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Azores 2026, Portugal
  • Gina Steiner
  • Gina Steiner

Azores 2026, Portugal

A 58-day adventure by Gina Read more
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  • Gina SteinerAzores 2026, PortugalTraveler

    Ponta Delgada

    March 3 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Time to write something about Ponta Delgada.

    Ponta Delgada (lit. Thin Cape) is the largest municipality and executive capital of the of the Azores. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago.

    As of 2021, it has 67 287 inhabitants, in an area of 232,99 square kilometres. There are 17 629 residents in the three central civil parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro, São Sebastião, and São José.

    Populated since 1444, São Miguel was a relatively large island with small settlements scattered about, except for Vila Franca do Campo in the central-southern coast and the smaller community of Ponta Delgada. Villa Franca had for many years been the center of the island economically and socially and the seat of the local government.

    In 1522, an earthquake and landslide devastated the provincial capital, destroying many of the buildings and killing several people. Ponta Delgada became the only centre with an infrastructure to support the Azorean bureaucracy and supplant its important economic links.

    During the 19th century, the municipality experienced its greatest boost of economic activity, with the funneling of citrus exports to the United Kingdom.

    Much like the rest of the Azores, the city is shaped by the Gulf Stream, and consequently has a narrow temperature variation. Mean daytime temperatures vary between 17 °C in the winter to around 25 °C in the summer. The average annual relative humidity is around 80%, which may influence the perceived temperature by a few degrees in the warmer months. Temperatures above 30 °C, or below 4 °C have never been registered.

    The historic center is really small and in an hour you can explore everything on foot. What is particularly striking are the cobblestones with the white patterns everywhere in the city center.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerAzores 2026, PortugalTraveler

    Ponta del Doce

    March 3 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Ponta del Doce is a charming coffee shop in Ponta Delgada that offers a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

    They offer delicious coffees, cakes, and Brazilian specialties.

    I went there because it was recommended to me by a woman who lives on the island. The pieces look extremely delicious, but they are much too sweet for my taste 🍬 🍡.

    So I love to look at them, but I won't eat one again 🤣.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerAzores 2026, PortugalTraveler

    Licor de Tangerina

    March 4 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Yester evening I emptied my bottle of Licor de Tangerina 🍷.

    Tangerine liqueur is a popular aromatic drink that can be bought from various brands, especially from the Azores, or made at home with a simple recipe.

    I like the one from Manuel Rainha best. It's often described as a product that tastes "homemade," made in the old-fashioned way, very popular in the Azores during the festive season.

    You can visit some liqueur factories here in the Azores, let's see if I will find the time before I leave.

    Making tangerine liqueur at home is a simple process, generally involving infusing the peels and then adding a sugar syrup.

    Ingredients:
    5/6 tangerines (only the yellow peel, without the white part to avoid bitterness)
    1 liter of grain alcohol (or brandy, vodka, white cachaça)
    1 liter of water
    1 kg of sugar
    Optional: 1 cinnamon stick, a few cloves

    Wash the tangerines well. Peel them, removing only the colored part of the peel (yellow/orange), avoiding the white part. Place the peels in a sterilized glass jar.

    Add the alcohol (and cinnamon/cloves, if desired) and seal the jar tightly. Let it steep for at least 15 to 30 days in a dark place, stirring occasionally.

    After steeping, prepare the syrup: Boil the water with the sugar for about 10 minutes until completely dissolved. Let the syrup cool completely.

    Strain the flavored alcohol (removing the peels) and mix it with the cooled sugar syrup. Mix well.

    Transfer the liqueur to clean bottles. The liqueur should rest for at least two days, or preferably another 20 days, to develop the flavor before being consumed.

    I prefered to buy it because waiting for a month takes too long for me 🤣.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerAzores 2026, PortugalTraveler

    Difference vacation and workation

    March 4 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    There is a clear difference between vacation or road trip and workation. On vacation, you usually don't spend more than 3 weeks in one place, certainly not on a road trip.

    With the workation, it can very well be that you spend one, two or even three months in the same place.

    Because with a full working day, there is little time to explore the area, especially in winter when it gets light late and dark early. Then there is only the weekend and maybe another day off to get to know the area and the people. So you need to stay longer to get to know the place.

    Furthermore, a good infrastructure and possibly also a fast and stable network are necessary for a good workation. One more reason not to change the location too often.

    So both speak for not switching places (often) and that is exactly what has certain effects, because after 3-4 weeks you seem to be significantly different from the tourists.

