Ponta Delgada to Santa Maria, Azores 16 - 17 May 2006

Sunny and peaceful Santa Maria

We visited Lagoa and Ponta Delgada and left late afternoon for the 25-minute flight to Santa Maria, the only airport in the Azores with Avgas.
The capital, Porto da Vila, had expanded quite a lot since our first visit on the way back from California in 1992 (see California 1991/92, Portland to Azores) but, to our delight, the rest of the island hadn’t changed much.

17 May. Pretty walk around the villages of Santa Barbara, São Lourenço and Norte and a drive around the island with many typical Azorean houses with their characteristic chimneys.
In spite of – or perhaps thanks to – the lack of tourist facilities in the way of good restaurants and hotels, we really enjoyed the tranquillity of Santa Maria. It was also more sunny than São Miguel Island with a beautiful clear light.