São Miguel!

It is interesting how many of the friends I have made in Terceira were worried that we Americans would love São Miguel over Terceira. Yes São Miguel is more modern (there is a mall and a theater) but there is something magical and beautiful about Terceira... its become a home away from home.

While on São Miguel we did many fun and exciting things despite the fact that we were unable to see any of the lakes. We rented a car and drove up to Lagoa do Fogo (Lake of Fire) and Lagoa das Sete Cidades but were unable to see anything because both lakes were covered by clouds. The interesting thing about the lake is that it is a twin-lake complex where one side is green and he other is blue. CRAZY!?!?! But like I said we did not get to see it because of the clouds. Despite not being able to see the lakes the drive up the mountains was amazing and getting out and standing at the edge of which should have overlooked Lagoa do Fogo was crazy! The wind was so intense that after standing outside for 10mins our clothes were drenched from the cloud around us. Breathtakingly awesome in a different way.

Food cooking in the hot spring pits at Furnas

We were however able to visit the Furnas which are hot springs. All around the Furnas there were pits that people put food in, cover, and let cook for several hours. The whole area smelled of sulfur and eggs... believe me when I say getting a face full of sulfurous steam in your face is not pleasant. Most of the day was spent driving around and enjoying the view of the coast. The beaches near Vila Franca were clean and sandy white. I was surprised to see white sand because the archipelago was made from volcanoes.

Warning sign at Furnas

Our main reason for visiting São Miguel was to watch Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 2 which did not disappoint. Yes there could have been certain things added and deleted but over all I was very pleased with the end result. Something strange about the movie was that halfway through the movie there was an intermission for about 15mins! Who needs an intermission when a movie is less than 2.5hrs!?!?!?! Needless to say I was agitated that the movie was put on pause and also with the fact that we had to watch it in 3D. The 3D glasses made everything really dark in an already dark theater and dark movie... kind of silly. But our tickets were only 7 euro which was a GREAT price.

Surprisingly enough I did not LOVE São Miguel the way that I thought I would... I had heard many good things about it but in the end Terceira is still my favorite island. Rest assure Azorean friends that if I ever come to find myself living in the Azores or buying a cozy shack... it will NOT be on São Miguel. Like all larger cities there is more crime and sketchy people. Never would I walk alone at night in São Miguel. Even walking with 2 other girls back from the bar to the Residencia we were followed by a car with 4 boys yelling profanities at us... we walked with a purpose on and eventually they drove of. This is something that would never happen in Angra. Larger cities just attracted scummier people. Next to the Residencia in the "projects" there was "Turists are terrorists!" spray painted on the walls... which was kind of unnerving.

In the end after a good 3 days in São Miguel I was happy to come home to Terceira... my new home away from home.