Azores Islands: Where the Earth Still Has a Pulse – Beyonder

Azores Islands is a place Where the Earth Still Has a Pulse.

Some places whisper. Some places shout. The Azores do neither. They breathe.

You hear it in the hiss of steam escaping the ground. In the slow, deliberate sigh of the Atlantic pounding black lava shores. In the way the land feels… Warm. Alive. Slightly restless. As if the earth here hasn’t quite finished becoming itself.

I landed here almost by accident.

A whim. A conversation in Berlin. A lady from the Azores who looked genuinely offended (actually, borderline appalled) that I hadn’t heard of her homeland. “You must go,” she said.
Not suggested. Not recommended. Commanded.

So I did…

Azores Islands – Nine Islands Floating on Fire

The Azores sit roughly 1,300 kilometers west of mainland Portugal, a scattered necklace of nine volcanic islands dropped into the Atlantic like a forgotten thought that turned out to be a masterstroke.

Discovered by the Portuguese in the 15th century, the islands quickly became strategic pit-stops or refueling stations for ships heading to Africa, the Americas, and back. of course, where ships go, pirates follow. And yes, pirates came.

English, French, Algerian corsairs. Raids, looting, hostage-taking. Churches were stripped of bells, villages fortified, coastlines watched. The Azores mattered. They still do.

And when nature feels this close, raw and unpredictable, people tend to lean harder into faith. Hence the profusion of chapels—tiny, earnest, everywhere—dotting towns and countryside alike.

My Short-Sighted Plan (And Why I’ll Be Back)

There are nine islands in the Azores. I visited one. Only São Miguel. Can you believe it?

Why? Because I didn’t know. I didn’t know how outrageously beautiful this place would be. I planned four days—four—thinking I’d get a quick taste. What I got instead was a full-bodied, mineral-rich, volcanic punch to the senses.

I will be back. Longer. Slower. Island-hopping properly. But this trip is was São Miguel’s story.

São Miguel: The Green Island of the Azores Islands

São Miguel is called Ilha Verde (the Green Island) and this is not poetic license. This is green in every possible register: pasture green, moss green, tea green, crater green.

Volcanoes built this island. Water softened it…

Lakes sit inside collapsed calderas. Clouds drift into valleys and linger, as if undecided. Roads curve gently, rarely in a hurry.

This was home for four days. And São Miguel wasted no time showing off.

Whales, Dolphins & the Atlantic Classroom of the Azores Islands

One morning, I found myself bouncing across the Atlantic in a small rubber inflatable boat—equal parts exhilaration and mild existential doubt.

First came the dolphins. Playful. Curious. Almost mocking. They chased the boat for a while, inspecting us like bored teenagers. And then… the big mammas. Sperm whales. A whole pod. Five of them.

A marine biologist on board turned the ocean into a classroom. Females and calves move together. Males wander. They dive deep—forty-five minutes at a time—in search of jumbo squid. Then surface for ten, to breathe and reset.

While diving, they emit clicking sounds—sonar. The loudest sound produced by any animal on the planet. Up to 230 decibels. Remember, for context, a jet engine hits about 150.

No wonder the males prefer solitude. If the clicking is this loud, imagine the scolding from the wife… 😉

And yes, watching a whale tail lift and vanish into infinite blue does something to you. It rearranges perspective. You feel very small. And oddly at peace with it.

Furnas: Where the Earth Breathes (And Cooks)

If São Miguel is green, Furnas is alive. The Caldeiras das Furnas are a theatrical reminder that magma sits uncomfortably close to the surface here. Steam rises straight out of the ground. Pools bubble. The smell of Sulphur hangs heavy. It feels faintly illegal to be standing there.

Rainwater collects in volcanic craters. Magma heats it. The earth exhales. And then—because humans are clever—we cook with it.

The famous Cozido das Furnas is buried underground in pots, lowered into steaming soil and left to slow-cook for hours. I ate it. Along with corn boiled in the same volcanic heat. Farm-to-table is nice. This was core-to-table-Azores-style.

Gardens, Iron Water & Not Getting In

Nearby, Terra Nostra Garden offers a gentler spectacle. A meticulously maintained botanical garden dating back to the 18th century, anchored by a massive thermal pool filled with iron-rich volcanic water, permanently held at 40°C.

It’s meant to be wonderful for the skin. People looked blissed out. Slightly rust-colored. I skipped the dip. Regret? Maybe. But watching was entertaining enough. And taking photographs seemed a tad, shall we say, indelicate…

Tea That Rolls Into the Sea in the Azores Islands

Tea garden Sao Miguel Azores

São Miguel also produces something unexpected: tea. The Gorreana Tea Plantation, Europe’s oldest, rolls gently towards the Atlantic. The tea itself is… fine. Perfectly drinkable. Entirely forgettable.

But the setting? Ridiculous. Green rows tumbling downhill, ocean beyond, clouds above. Tea has never looked this cinematic.

Sete Cidades: Myth, Lakes & Running Out of Adjectives

Sete Cidades translates to Island of the Seven Cities. And like all good places, it comes with a legend.

A Visigoth archbishop, fleeing Muslim invasions in the 8th century, supposedly sailed west with six other bishops and thousands of followers. They found islands, burned their ships, and settled under seven leaders.

They were never heard from again. But medieval maps showed the islands. Myth lingered until discovery made it real.

At the heart of Sete Cidades sit two lakes in a volcanic crater:

• Lagoa Azul — blue, reflecting the sky
• Lagoa Verde — green, reflecting the forest

Legend says they were formed from the tears of a princess and her shepherd lover, forced to part.

The shepherd, apparently, cried less. The lakes are… uneven. For some reason The Beatles intruded in my mind with the song ‘Yellow Submarine’ becoming an ear-worm…

“So, we sailed on to the Sun
‘Til we found a sea of green
And we lived beneath the waves
In our yellow submarine”

Twin lakes Sete Cidades Azores

Lava Pools, Black Beaches & Acceptance

Natural swimming pools carved from lava. Black sand beaches. Waterfalls hidden in folds of rock. Thermal pools where steam curls lazily into blue skies. Lunch made entirely of local ingredients. Local wine. No rush.

Later, at Fire Lake, I realized I was using words like stunning and spectacular far too often. But when the dictionary gives up before the landscape does, you accept defeat.

Leaving (But Not Really)

I left São Miguel knowing two things very clearly:

1. I had underestimated the Azores. Badly.
2. This wasn’t a one-off trip. This was an introduction.

There are eight other islands. Eight other personalities. More volcanoes. And more stories. More ocean.

Next time, I won’t rush… Next time, I’ll listen longer.

Some places stay with you because they are beautiful. Others stay because they feel unfinished.

The Azores are very much the latter. And I’ll be back.

In the meantime, if you would like to visit the Azores, (or somewhere else for that matter), contact Beyonder Travel.