The island of São Miguel (pop 137,255 in 2021) is six to eight miles wide (north-south) but about forty miles long (east-west), almost the same area (287 vs 286 sq mi) as the main island of Madeira (pop 245,595 in 2021), at roughly fifteen miles by thirty. Six years ago, we spent several days exploring Madeira by car; for São Miguel, our Apple Maps is full of pins, and we'll try to do as much as we can in one day, focusing on the volcanic landscapes of the island's west.
First, a quick stop in the Ponta Delgada's (pop 67,229 in 2021) Praça Municipio for breakfast by the Paços de Concelho and the torre do relógio (Câmara Municipal, 1724). Nearby, the bronze statue of the patron São Miguel Arcanjo (Numídico Bessone, 1955) blends with the basalt base. The radial pavement design seems an invitation to wander:
"PADROEIRA DA NOSSA ILHA"
Our first stop is on the southern rim of the Caldeira das Sete Cidades. From the Miradouro da Vista do Rei, the 'twin lakes' capture the early morning light – the Lagoa das Sete Cidades. A bridge, the Ponte dos Regos, divides the lake into the Lagoa Azul (to the north) and the Lagoa Verde (south). The two colors derive from a legend of tragic lovers, a princess and a shepherd boy, whose ceaseless tears filled the lakes, the waters matching the colors of their eyes.
We get only a hint of the colors, with the steep, verdant hillsides and the changing light between the layered clouds and the crisp atmosphere. The hydrangeas are dried but would add to the color mix in any other season. As the sun brightens the northern slopes, the folded and scoured walls of the Caldeira come alive.
A winding road follows the rim of the Caldeira, connecting a series of viewpoints. We stop at the Miradouro do Cerrado das Freiras. This lines up, longitudinally, with a small peninsula, the Ponta do Lago, which stretches from the southern edge of the Lagoa Azul, near the Ponte dos Regos.
We arrive just as a split in the cloud deck spills a seam of light over the Ponta. Someone is burning brush at the point of the peninsula but reminds us that we are in a volcano. As the shadows recede to the east, the city of Sete Cidades emerges.
The road morphs into a stack of switchbacks as we descend to the bridge. We make a brief stop at the crossing and notice that at lakeside, the colors seem to be mismatched: Azul is greener and Verde is bluer. Perhaps the southern lake, being in shadow, is now reflecting more of the sky; or perhaps it is contrasting the misty green of the forest. From this vantage, the Caldeira imposes its scale.
The small village of Sete Cidades (pop 701 in 2021) lies at the western shore of the Lagoa Azul. We park near the Igreja de São Nicolau (1849-57), a simple structure with Gothic touches. An alley between leggy evergreens leads through a formal park to the central tower and the main portal. To the left is an area memorializing the apparition of Nossa Senhora de Fátima, the little figures draped with rosaries.
The Crucificação in the main altar is also flanked by Nossa Senhora de Fátima and São Nicolau. The baptismal font is in the chancel, perhaps in preparation for an upcoming ceremony. An elegant cycle of stained glass illustrates the virtues.
From the church, we walk to the 'Margens da Lagoa' and the grassy park set on the point at the village's eastern edge. Along the way, we see the tidy, whitewashed houses and the fenced yards with cows; everything looking clean and fresh.
With the sun nearly overhead, the craggy and worn forms of the Caldeira create a tangled tapestry. We share the level outlook of the Margens with a handful of other visitors and a flock of impressively large but mellow ducks.
Another public area on the lake's northern edge, the 'Gruta do Pastor', is too far to walk, so we make the short drive. The Gruta park is a 'merendário' (picninc area) with a linear engineering feature (drainage channel and lock) known as the 'Túnel'. But the 'Pastor' refers to the shepherd; somewhere near this park is a cave where the shepherd from the legend lived. The shepherds, the ducks, the local villagers, we all get an amazing view.
In search of lunch, we return to Sete Cidades but cannot find a decent meal in this village during the off-season. We inspect menus at the snack bars, the twenty-euro buffets, and decide to drive on.
The highest-rated lunch restaurant on the western end of São Miguel is called MôMô (4.8 stars). Distances across the island are short, but the drives up and down the volcanoes add time – still it's not far. The restaurant is in a spa retreat called SENSI and seems a world away from Sete Cidades or even Ponta Delgada.
This oasis inhabits a sloping lawn, at the edge of the ocean, with views of the towering Caldeira. We go from anxious about lunch to blissfully satisfied with one of the best meals on the island – from a land of shepherds to a protected paradise of pamper princesses (that's us).
Sated, we return to our road trip and take the long way back up the mountain …
to the Miradouro da Lomba do Vasco …
and the Miradouro da Lagoa de Santiago …
… on our way to the Miradouro da Boca do Inferrno.
This Miradouro is at the end of a decent hike, about a half hour, up and down unpaved paths, through some dense forests. Maps also indicates that the direction include a 'Wooden Pathway', which turns out to be a short, stepped trail made with logs; narrow and steep sections also include railings also made from logs.
The hike ends at the top of a promontory with stunning views of the Caldeira and four of its lakes: Lagoa Azul (to the north), Lagoa Verde (west), Lagoa Santiago (nearest the Miradouro), and Lagoa Rasa (south).
On the way down, we hit a few more viewpoints, including the Miradouro do Pico do Carvão and the Miradouro do Charquinho das Moças. Each is marked with a rocket-shaped water tower or pumping station. They are reminiscent of the moinhos (mills) we saw in Pico.
We take the Caminho do Charquinho, follow the rurals roads back to Ponta Delgada, and enjoy the lumpy landscape of livestock on the conical hills in the light of the late day.
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