The Azores – Sao Miguel Island

The Azores are a Portuguese group of nine volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The largest island is Sao Miguel and the capital is Ponta Delgado, where we stayed. What brings someone to this island besides the fact that it is beautiful? Steve came because I suggested he come, and I came to attend the Travelers Century Club (TCC) Conference. We met our Naples friends, Pam and Bill Girtman here, who are also attending the Conference. The criterion for membership in TCC is having visited 100 of the listed countries and territories.

So what does someone do at a TCC Conference besides listen to a group of 150 people talk/brag about where they have been or where they are going? We sightsee, eat lots of meals and listen to travel talks. . .what could be more perfect?!

We flew here from Paris, about a four-hour flight. We had just enough time to get to our hotel, the Grand Hotel Acores Atlanco, and registered before going to dinner. Then the next day was a full day of sightseeing with lunch, which was the well-known cozido das Furnes, a meaty stew slow-cooked for hours in the volcanic soil (in pots) in the town of Furnas. Following are pictures from our sight-seeing day.

Tea is grown on the island, and we visited a tea factory. The above rows are of tea leaves.

We were all ready for drinks, followed by dinner, after our full day of sightseeing. An interesting aspect of Sao Miguel weather is that it episodically just starts pouring rain! As we were all gathering for a group photo, the heavens opened up and drenched everyone!

The next morning was spent listening to speakers beginning with a fantastic talk by Pauline Frommer of Frommer Guide fame with her father having started the guidebook business. He actually started by doing guides for GIs when he was in the service in Europe in the 1950s. Pauline was followed by Craig Forrest, a television-producer-director-writer, but more importantly a TCC member, who shared film and personal and career history. Then it was talks by well-known travelers in the “travel sphere.” After lunch, we did a four-hour walking tour of Ponta Delgado, during which we mercifully had one of the Azores downpours, so we had to stop at a local pub. Steve opted to skip the walk but joined us for dinner at a local restaurant.

Another morning of travel talks followed by lunch and more touring of the island. You all know I am fairly well traveled, but compared to some of the TCC members, I am in the minor leagues. Following are a few more photos of the island.

A more “formal” dinner followed by an awards ceremony whereby certificates of completion of countries and territories having been visited (100+ up to 300. . .check out the TCC website to see the list) ended the conference. Pictured below are the Naples TCC members in attendance: Bill, Steve, Pam, me, Boris and Irina (originally from Belarus). Then we are off to Madeira with Bill and Pam.