In some ways budget airlines are the cruise ships of the sky, bringing within easy reach destinations that were previously relatively unvisited.
The Azores (Açores in Portuguese) was, until recently, relatively unknown and expensive to get to (and from), situated more than a thousand miles west of Lisbon. It's a young (7-10 million years) volcanic archipelago of nine inhabited islands, known for it's damp but mild climate, and sub-tropical vegetation.
Ryanair now fly weekly from Stansted to Ponta Delgada, capital of the biggest island, Sāo Miguel. It's a town of about 40,000 people, on the south-west coast.
Travelling with just a shoulder bag, I avoided Ryanair's new money-raising trick, "Priority Boarding Plus Two Bags", or having larger baggage than 35cm x 20 cm x 20 cm put in the hold.
Ponta Delgada YHA is opposite the modern Parque Atlantique shopping mall, just north of the town centre, half an hour walk from the airport. A bed in a four-bed dorm, with breakfast, was €14.
It didn't take long to spot the bargains. The cheapest bottle of 75 cl wine was less than a euro, with many under three. Sagres beer is about two euros for a litre at the supermarket.
The tourist office is on the seafront, providing maps and bus timetables. Sāo Miguel has three crater lakes. I set off for the most westerly, at Sete Cidades.
The views over Lagao Azul and Lagao Verde are splendid on a sunny day. I know because I've seen the postcards...
Unfortunately, cloud is the Azores' default setting, so it was walks by the lake and in the forest, together with a stroll around sleepy Sete Cidades, rather than a climb up to the viewpoint.
Precipitation equals greenery, and Azorean cows must be amongst the best fed on the planet.
The next day I bussed an hour east, to Furnas, with it's pictuesque lake and small steaming caldera. Cloud again hid the Pico, so I settled for a lakeside walk followed by a trek down to the coast, and back to the seaside town of Vila Franca do Campo. The villages are very quiet to walk through, apart from frequent greetings from barking dogs.
After four nights I left for the airport, walking there in the first sunshine I'd seen.
There's a reason why the Azores are so green, and it's the same reason why a visit should ideally be at least a week. That is, to hopefully get a couple of fine days. What I saw of Sāo Miguel was very pleasant, but with blue skies it would've been marvellous.
Although there are obviously more tourists since Ryanair came, it still seems low-key, at least in March. There may be less rain in summer, but no doubt a little less tranquil.
Porto airport gets top marks for user-friendliness. I was handed a map of the city, and shown how to buy a ticket for the Metro into the city (€2.60, including re-usable 60-cent card).
The Metro is nearly all above ground, clean and efficient. Validate the journey by scanning the card at the departing station, and at change of lines, or face a fine from inspectors who supposedly come around occasionally.
Porto developed alongside the Douro River, dating from the 4th century. The first iron bridge, the Maria Pia, designed by Gustav Eiffel, was completed in 1877, with a railway deck along the top supported by an arch.
These days there are six bridges, and the second one, the Dom Luis 1, designed by Eiffel's erstwhile partner Théophile Seyrig, and completed nine years after Maria Pia, attracts most tourists. It's very similar to Maria Pia, but also has a lower deck as a road bridge.
There's a nice walk from the Old Town, to the "Crystal Palace" gardens, down to the Douro, and along to the coast. The sea is often wild around the lighthouse wall. A series of rocky beaches extend northwards, ending at a large surfing beach just before the port, adjacent to Porto's main park.
The central city is hilly but walkable, with blue-tiled churches, markets and alleyways leading down to the river.
Porto residents are known as Tripeiros, due to the period when tripe was eaten in order to provision the fleet for the 15th century attack on Ceuta. Tripe stew is still eaten today.
Free walking tours abound. Our guide said Porto had very few tourists a decade ago, but that has changed, helped by the World Heritage status of the Old Town and the River Douro hinterland. And the budget airlines...
After six days, it was back to the Azores, and the third largest island of Terceira, with a population of about 55,000 people. It is known in Portugal as the place that offered (albeit futile) resistance to the forces of Spain's Philip II in 1583, shortly after the 60-year occupation of Portugal began.
Ryanair being an hour late, I missed the last bus by five minutes, and so walked six km, under starry skies, from the airport to the village of Agualva. I stayed at Sawmill, one of the most relaxed and relaxing hostels one could wish for, and at thirteen euros a night, great value.
Agualva has a few small shops and bars, making it a good base from which to explore.
Terceira has had an American presence since WW2, when Lajes Airfield was used as a trans-Atlantic stopover and refuelling base. On 16 March 2003 George Bush and Tony Blair met here, along with their Spanish and Portuguese counterparts, to discuss the imminient invasion of Iraq.
