Sao Miguel Island, The Azores, Portugal
São Miguel is the largest and also the capital of the Azores Archipelago. Situated almost in the middle of the North Atlantic, these islands receive the brunt of a great number of storms, and an almost continuous stream of water-laden clouds. All of them have a typical volcanic origin and quite high mountains which intercept the clouds, push them into the heights where they drop their temperature and their water, creating green, green forests and environments. Discovered in the very early 1400’s by the Portuguese, the islands were promptly inhabited. A great number of non-native plants were introduced, giving the native flora a poor chance of survival.
São Miguel Island is formed by a series of volcanic cones, some with a lake inside of the old caldera. On the western side of the island one caldera has two lakes, the Green Lake, and the Blue Lake. But thanks to an ever-faster eutrophication of these lakes, both are now green. We traveled by bus from the capital Ponta Delgada to this site, called Sete Cidades, a small interesting town, and walked along the lake’s edge to a picnic ground among a series of cottonwood, pin oaks and sycamores, and had a picnic where we tasted different local tidbits. The lakeside offered us a few birds too, and a great variety of flowering plants. We had a wonderful series of views today, of meadow-covered hills to far-off towns in the afternoon haze.
São Miguel is the largest and also the capital of the Azores Archipelago. Situated almost in the middle of the North Atlantic, these islands receive the brunt of a great number of storms, and an almost continuous stream of water-laden clouds. All of them have a typical volcanic origin and quite high mountains which intercept the clouds, push them into the heights where they drop their temperature and their water, creating green, green forests and environments. Discovered in the very early 1400’s by the Portuguese, the islands were promptly inhabited. A great number of non-native plants were introduced, giving the native flora a poor chance of survival.
São Miguel Island is formed by a series of volcanic cones, some with a lake inside of the old caldera. On the western side of the island one caldera has two lakes, the Green Lake, and the Blue Lake. But thanks to an ever-faster eutrophication of these lakes, both are now green. We traveled by bus from the capital Ponta Delgada to this site, called Sete Cidades, a small interesting town, and walked along the lake’s edge to a picnic ground among a series of cottonwood, pin oaks and sycamores, and had a picnic where we tasted different local tidbits. The lakeside offered us a few birds too, and a great variety of flowering plants. We had a wonderful series of views today, of meadow-covered hills to far-off towns in the afternoon haze.