    After 3-4 weeks you fall out of the normal grid, an unusual pattern.
    Obviously a person that stays longer... 🤔
    Does this person live here now? 🤔
    At this point, people start to reliably recognize you. ❤️

    For me that means:
    At my favorite places I don't have to order anything anymore, I get my wishes delivered to the table straight away.
    At the store they greet me like an old friend and ask how I'm doing today and people wave me across the street.

    I am not a tourist any more, I guess I belong to them now. ❤️

    Time to leave 😉.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerAzores 2026, PortugalTraveler

    Canada and the Azores

    March 5 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    I saw an unusually large number of people from Canada here and wondered: why Canada of all places? It's quite a long way away.

    I also noticed that there are direct flights from Canada to the Azores. Even among the Romeiros, there were many people from Canada. I found it all very strange, and my interest was piqued.

    So: What do the Azores have to do with Canada?

    The Azores and Canada are closely linked by a long history of emigration, with over 180 000 people moving from the Portuguese archipelago to Canada (and the USA) in the last 60 years. Many Azoreans sought better job opportunities there, leading to close cultural ties and direct air connections.

    Due to poverty and natural disasters (such as volcanic eruptions), many Azoreans emigrated to Canada. There is a large Portuguese community in Canada. Canada maintains a consulate in Ponta Delgada, while Portugal has consulates in cities such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

    There are direct flights from Toronto to Ponta Delgada, facilitating exchange. Migration has resulted in many people in the Azores having relatives in Canada, leading to ongoing exchange.

    The connection is therefore primarily social and historical, shaped by the search for a new life in North America.

    Btw… It makes you pretty lazy when you can have graphics created so quickly and easily using AI 🤣.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerAzores 2026, PortugalTraveler

    Toy train set 🚂🚃🚃🚃

    March 5 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    My workation is slowly coming to an end. Today is Thursday, and my flight to Hamburg leaves the day after tomorrow.

    I'm looking forward to going home a bit more than usual. The four storms that swept over me and the islands during these eight weeks were somewhat exhausting. Nothing like the desaster that wreaked havoc in Portugal and across the entire Iberian Peninsula, though. For me, it was just a bit of a strain.

    In addition, the quality of the food has taken its toll on me in the long run, and I've noticed that I've lost some of my enthusiasm for cooking over these eight weeks. The quality of the ingredients here isn't very high, and that's dampened my enthusiasm for cooking.

    But that's just a heads-up, because I want to tell you about a very interesting thing I've observed here during these eight weeks, something I've never seen anywhere else in the world.

    One of the first things you notice when driving around the island is miniature wonderland. The whole island looks like a giant toy train set. No trash, not a scrap of paper, not a single plastic cup – nothing! On rare occasions, you might find flotsam in the natural pools or on the rocky beaches. And even then, there's very little.

    Despite the island's tropical-looking vegetation - wild, overgrown, and lush - it's incredibly well-maintained. Looking out from the viewpoints, everything appears remarkably organized and tidy. The roads wind right through the vegetation, yet all the verges are trimmed, cleaned, and raked to a width of one to two meters. It's an incredible effort, and I even know who's responsible.

    Every community has its own municipal workers who cut, shred, rake, clean, and tidy the roadsides. On almost every stretch of road, almost every day, you'll find sections with small barriers, where the workers are either standing in the road with their mowing equipment or sitting in small green or in rare cases gray tents at the roadside.

    These tents are transported on the back of a truck. The truck picks up the workers as it makes its way through the village, and the small green tent sits on the back of the truck. The workers jump up and climb onto the back of the truck, into the small green tent.

    Once everyone has been picked up, they drive to their mowing area. Then the small green tent is unloaded, placed somewhere on the side of the road, and the workers work on the road or alternatively sit inside the tent. Every day you’ll find some of these green tents all over the island, if you look for them.

    Why do all these workers have such a small green tent? It's because of the rapidly changing weather here. Within half an hour, it rained three times, and three times the sun shone brightly. And the solution is this tent. Mow, quickly into the tent, mow, quickly into the tent, mow, quickly into the tent.

    When I drive home from Pont Delgada and happen to be behind one of these trucks, I have to stop again and again. Because in their stop-and-go rhythm, the workers are gradually picked up or dropped off. And that's how a tropical-looking island is transformed into a miniature wonderland. 😂    Read more

  • Gina SteinerAzores 2026, PortugalTraveler

    Termas da Caldeira Velha

    March 6 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    These natural thermal pools in the middle of the jungle have been closed since my arrival here in the azores. More precisely, they closed on January 5th and I arrived on January 10th.

    Since yesterday they have been open again and when I saw that, I of course bought a ticket online right away, because I am flying tomorrow and was afraid that the demand might be high on the 2nd day of the reopening.

    So I went there today and lazily lay down for 90 minutes exactly where the hot spring runs into the pool 🔥🌊🧘.

