AZORES VILLAGE IN SAO MIGUEL ISLAND
AZORES, PORTUGAL
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With villages that look similar to mainland Portugal’s but landscapes that might
remind you of a mashup between Hawaii and New Zealand, the Azores are like
no place on Earth.
Located about 900 miles off the coast of Lisbon, the nine-island volcanic
archipelago rises to dramatic effect in the mid-North Atlantic Ocean and is
a common stopping-off point for yachts migrating east and west between
the Mediterranean and the Caribbean Seas.
And from April through around October, there’s a different sort of migration
to feast your eyes on in these magical islands.
That’s peak season for spotting diverse whale species that include fin whales,
sperm whales and even blue whales — the largest creatures on the planet —
with tongues that can weigh as much as an elephant. When the whales chart
a course through the deep cerulean waters of the Azores, passengers on whale
watching cruises from islands like São Miguel, Faial and Pico thrill to views of
flukes, breaches and spouts that often come with a spectacular volcanic island
as a backdrop.
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