Azores

Antoine's view

I, for one, carefully sail between the tropics, so the Azores' latitude, close to 40 degrees north, had all it takes to discourage me of visiting them; yet the archipelago is such a favorite for sailors, who generally stop there when , leaving behind the sweet life in the Caribbean, they head back towards Europe !
So I one day made up my mind to sail towards them, just like all great navigators once did.

I like Portuguese culture, traditions, music, language, so I loved the Azores, with a preference for the most remote islands in the group, such as superb Flores Island, the westernmost island. I loved above all the incredible hydrangea, hundreds of kilometers of Hydrangea hedges that line the Azores' countryside; the lakes with their changing colors, the volcanic springs, the perfectly square-shaped banana groves, the milk cows which the farmers come to milk in the middle of the fields; the historic districts of Horta or Angra do Eroismo (just the name of this small town, which means "Anchorage of Heroism". pretty good, eh?

The mad running of villagers in front of the bulls running almost free through the village's streets; the whale and dolphin that lazily swim offshore from Pico island : they are not hunted any more, one just goes and watch them, and the sailing dinghies that were once used to hunt them are only used today for peaceful and spectacular regattas