Azores (Açores) Islands, Portugal - Travel Guide

Being excellent navigators and having a deep desire to expand its territories, The Azores Islands were founded by the Portuguese in 1317. 

This is a clump of nine islands in the rough Atlantic Ocean about 1,400 kilometres west of Lisbon, Portugal. As a curious traveller, I always make it a habit of finding out how a city, town or in this case an island got its name. The name Azores comes from the name of a bird similar to a goshawk which is what the first settlers thought they saw, but it turned out that what they were seeing in abundance was just a type of eagle. 
 

The nine islands that make up the Azores are called Santa Maria, Sao Miguel, Terceira, Graciosa, Pico, Faial, Sao Jorge, Corvo and Flores. As far as we know, they are all from a volcanic eruptions and still seem to be active as far as registering seismic movements. Culture, tradition and religion have always been closely linked and therefore there is a tight tie between the festive celebrations held all over the islands in the small chapels from the 26th of August until the 31st. This celebration is to honour the Holy Spirit which the islanders feel will protect them from any natural disaster, especially the ones related to its volcanoes. Of all territories that Portugal once possessed, only Macao, the Azores Islands and Madeira still remain.  Under the command of Henry the Navigator, these islands became a very important stop over for ships sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, they received visitors from all over the world who not only brought riches and stories but also fruits, spices and plants.

Rosais, Sao Jorge, Azores, Portugal Buy at AllPosters.com

In 1420, Henry sent settlers to the island of Madeira with plants that he thought would grow well in the volcanic ground and in the mild year round climate typical there; the grapevine and sugar cane being the best product up until now, both heavily used in the Portuguese cuisine and well as other spices like the black pepper and cinnamon.

But nowadays, the Azores have changed their tea, tobacco and fruit fields for livestock and tourism. Azores Islands and Its Third-Terceira As its name well announces, Terceira was the third island discovered by the Portuguese around 1450 having had as its original name that of Island of Jesus Christ. At the beginning Praia was the capital, being the first beach were the Flemish colonizer Jacome de Bruges first settled. But as we all know, improvements were made and they decided to use the town of Angra do Heroismo as the new capital, probably because it was well protected by the bay (angro) and the Brasil Mountain standing strong against the ocean. Here, there is a 17th century castle called Saint John the Baptist. All over the islands there are lagoons which look like big cauldrons which offer a breathtaking view of its natural surroundings. If I had to recommend one or two outstanding features, I would probably describe the beautiful Se or Cathedral with its bell tower decorated in blue, green and white tiles. Or even more so are the curious windows that the houses still have, made from stones in an arched formation with gaily painted frames such as green, blue and yellow. And the glass in these windows look like its cracked or iced. 

Easy Come and Easy Go to Azores Islands - But as all practical traveller, the question of getting there and accommodations is always an important aspect to look into when planning a comfortable holiday. On all the islands, tourism is very well cared for and the hotels are tops. You can choose between sea front four star hotels or a quaint rural house in the mountains or simple camping. And in the location of Lajes on the Terceira island and in Ponta Delgada in Sao Miguel island, there are airports which have daily flights between them and to Lisbon on mainland Portugal.

'Let's go swimming with the Dolphins' my husband said. He had found a company on the internet that organised it. So off we set to the Azores, it was to be our last big family holiday. I set an intention that the holiday would bring the family closer together and improve communication between us. I also had made up my mind to make a Dolphin Essence; I did not at that stage know how I was to achieve it but trusted I would know when the time came. Pico was the Azorean island that we stayed upon. Stewart one of the holiday guides had said 'you have to get out of your comfort zone to grow as a being', well swimming in the Atlantic 1-2miles off shore with thousands of feet of water below you was certainly getting out of my comfort zone! The sea was not cold, surprisingly warm considering how far out we were. The water was bright blue when you were in it. The sunlight reflected back from the depths in incredible white shafts of light. I eventually felt at home and did not want to get out. 
 

Santa Cruz Church, Ribeiras, Island of Pico, Azores Buy at AllPosters.com

The sea was an experience in itself, the Dolphin encounters were something else. The clicks of the Dolphins could be clearly heard in the water; often you could hear them before you saw them. When we were on board the boat the communications between the Dolphins could be heard. On first seeing the Dolphin I could feel my heart chakra open, so much love poured out of me. Each time we went out and saw them the same thing happened. It was as if they were a catalyst to the core of emotion .I even woke in the night surrounded by love. The people in the group, my husband and I included began to have vivid dreams even after the first Dolphin encounter, something at a deep level was changing. The people on the trip all began to have shining eyes and smiles were firmly fixed on all faces. We saw and swam with five types of Dolphin, saw sperm whale and my husband and eldest daughter had an encounter with a blue whale.  The encounters brought real excitement, delight and joy to us. We were at times surrounded by huge pods of Dolphins. I had an experience where I was in the water holding the hand of one of the guides [while I got my courage up!] and five common dolphin circled15 feet below us, they stayed for ages, we watching them and they were watching us. The Dolphins displayed curiosity, abandoned joy, grace and ease of being. The mothers guided their curious offspring who wanted to be in the front of the boat, the mothers would steer them away. The pods spent time socialising.

Groups of five or more would jump in perfect synchronicity out of the water. Others would jump so they could see what was going on. We recorded an incident where one Dolphin jumped five times out into the air. They know how to have unlimited fun!

The day the essence was made was an extremely powerful day. I was directed to put a glass of water on the front of the boat when we left harbour and there it stayed until we returned. So we are all back home to the humdrum of life. I can definitely say we have all changed. My intention that the holiday would bring us closer together has certainly worked and communication and ease of being with one another has improved without a shadow of a doubt .I think we are all happier in ourselves and we have grown as people. To be able to re-experience the energy we just have to relive our encounters, watch our recordings or take the essence.
 

For families that are split by emotions and circumstance who need to unite, bond and socialise. For people who find it difficult, or do not know how to socialise, bond and belong. For people who have lost or did not know how to have joy and fun in their lives, perhaps believing they did not deserve it or felt guilty. For mothers who need help to guide and protect their children, improve or awaken the mothering instinct. For healthy curiosity and inquisitiveness. For people who are wound up, worried and stressed and need to be more easy going. This essence was made on the 28.8.06, on a boat on the Atlantic Ocean off the island of Pico in the Azores. It is a combination of energies from, striped, spotted but mainly bottle-nosed dolphins.

Harbour with Volcanic Island of Pico Beyond, Horta, Faial Island, Azores Buy at AllPosters.com

We as a group of people swam with the wild bottle-nosed dolphins and after that once we were back on board the whole pod of about 100 dolphins surrounded the boat. The dolphins then proceeded to play, jump, do somersaults, ride the bow wave, come and look at us, especially the young who were then escorted away by their mothers. This continued for about an hour. It was a great privilege to have so much of their time and attention and it was very special. We all felt afterwards the incredible magical energy of the dolphins; it was as if we had been attuned to their energy. We felt very high! By the time we reached the harbour the essence had been made.