Welcome to my Azores Page
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Miguel, Pico and Faial
taken on my recent family trip back to the Azores
The world Famous Cafe on Faial.
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No the volcano you see in the above picture is not in the heart of the prairies, the highest land elevations we have around here are the speed bumps in parking lots, it is though my place of birth, Ilha do Pico in the Azores. If you are wondering where that is, continue reading because I have a whole slew of information about that part of the world .
This is me by the way, "Sitting by the Dock of the Bay" so to speak, on a previous visit to the Azores.
I would like to use this Web Page to ask if there is anyone out there who may know any links back to the Azores or if anyone knows any email addresses of anyone living in the Azores. I think it would be great to be able to communicate over the Web with someone back in the place I was born and possibly even know some of my relatives which are still living on the islands. Also if you have any pictures from the Azores which you would like to share with we, I can never get enough pictures of the Azores, just send them to me via email to fernando1960@msn.com. So feel free to drop me a line if you can help, ah heck drop me I line if you just feel like talking anyway.
My wife Connie is also from the Azores, from the island of Sao Miguel, but both of us grew up and met right here in the middle of Canada far away from any ocean. It is really a small world after all. My hobbies are photography, marine aquarium fish keeping and of course surfing on the Internet.
The Azores
If you would like to see a map of the
Azores click on the globe. 
The goal of this page is to shine a little light on a part of the world very few people are even aware of, it is at times even hard to find a map which indicates their existence. Nine tiny little gems peeking out through the oceans surface, the Azores.
The Azores archipelago consists of a group of nine islands of volcanic origin located along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, approximately 760 sea miles from the Portuguese capital Lisbon and 2110 miles from New York. The archipelago is broken into three groups of islands. The eastern group consists of two islands, Sao Miguel which is the largest and most populous of all and Santa Maria. The central group consists offive islands, Terseira, Sao Jorge, Graciosa, Pico and Faial. The western group consists of the remaining two islands Flores and Corvo which is the smallest of them all.
The Azores is an area of incredible unspoiled beauty rich in history and deep in culture. As you travel through the islands you are left with the feeling that you have passed through a doorway in time, to a simpler time away from the daily rat race life style that afflicts most North American centers, and yet you are still afforded all the modern conveniences along your trip.
Each of the nine island has its own special charm and points of interest:
Nick named Ilha Verde (Green Island) for its green pastures and lust forests, it is the largest in land mass and population of all the Azorean Islands. Discovered sometime between 1426 and 1439, settlement started on the island in 1439 by groups of people from the Alentejo and Algarve areas of mainland Portugal and by small groups of people from France.
The islands capital is Ponta Delgada, a modern urban center which spans about 3 kilometers along the shore of a bay.
The island's main industries are pineapples (grown in greenhouses), tea, tobacco, fishing and stockbreeding.
Sao Miguel has something to offer for everyone, whatever your interests may be whether it be deep sea fishing to golfing to horseback riding in the wilderness, it has it all and mixed with picturesque landscapes at every turn.
The discovery date of this island is something which is still debated today but it is accepted by many as being the first of the nine islands to be discovered and it was the first on which explorers landed between 1427 and 1432. In 1439 it became the first island to be populated and in 1493 on his return from his first journey across the Atlantic, Columbus's men took shore leave here before proceeding home with news of their discovery.
Another first for this island was in 1946 when it became the first to have an airport open to international traffic in the Azores.
This island's original name was Ilha de Jesus Cristo (Island of Jesus Christ). It was later named Terceira (Third) as it was the third island to be discovered. There must have been a real creative thinker responsible for naming islands that week! Terceira was first colonized by the Flemish around 1534. The renowned explorer Vasco da Gamma anchored here on his voyage home from his first trip to India to bury his brother.
The island's main city is Angra do Heroismo which was the first center in the Azores to be raised to official town status. The island is also presently home to a U.S. Air Force base (Lajes) and many American citizens call it home.
Also known as Ilha Branca (White Island) due to its place names which in many cases use the word white as part of their descriptive. The time of discovery of this island is unclear but was probably as a result of the naval activity around Terceira at the time of it's discovery.
With it's very diverse landscape this island suitably represents it's name, which means gracious, fittingly. One of the main attractions on the island is the Furna Do Enxofre, a huge rare volcanic grotto in which a lake of warm sulphureous water lies.
The history and settlement of this island is shrouded in mystery but appears to have taken place sometime between 1439 and 1443. From the air Sao Jorge resembles a needle in the ocean, being 56 kilometers long and only 8 kilometers at its widest point. Settlements on this island were developed all along the low lying seashore because while Sao Jorge is not very wide, the land mass rises sharply from the sea level. Because of this the local people had to come up with innovative ideas for land use such as terrace farming which adds interestingly to the islands panoramic beauty.
Sao Jorge is also the home to the world famous St. Jorge cheese.
This is the island which holds a special place in my heart as it is the land of my ancestors and my birth place. From it's majestic volcano named Pico Alto (high peak) soaring into the sky to it's rambling vineyards and orchards it is truly a place of breath taking natural beauty.
The second largest island of the archipelago and sometimes called Ilha Montanha (Mountain Island) because of the ominous presence of the massive volcano that gave birth to this island. Standing at 2351 meters (7713 feet) it is the highest point in all of Portugal. Pico has a very rugged lava coastline accented by indents and lava formed arches. Much of Pico is covered in thick forests and heavy vegetation.
Pico is also famous for the variety of fruits it grows and it's wines which can be attributed to it's predominantly lava soils.
Also know as Ilha Azul (Blue Island) due to the incredible amounts of hydrangeas (the flower pictured above) which are used locally to frame houses, divide fields and border most roads.
This island was settled by both the Portuguese and the Flemish and some of the current architecture still reflects it's Flemish heritage such as the parish of Flamengos and the Flemish style windmills.
The roots of Azorean whaling can be traced here to a time when whaling fleets began seeking shelter in Faial's ports and began recruiting Azorean men to join their crews as harpooners and rowers.
The main natural attraction on Faial is an enormous crater located at the island's center called Caldeira (Caldron). It is approximately 2 kilometers in diameter and 400 meters deep. The other main natural attraction is Ponta Dos Capelinhos where a volcanic eruption in 1957 buried parts of a town, a whaling base (my father and grandfathers were all there when it occurred) and added a large amount of land mass out to sea in volcanic ash. One really comes face to face with the awesome power of nature when surveying this area.
Named for it's abundance and variety of flowers. The western most island of the archipelago and Europe. Officially discovered in 1452 and first settled by the Flemish only to be abandoned because of it's remoteness. Flores was eventually resettled by people from mainland Portugal and from the island of Madeira in 1504. It has a very rugged landscape with high peaks and deep valleys mixed with small lakes which when all blended together create wonderful scenic attractions.
With an area of only 17 square kilometers Corvo is by far the smallest of all the Azorean islands, a mere speck in the ocean.
Although discovered at the same time as Flores, Corvo was only settled in 1548 after many unsuccessful attempts. Due to it's isolation and small size the original settlers took up a pastoral life which still continues today. The island has only one small village, Villa Nova Do Corvo. One of the most striking realizations western visitors immediately notice when they arrive on Corvo is the absence of locks on the doors everywhere. There is no crime on Corvo. The people of Corvo use many archaic words and phrases which were preserved as a result of their isolation. Local population of this island remains around 400 people.
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Copyright© 1996-2003, Fernando Francisco, Last Updated - September 18, 2003 @ 10:16:15AM