Advertisement
Published: April 5th 2015
Stepping off the plane into fresh Azorean air instantly brings me back to the first time I traveled here. Arriving on this tiny Portuguese island in the middle of the Atlantic is breathtaking. You can gaze out at the ocean while descending the steps from the plane. And if you’ve ever visited Sao Miguel, you know the smell: flowers, basalt and just a hint of sweet cow manure. Heaven!
The airport is just a mile and a half from Ponta Delgada (henceforth lovingly referred to as simply 'Ponta') the surprisingly cosmopolitan city of about 20,000. Walking to Ponta from the airport is a pleasant 20-30 minute walk. The island is sleepy, as islands tend to be, and the ancient narrow tiled streets all seem to lead down to the port. It was on this walk to town that my boyfriend (life and travel partner henceforth lovingly referred to as simply 'Marty') and I first spotted it - a bag hanging on a doorknob with loaves of bread nestled inside. Hmm. Interesting, take a picture, move on. Then we saw another, and another. We soon realized there must be a bread delivery system, like the milk man of days gone by,
but who, how, when? I had to get to the bottom of it.
Of course, obsessing about bread isn't the only reason to visit this archipelago. Even more tantalizing is The Landscape: located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, these volcanic islands are quite steep for their size, with mountains as high as 7,700 ft plunging down to the water making for dizzying sea views practically everywhere you look and hidden beaches and towns perched dangerously close to the crashing waves. Studded with hot springs and terraced pasture it is reminiscent of a Iceland mixed with one part mediterranean, a dash of Ireland and a generous pinch of . The People: quiet, friendly Azoreans are incredibly generous and very helpful even if you just try and speak a little Portuguese. A large percentage of citizens are employed keeping up the infrastructure and it shows, the streets are squeaky clean with landscaped gardens in every inch of available space. The Climate: at a latitude of 37* the temperature ranges from 60-80*F with relatively high humidity but instead of being oppressive, it feels restorative. The Food: between the locally produced wine, cheese, tea and the fresh fish, vegetables and fruits you'll be eating
like a king without breaking the bank. Dining out is a lengthy affair complete with cheese appetizer, generous portions and sweet after dinner liquors.
We had visited the islands in the fall, then returned the following Spring and here we were being pulled back yet again. This time during winter to celebrate Festas, which turns out to be a big deal here. Christmas is celebrated by all with light displays, decorated trees, and christmas music filling the air well after Christmas Day. Through all the holiday cheer I had been keeping an eye out for the bread (pão in Portuguese) man, imagining a generous man with a big bag of bread. Surely he couldn't do it all himself, could he? I hadn't caught sight of him yet, but had heard bells in the distance...
It was at the vivenda we rented in Porto Formoso where I first learned that by simply placing a few coins in a bag on your doorknob the night before, one could wake up to fresh bread hanging on the door. Wow, it was like finding out Santa Claus really is real! In the morning we heard the Pão Man drive by, bells ringing,
paying no notice of our bag. Two days of trying and failing and I was a skeptic again. He was so close we could almost taste it, but we never made it out the door fast enough to catch him before he blew by. Bah Humbug! Luckily the shop owner down the way insisted on giving us her personal supply from the day's delivery (and she wouldn't even let us pay her for it!)
We did finally get a glimpse of the Pão Man. It was the morning after a blissful new year celebration in Ponta. We had spent the night before awed by the 10 minute onslaught of choreographed fireworks, not to mention the live music that rocked for two hours leading up to midnight, so we were a little bleary eyed. Marty spotted the van from our balcony. I ran over to see and out popped not one, but three people delivering bread in a big sack (!) to the shop below. Surely we weren't seeing things?
While discovering there is more than one Pao Man isn't earth shattering, it does seem a little less magical. But the Azores doesn't need magic, it's already perfect.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.094s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 13; qc: 53; dbt: 0.0571s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
