The weather was not bad, yet still cold and humid. The first stop was at a pineapple estate. Pineapple, is the exotic fruit that is produced in green houses, only in San Miguel island. At the exit, there was a nice store selling the most typical handicrafts and products (needlepoint, embroideries, whale bone accessories, liquors and, of course, pineapples). From there we drove to one of the lagoons or shall I call lakes? Up over there, the temperature was low but the breathtaking vistas made us not care about it. Owing to the absence of pollution - industry has no significance at all - the landscape takes on unique shades and colours.
As we continued our tour the weather was constantly changing. Azores are said to have the four seasons in one single day. I have doubts. I didn't notice any signs of summer...
The stop at an interesting and picturesque town on the eastern tip of the island, gave us a chance to see its eight-arch bridge, built in the XIX century and the town's main landmark. Although I don't like liquors, I visited the main shop annex to the liquor factory,just with the purpose of taking a few photos. The factory's symbol is the traditional costume: a long cape with a very broad hood, which dates from the 18th century. It's now only worn at traditional festivals.
The morning tour ended at the Gorreana tea estate. Family owned and operating since 1883, it produces the only tea grown commercially in Europe for over 125 years. Now, let's have a stop for lunch but before it, enjoy the slide-show...
~~ See you soon! ~~
~~ Thanks for stopping by ~~
I have to be totally honest, I had to use Google to find Azores on the map, I was really not quite sure where it was. Never too old to learn something new, thank you darling. For some reason the pineapples confused me, you see. We grow pineapples wild here and also in Hawaii, that I visited briefly in 1999, their climate is similar to ours. The Azores looks very windswept, but no wonder, they are right smack in the middle of nowhere.
ReplyDeleteSuch an interesting post and such lovely photographs ( as per usual) to accompany it. Thank you for sharing your trip with us. Big Hugs.
Thank you for taking me with you on your travels. Sorry the weather wasn't better for you but the view - that first shot is amazing. My old computer won't let me watch the slide show, so you must promise that some of the pictures will appear in Picture This.
ReplyDeleteIt was a wonderful tour , thank you again .
ReplyDeleteSan Miguel looks beautiful, a great place to get away
ReplyDeletethe pineapple looks delicious!
Amazing to see pineapples growing in hot houses and not outside! I loved the wares you captured and was glad to see some blue skies after all.... it seems the buildings both in slide show #1and here all are in need of repairs, but are still very quaint and picturesque. Some of these sites remind me a little of Hawaiian interiors [not beaches of course!]... how wonderful to visit through your photos!
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