Azorean Journey
By Phyllis Meras Cocroft

It was more than three decades ago that I first visited the Azores, Portugal’s stunning mid-Atlantic archipelago of nine islands. I remarked then that those verdant, volcanic islands, with their precipitous cliffs, abundant fruits and flowers and bubbling sulfurous springs, were the loveliest “undiscovered” tourist destination that I had ever seen. And so it was with considerable trepidation that I returned last spring, knowing that Ponta Delgada on the main island of Sao Miguel had become a major cruise ship port, that golf courses had been constructed there, too. I feared that I would return to find high-rise hotels blocking the exquisite views I remembered over the green-blue sea.
Happily, I was mistaken in my fears of over-development. My trip took me to six of the islands: to Sao Miguel, the largest in the archipelago; Faial, the yachtsmen’s island; Pico, site of the 7,713-foot peak that is Portugal’s highest mountain; Terceira, whose capital of Angra do Herismo is a UNESCO World Heritage site; Graciosa, the “gracious” island; and Sao Jorge, an exceptionally green island. I missed Santa Maria, site of the archipelago’s only white sand beaches; three by two-mile Corvo; and flower-bedecked Flores.
In cities and towns, black and white mosaic sidewalk pavements still had sailing ships, birds and fish patterned into them. White houses with dark basalt doors and window frames lined narrow, quiet village streets. White-washed baroque and Manueline churches, their windows framed in dark natural basalt, were the centerpieces of town and village squares.
Sao Miguel, the Green Island, was still green, though highways now lead in and out of the capital of Ponta Delgada and one high-rise is a jarring feature above the waterfront. But Sea Gates, the three year-old maritime terminal that is scheduled to welcome 49 cruise ships this year, is low-key and unobtrusive. Now there are shopping malls in the city, but they are discreetly positioned. And the island still has the stunning, undisturbed view of the blue and green lakes of Sete Ciudades. A blue-eyed princess, it is said, fell in love with a green-eyed shepherd. When their love was forbidden, she cried so hard that a blue lake was formed and his tears made a green one beside it. Yellow ginger lilies and pink St. Joseph’s flowers still speckle the fields and hills in spring. Frisian and Holstein cows graze. There are no jarring road signs.
Though Sao Miguel is the Green Island, brown mineral waters bubble in its Valley of Furnas, and a popular attraction for both Azoreans and tourists there are the cookouts at which burlap bags of sausage, chicken, pork, cabbage, potatoes and fish are lowered into the springs and prepared for a local restaurant. Sao Miguel also offers tea and pineapple plantations.
On Faial, the harbor of Horta had expanded. A new marina is now chock-a-block with yachts. More than 1,000 of these crossing the Atlantic from west to east put into Horta each year. There, their captains and crews make sure to pick up their mail at Peter’s Café Sport.
After a visit to Peter’s to see the scrimshaw museum above the café-restaurant, I walked along the harborfront where yachtsmen paint the name of their vessel and the date of their visit on a wall. I also went, as I had before, to the volcano of Capelinhos that erupted in the 1950s, burying homes and vineyards. It remains a desolate headland, but en route to it, the blue hydrangeas that have given Faial the name Blue Island, edged the roads and the fields.
From Faial, I took the 20-minute boat trip to rocky Pico. In the vineyards of Pico, the wine grapes are sheltered from wind and spray by four-foot tall basaltic walls. On my last visit to Pico, when whaling was still allowed, I saw a sperm whale butchered there one morning. Now the former whaling station at Sao Roque is a museum and there is another museum of whaling at Lajos.
I did not remember Terceira well, but on this trip I spent two nights in its capital, Angra do Herismo. With 17th- and 18th-century white houses with elaborate wrought-iron balconies, Angra is considered, architecturally, the archipelago’s most beautiful city. Terceira is also renowned for its bullfights, though in most of them bulls are simply pulled through the streets on a rope while citizens dart out at them.
On Graciosa I descended 185 steps to its 50,000-year-old volcanic crater and lava lake. Above ground there, white and red windmills that once ground corn are now guest houses. And there were the same patchwork of fields- chartreuse, dark green and gold- with cows grazing on them, that there are on Sao Miguel.
On fertile Sao Jorge, an island that still grows much of its own food and exports cattle and a tangy cheese that is considered the best in the islands, I admired its cliffs (it is called the Switzerland of the Azores) and its tumbling waterfalls.
How pleased I was, on this recent journey, to find Portugal’s Azorean archipelago still so tranquil, so lovely, so inviting and still so unspoiled!
Getting There

From mid-June to early October, Azores Express/SATA (www.sata.pt) operates five direct flights (only 4 hours) per week between Boston and Sao Miguel and one flight a week from Boston to Terceira. There is also a weekly direct flight between Oakland and Terceira. During the rest of the year SATA runs between Boston and Ponta Delgada twice a week. All flights from other U.S. hubs connect in Lisbon.
For further information, visit the Azores Tourism Association at www.visitazores.com or the Portuguese National Tourism Office at www.visitportugal.com

