I’m Hendrik Welling from DW and today I’m going to show you how to spend the perfect day on the Azores. It’s a paradise that’s been shaped by volcanoes. The Azores are a Portuguese archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic — a full 1,500 kilometres from the mainland. André Gouveia tells me, the best way to
experience the island’s natural beauty, is on foot. The main island of Sao Miguel alone has dozens of hiking trails. The climate remains warm and humid throughout the year. I find the landscape mesmerizing — like this forest of Japanese cedars. See this moss right here? This holds a lot of water. This is one of the best, if not the best, water filter ever. And if we squeeze this, we can even drink this water. Yeah, see! Make sure you squeeze. Yeah, there you go! Yeah, it tastes funny. — It has a flavor! A few steps further on and we are nearing the edge of a volcanic crater. Ahead of us: a huge crater landscape — Sete Cidades. Welcome, Hendrik! Enjoy the view! — That’s nice! The massive volcanic basin has two different-colored, shimmering lakes. So actually this is the most famous spot on the Azores. — Pretty much, pretty much. And it’s definitely worth it, I would say. What do you think? — Absolutely, I agree. I really like the hikes, when they are challenging. And here, since there’s a lot of mountains, in one single hike you can do a bit of everything: up the hill, flat, down the hill, slippery, you can hike across the forests and a few minutes later you’re already outside on a field like this. So hikes are very — I would say — in my opinion they are very complete. There’s a bit of everything. The Azores are also a paradise for whales and dolphins. I’m really excited to go out here because I cannot believe that you can just drive out to the ocean and see whales. But I would really like to see them. The various ocean currents around the islands make these waters a playground for the marine mammals. Scouts on land let the boats know when a whale has been sighted. I’ve joined marine biologist Maria Inês Pavão. As we head to the location, she tells me more about the whales. They are starting their migration north to feeding grounds where is a lot, a lot of food available. And here on the Azores we’re one of the first stops, or the first places, where they can find a bit of food. Because they spend winter having their babies and are almost not feeding at all. So here we are a nice coffee break, that’s what it is. But before we actually get to see any whales, a dolphin suddenly pops up. First one — and then: a whole pod. But then the moment arrives. There! It’s a huge sperm whale, about 16 meters long. The whale disappears — in search of its next meal. It’s beautiful and we have to preserve, it’s the only way to be fair. So they give us the chance to see them, this magnificent animals — whales and dolphins — and the least we can do is to reduce a little bit and try to protect them. It’s now time for a cup of tea — with Madalena Motta. Okay, a good spot for this tea ceremony. — Yes! It's good! She runs Europe’s oldest tea factory. The Cha Gorreana plantation has been growing tea for about 130 years. The leaves are still processed with machines dating back to the 19th century. That’s said to be one of the secrets behind the flavor of tea from the Azores. The other secret is the climate and the soil. Tea leaves are harvested here from April to September. Here on the Azores the land is too acid, the roots are very big. So that makes the tea very fresh, not aggressive. Our tea is what the English call "fresh", because it’s easy to drink, it’s not aggressive. Visitors are free to wander through the plantation and chat with the tea pickers at leisure. It is good. — Yeah. I head on to wilder country: one of Sao Miguel's many nature parks. The Caldeira Velha park stretches along the northern slopes of a volcano. What's really fascinating here are the thermal or hot springs. They give off the smell of sulphur. Ouch, it’s hot! If I had pasta with me, we could cook it, because this is actually boiling water. A bite to eat sounds like a good idea. In a local restaurant I order THE specialty of the Azores: Cozido das Furnas, a kind of stew of vegetables, meat and more meat. Actually, it’s a lot of meat. But if you like meat, it’s a perfect dish. And I just learned that this local specialty is prepared in a very, very special way. The pot full of Cozida das Furnas is lowered into these holes to stew for about seven hours! The dish is named after the little town of Furnas on Sao Miguel, located inside a volcano crater. It's famous for its 22 hot springs. I decide to test the waters of a thermal bath. At the Ponta da Ferraria, the hot spring-water mixes with the cool Atlantic ocean water. So the bay is the perfect spot to relax in a natural hot bath. Oh, it’s really hot. That was just a fantastic day here on the Azores. I never thought that I could experience so much nature in only one day. And the variety of the nature was just mindblowing.
