The Azores' Green Island — twin crater lakes, hot springs, and the middle of the Atlantic
São Miguel is the largest and most visited of the nine Azores islands, 1,500km west of Lisbon in the mid-Atlantic. The 'Green Island' is dramatically volcanic — the Sete Cidades caldera holds twin lakes (one emerald, one blue) separated by a stone bridge; the Furnas valley is a geothermal wonderland of steaming fumaroles and hot springs where the local cozido stew is cooked underground by volcanic heat for 6–7 hours. Whale watching in the Azores is among the best in the world — sperm whales, blue whales, and dolphins are regularly encountered.
The Azores were uninhabited when Portuguese navigators arrived in 1427 — the islands' volcanic freshness meant they had no indigenous population. São Miguel was one of the first settled, from around 1444. The islands became a crucial waypoint in the Age of Discovery, a refuelling and reprovisioning stop on the route between Europe and the Americas. Ponta Delgada grew into a major Atlantic port; its blue-and-white São Sebastião church and the iconic Portas da Cidade (city gates) date from this era. The Azores remained strategically important through the 20th century — the US maintained a base…