4-day Terceira itinerary. Day 1. Couchsurfing and hiking.
When we started planning this trip it looked like a typical getaway, a break from the routine and the news. We initially even booked a double room in a hostel for the whole duration of our stay on the island. It had a kitchen, of course, as we like to be self-sufficient and budget-friendly. We are independent travelers, after all, and we enjoy doing things our own way. Since I started working two years ago, I have limited time to travel. So I had to squeeze in four days on Terceira, one of the nine islands of the Azores in Portugal. We took advantage of a cheap Ryanair deal that we booked two months in advance. However, three weeks before the flight, we had a stroke of luck: we found a Couchsurfing host on the island! We were going to stay with a local couple. This was a huge surprise, because we had not been able to find hosts on most of the islands we had visited before, like Madeira or Gran Canaria. We quickly canceled our hostel reservation and got ready for an adventure. For us the best part of traveling is meeting people, and we were eager to discover the secret treasures of Terceira with our hosts.
Day 1
We woke up early and headed to a local padaria in Biscoitos with our host. The bakery had a variety of tempting cakes and desserts, but we decided to save them for later and opted for salgados, which are savory snacks. All things pastry and dairy seem tastier on the Azores than in the mainland Portugal where we live.
October marks the beginning of the low season on Terceira, and for good reason. During our stay, we didn’t experience one day with completely dry weather. However, on our first morning, the sky was a promising shade of blue, and we decided to seize the opportunity and embark on a hike right after breakfast.
Our host drove us to the trailhead of the Baías da Agualva route which runs along the northern coast of the island. It starts from the road and takes you down towards Fajã da Alagoa, an ancient bay filled with ocean sediments. Fajã is a Portuguese word that means a coastal platform formed by landslides or lava flows. It is bordered by a black pebble beach. The trail offers enigmatic views of rugged volcanic cliffs and walls of rocks that reminded us of the Giant's Causeway. The rocks are arranged in a way that resembles a huge organ with thousands of pipes. You can hear the waves crashing against them and creating a natural symphony. We completed the hike on the same main road as where we started. We couldn’t resist the temptation to try our luck with hitchhiking, so we stuck out our thumbs and waited for a kind driver. After about ten minutes, a local woman came up to us. “Hitchhiking is not very common here, but you can take the bus to Biscoitos for only 2.08 euros for both of you”, she told us in Portuguese. As soon as she finished her sentence, the bus arrived and we hopped on.
Unfortunately, we didn't get to test the hitchhiking scene on Terceira, but we know from our past adventures that small islands are usually hitchhiker-friendly.
We stepped out of the bus in Biscoitos, joined by two Canadians with bulky cameras and towels dangling from their bags. We felt a bit skeptical, wondering if we were falling into a tourist trap. But we trusted our hosts’ suggestion and headed to the shore to check out the natural pools. We were pleasantly surprised by what we saw. The pools are shaped by heaving lava flows that create clear basins of water. Most of the few visitors were just snapping photos, but the locals were actually swimming. We joined them and enjoyed a refreshing dip. The water was as warm as the air, around 20 degrees. We dried off quickly as the sun was still peeking through the clouds and continued our walk along the coast.
Down the road we found another gorgeous spot with smaller pools carved into the black lava rocks. We met a local fisherman who leaped over the jagged boulders like a kid in a playground. He showed us his catch of the day and we were stunned by the diversity of fish. One of them caught our eye: a little rainbow-colored fish called rainha, which means “queen” in Portuguese. It looked like a tiny jewel in his bag.
We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant called “Raul” in Biscoitos. It was a bit touristy and pricey for our liking, but the food was decent and the portions were generous. We paid 15 euros for the menu do dia, which included soup, main dish, a one-liter jar of wine, and coffee. We felt stuffed after the meal, so we looked for a place to relax. We found a cozy spot in the shade on top of a volcanic rock wall and dozed off. The cows in the nearby field looked at us curiously, but they didn't disturb our rest.
After a short nap we felt refreshed and decided to follow the coastal path beyond the pools. The coastline was a sight to behold, with its untamed beauty reminiscent of Iceland. A path covered in moss snaked along the steep cliffs, offering a breathtaking view of the ocean. We made our way back to Biscoitos, passing along the fields that were crisscrossed by volcanic stone fences. (Here's our full route you can download.)
We wrapped up the day with a spicy Israeli shakshuka that we cooked for our hosts. Over the meal, we had an engaging conversation about the history of Terceira and its capital, Angra do Heroísmo. We could only hope that the weather would remain favorable the next day, allowing us to gather more unforgettable experiences.
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