Sete Cidades, São Miguel Courtesy of Fun Activities Among a certain set of travelers, there’s an understanding that the harder a place is to reach, the better it is. Let the masses stay in the gateways, the thinking goes. If we press on for one more flight (or drive or ferry), the rewards will be great. At least the bragging rights are. By that logic, I would have passed straight through São Miguel, the biggest and most populated island in Portugal’s Azores archipelago (and the one that welcomes low-cost and international flights, including from North America). In fact, I did, last year when I went to Terceira and Pico in search of the “real” Azores. But it turns out that São Miguel is very much a destination in its own right, not just a layover on the way to someplace less traveled. And while it’s true that there were some cruise ships and package tours before the pandemic, it was never a place for mass tourism. “São Miguel is a place you go when you know why you want to go there,” said Triin Medeiros, as she led me along the breathtakingly beautiful hiking trails of Sete Cidades (“seven cities” in Portuguese, but in fact seven volcanic craters and lakes that are covered with otherworldly vegetation) and Lagoa Azul (“blue lagoon,” probably the most photographed spot on the island). Medeiros, a well-traveled Estonian who has lived in São Miguel for decades, is a guide for her husband’s adorably, understatedly named… Click below to read the full story from Forbes
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