view of some of the smaller plants, such as Selaginella Obtusa, a tiny leafed but very pretty moss, and fungi.
Returning to the car, we made our way back through Sete Cidades and through some very familiar countryside - we could have been back in Lancashire again - until we reached the coast, where we settled to watch the sun set over the West Atlantic. A very satisfying day!
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