    The whole area is called Centro de Interpretação Ambiental da Caldeira Velha and nestled in the lush interior of the island.

    It offers visitors a unique combination of environmental education and geothermal relaxation. Located along the scenic mountain road between Ribeira Grande and Lagoa do Fogo, the site sits within dense laurel forest where volcanic activity still shapes the landscape.

    It costs 10.- for 90 minutes bathing or 3.- for just visiting the park. If you buy a bathing ticket you can of course also look at the whole park for as long as you like. The ticket can be ordered and paid online in advance, which I would do, because the number of visitors is limited. For 2 more euros you can also rent a locker.

    Near the bassins there is the interpretation center, which was created to help visitors to understand the volcanic and ecological heritage of the Azores. Through interactive exhibits, geological explanations, and displays about local flora and fauna, the center highlights how the islands were formed and how geothermal energy continues to influence the environment.

    You can learn about the geothermal systems that heat the island’s hot springs, native plants of the Azorean laurel forest (laurissilva) and sustainable conservation efforts in protected natural areas.

    The most popular attraction at Caldeira Velha is definitely its natural thermal baths, which are fed by the geothermal springs. The mineral-rich waters emerge from the volcanic ground at temperatures ranging roughly between 35°C and 39°C, creating ideal conditions for relaxation.

    The bathing area includes a large warm pool surrounded by dense tropical-like vegetation, a smaller, hotter pool closer to the geothermal spring and a picturesque iron-rich waterfall, whose orange tones come from minerals in the water.

    Bathing here feels almost like entering a natural jungle spa. Steam rises from the pools while ferns and moss-covered trees frame the site, giving visitors the sensation of being immersed in untouched nature.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerAzores 2026, PortugalTraveler

    Miradouro do Pico do Carvão

    March 6 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    At this point, which we are looking at here, São Miguel is less than 8 km wide, and this is where most of the development is located. On the left side you can see Ribeira Grande and on the right side you can see Ponta Delgada. The best view on this narrowest part of the island is from the Miradouro do Pico do Carvão.

    The Miradouro is located along the scenic mountain road between Ribeira Grande and Sete Cidades.
    From the platform, visitors can not only see from the north cost on the left to the south coast on the right but if the weather is clear you can also see a long chain of volcanic cones and craters that stretch all along the island until the far east of the island.

    The name Pico do Carvão (“Peak of Coal”) likely refers to the dark volcanic rocks found in the area. The viewpoint lies along a volcanic ridge that forms part of the complex geological system connecting the central volcanoes of São Miguel.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerAzores 2026, PortugalTraveler

    Flower Power

    March 7 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    The time has come, today I'm heading back home. But what would a trip in my travel journal be without a footprint of the local flowers? So here it is, the obligatory flower power footprint. And I can tell you, there are an incredible number of flowers in bloom here now. There were already some when I arrived, but now they're blooming everywhere.Read more

  • Gina SteinerAzores 2026, PortugalTraveler

    Bye Mosteiros, bye São Miguel & Azores

    March 7 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    "Tem mais alguma questão? Caso contrário, desejo-lhe uma boa viagem.", she said.

    "Pardon? ", I replied and asked at the checkin.

    "Oh sorry, I thought you were Portuguese, you look Portuguese", she answered although I gave her my German ID. This often happens to me but with handing over of my ID? This case is severe 🤔.

    Okay, after eight weeks it seems the time has come, I'm assimilated 🤣. Now I'm sitting at the gate, with my last Galão and my last Pastel de Nata (both of which were given to me by a lady unknown to me 🤔) and for whatever reason this guy waved me through priority line, although I'm not (I told him so)... 🤔. Now I'm waiting to see what happens next 😂, seems like the day of wonders.

    Whatever... I've obviously chosen the right time for my return. Now the spring definitely has arrived in Hamburg. Wintering 2025/26 done ✅.

    Bye bye Mosteiros, bye bye São Miguel and bye bye Azores.

    Did I already tell you that I have a nice idea and plan for April? 😂    Read more

  • Gina SteinerAzores 2026, PortugalTraveler

    Stopover in Lisbon

    March 7 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    1.5 hours stopover is a good time, then delays are not bothering, but today I don't have any.

    And just a minute ago, I was the fairy of Lisbon, at lease for one woman, because she was in the toilet before me had left her cell phone. I just caught her at the sink 🧚📱.

    Once more I thought: Fortunately, I now hang the thing around my neck when traveling, although is looks uncool - but who needs to be cool? In my age that's not necessary any more, I'm cool by definition 😎🤣.

    So one more flight to go, Hamburg I'm coming!    Read more

  • Trip end
    March 8, 2026
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