Recent Articles
Portugal
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Hardship to Holidaymakers on Pico Island in the Azores
In an extraordinary turn around the hardships of the islanders on Pico during the last century have now been turned into tourist attractions. Visitors to the island arrive at Madalena, the main town and port. When I arrived it was blurry through the rain but I could see it was an attractive, modern town. When the first settlers arrived on the island during the fifteenth century they had to hew a living out of the hard, dark lava ...
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Horta, the Charming Capital of Faial Island in the Azores
Anyone sailing into Horta who does not feel a thrill must be either sleeping or throwing up. Colourful yachts bob within the walls of the busiest marina in the Azores. Pastel painted buildings creep up the hill towards majestic churches that dominate the skyline. And arms of imposing cliffs embrace the sea front on both sides of the town.
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Whale Watching and Volcanology on Faial, an Island in the Azores
My tour of Faial Island is the closest to nature I have been for a long time. But it started with a technical hitch as our flight to the island was delayed. We were due to go out on a whale watching trip and arrived more than hour after we should have left the port. We raced there from the airport. Fortunately, the company was prepared to take us out to sea. We pulled on oilskins, clambered aboard and soon we were speeding across the water …
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Ponta Delgada, a Portrait in Black and White with Splashes of Colour
Architecture is the most striking aspect of Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel in the Azores archipelago. Simple whitewashed buildings striped with black basalt stand out against a backdrop of green vegetation beyond the town. This architecture originated from Portugal of which the islands are an autonomous region. Each island has developed its own variations ...
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Views, Villages and Vegetation on São Miguel an Island in the Azores
It was not a good start to my second day touring the island of São Miguel in the Azores. A stubborn mist hung above the mountain road that took us to the northern tip of the island. Our guide, Carlos, had joked that in one day the island could experience four seasons. What he did not tell us that this would be part of our tour today. We started in autumn. When we stopped at the first view point where, in theory, we should be able to see both the north and south coastlines we could only just make out one coastline below us. It did add an ethereal element to our images.
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A Day Out on the Island of São Miguel in the Azores
Before embarking on my trip to the Azores I knew very little about the islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The name alone makes them sound exotic and exciting. I was not disappointed. The islands, exposed mountain peaks, bubble and hiss with underground volcanic activity. They are clothed with lush undergrowth and thick forests that contrast dramatically with the stark black of mounds of lava fringing the coastline …