The centre of Terceira rises several hundred metres, containing two cave complexes between the summits of extinct volcanos. Next to the ridge road lies the small but delightful Lagoa das Patas. The highest point is the summit of the most recently active volcano, Santa Barbara, at 1,023 metres, shrouded in cloud when we drove up.
The Azores are still close enough to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to suffer from occasional earthquakes. The last serious 'quake was on New Year's Day, 1980, when a 7.2 magnitude tremor killed 61 people, and caused widespread damage, on Terceira, Graciosa and Sāo Jorge.
There is little traffic outside the main towns of Angra do Heroismo and Praia de Vitoria, making the coast road ideal for cyclists. Dappled cows graze in green fields behind dry stone walls lined with spring flowers, whilst cliffs of columnar basalt pepper the coastline. Temperatures are mild, in the twenties on sunny days, and rarely falling below ten degrees celsius at night.
With fine weather, good company and cheap wine, my night at Sawmill extended to four.
I intended to take a bus from the northern village of Biscoitos, around the western coastline to San Mateus da Calheta, near the main town of Angra do Heroismo. However, mistaking the village of Quatro Ribeiras for Biscoitas, I missed the 1 pm bus, and so started hitching, the next bus not due until 5.30 pm.
A short lift to Biscoitas was followed by another, with a local family, to the village of Altares, five kilometres further, where we stopped for a coffee. In the cafe I met a Canadian woman who had married an Azorian and moved here a few years ago.
We drove another fifteen kilometres, to Doze Ribeiras, where the policeman, his wife and daughter stopped to pick up five skinned rabbits from a friend, whose wife was Ukrainian, and who offered us each a glass of his alcoholic concoction brewed from orange peel. My lift hence took ninety minutes to cover twenty kilometres. On Terceira life's more often about the journey than the destination...
The Pousada de Juventude at San Mateus has a prime position on the coast, six km west of Angra do Heroismo. The eastern end of the long island of Sāo Jorge can often be seen to the south, and behind it, on clear days, the distant Mount Pico (2,351m), highest point in the Azores.
I was the only guest at the YHA for the weekend before Easter, hard to fathom given the scenery. Terceira seems less visited than Sāo Miguel, despite having budget flights from Porto and Lisbon.
On the Sunday I walked up to the crater rim of Monte Brasil, the extinct volcano that protrudes like a boil from the southern coast of Terceira, adjoining Angra. The lower track was cordoned off for the 3rd Terceira Quadrathlon Championships.
Charles Darwin came here on 19th September 1836, remarking on the marvellous views, from the fort below, built by the Spanish in 1594, to the town and it's harbour, to the ridge of collapsed volcanos that form the backbone of Terceira. East of Santa Barbara is Guilherme Moniz and then, slightly lower, below the forest, Cinco Picos.
My final day was spent walking around the small port of Praia de Vitoria, en route to the airport for my 5.40 pm flight back to Porto. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable week, with hardly any rain, and heartily recommended for those looking to escape the rat race.
With Easter approaching I caught a local train from Campanhā Station in Porto to Braga, an hour north-east, and €3.70, including a 50-cent re-usable card, as per Metro.
Braga has about 180,000 people, founded by the Romans as Bracara Augusta around 20 BC. It's renowned for it's baroque churches, the rituals of Semana Santa (Holy Week), and is known locally as "Cidade dos Arcesbispos".
Braga Cathedral dates from 1070 AD, when the bishopric was restored after the Moors were finally ousted.
Three days of almost continuous rain put a dampener on events, with the Maundy Thursday evening procession called off. Good Friday participants got at least one drenching.
Easter Saturday dawned sunny, so I walked out of town and up the steps to the popular baroque sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte. It's a fine view, framed by red camellias, but no thanks to the dreary housing blocks of Braga Baixa below.
There seem rather too many crucifixion images, but that doesn't seem to deter the snappers. The World's oldest water-powered funicular railway runs parallel to the steps of Bom Jesus.
Braga was pleasant enough, despite the weather, but, unlike the Azores, not somewhere I'll likely return to.
After the sombre events of Braga I wanted a bit more colour, so I headed back to Campanha Station in Porto, and south to the town of Aveira, sometimes called the Venice of Portugal.
That's rather flattering, but the town, with it's hotch-potch of old buildings, colourful boats plying the canals, and the salt pans adjacent to the big tidal lagoon, makes a nice break from Porto, €3.50 and 60 km south.
The rain returned today, Easter Monday, so I won't be visiting the famous stripy houses at Costa Nova and the large lighthouse at Barra, as my time is short. Perhaps another time...
Feliz Páscoa
Taurus