What’s New in Portugal?
By Barbara Radcliffe Rogers and Stillman Rogers

Without losing a bit of the Old World charm and grace that makes it unique in Western Europe, Portugal has undergone some changes your clients should know about. The big hotel news for 2010 is more stars for less money. A total of 29 hotels, most 4- or 5-star, opened in 2010, adding 7,000 rooms to satisfy Portugal’s increasing tourism numbers. Clearly this little country is no longer a secret, but the good news for visitors is that average hotel rates have fallen by 15%; Lisbon’s average nightly rate is €84 (about $110).
New Algarve Hotels
Half those new rooms are along the sunny southern coast, a year-round playground of long beaches and manicured golf courses. Radisson Blu (www.radisson.com) will open in Portimão early in 2011, and the 5-star Vale D’Oliveiras Quinta Resort & Spa is already open, near the beaches of Carvoeiro (www.valedoliveirasresort.com). Its organic farm produces ingredients for the resort’s restaurant. Family-oriented 5-star Real Marina Hotel & Spa (www.realhotelsgroup.com) in Olhão includes a marina for easy boat access to island beaches. Also catering to families is the 5-star “Barefoot Luxury” Martinhal Resort in Sagres (www.martinhal.com). Nearby, the new Memmo Baleeira Hotel (www.arteh-hotels.com) has a chic contemporary style and a smart restaurant, overlooking the harbor and lighthouse.
Arteh Hotels is a good resource for agents, representing select independent hotels and pousadas throughout Portugal; all reservations made through them are fully commissionable. Also a member is the luxe hideaway, Monte do Casal, a converted 18th-century manor house overlooking terraced gardens, within minutes of the Algarve’s airport at Faro. Be sure to reserve clients’ dinners here, since this is one of southern Portugal’s best dining experiences, with plenty of variety to keep palates pleased through a week’s stay (www.arteh-hotels.com).
A Lot to Love in Lisbon
The star of Lisbon’s hotel news is in neighboring Cascais, the glamorous seaside enclave of deposed royalty and spies during World War II. Opening this month, The Oitavos is a bold contemporary work of art filled with sculpture and paintings by Portuguese artists (www.theoitavos.com). Not new, but in the city’s best location, Hotel Mundial is in the heart of Lisbon, in the path of the historic #28 Tram, affording access to the most popular attractions. Request a room with castle views (www.hotel-mundial.pt).
Tell clients about two new museums in Lisbon, one of them hailed as the equal to the Guggenheim in Venice. The Berardo Collection Museum in Belem shows about 250 pieces covering the 20th and 21st centuries, including major works by Andy Warhol, Picasso, Modigliani, Magritte, Miró, Pollock and Dali (www.museuberardo.com). The Museu do Design e da Moda (MuDe) displays iconic works of influential 20th-century designers, including “New Look” fashions by Christian Dior (www.mude.pt).
Equally big news is Lisbon’s dining scene. No longer limited to the traditional dishes, Lisboetas have embraced a new breed of chefs and their restaurants. Still firmly dedicated to the best fresh local ingredients – just-caught fish, Iberian pork (porco preto), mountain cheeses – Lisbon chefs are rocking the table with innovative pairings and presentations. Leading the pack is Vitor Sobral, serving tapas-style dishes at his new Tasca da Esquina (www.tascadaesquina.com). Miguel Castro e Silva puts an international edge on Portuguese favorites at Largo in a former cloister (www.largo.pt). Or reserve clients a table at Luís Baena’s avante-garde Manifesto (www.restaurantemanifesto.com).
The Alentejo and North
Even a short visit allows time to get beyond the capital, and Evora, in the heart of the Alentejo region east of Lisbon, is a good place to head. Book clients inside the UNESCO World Heritage city center, at the stunningly sophisticated M’ar de Ar Aqueducto (http://mardearaqueduto.arteh-hotels.com), and a table at Degust’AR Restaurant.
Suggest they try one of the fine Alentejo wines that are turning heads at international tastings, and follow the wine route to visit vintners. Or they can sample a wide selection of the very best at the wine co-op in Borba (www.adegaborba.pt).
The hot news in Poro, Portugal’s second-largest city, is the construction of a new cruise terminal at Leixões, where the Douro River meets the Atlantic. Scheduled for 2011-12 completion, it includes a terminal building, a Science Park of the Sea and a new dock accommodating ships up to 300m long, boosting Porto to a major port-of-call.
Clients traveling by land can still enjoy a cruise experience on a day- or week-long boat trip up the Douro through the steep terraced slopes of Portugal’s best-known wine-growing region. Active travelers might prefer the new 5-night bike tour priced at $3,200 (www.bluecoastbikes.com) exploring the valley’s villages and vineyards by bicycle, boat and train.
Book their city stay at the beautifully restored Hotel Infante Sagres (www.hotelinfantesagres.pt or www.slh.com), a grand hotel with chic contemporary rooms in the heart of the old city. Across the river, amid the Port wine lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia, The Yeatman Hotel & Wine Spa opened this summer with terraces overlooking Porto (www.the-yeatman-hotel.com). Design Hotel Teatro opened in the spring, a theatrically stylish 74-room lodging in central Porto (http://hotelteatro.pt or www.designhotels.com).
For unforgettable dining on fresh local ingredients, clients will thank you for booking a table at the new Restaurante DOP, in the Palácio das Artes, where chef Rui Paula creates masterpieces on plates (www.ruipaula.com).
Clients may have heard of Portugal’s Pousadas, located in authentically restored historic buildings. One of the finest is a richly endowed medieval convent on a hillside overlooking nearby Guimares, the Pousada Santa Marinha (www.pousadas.pt or www.arteh-hotels.com). Cordial service and an excellent dining room presenting updated local classics add to the experience. Suggest that clients explore northern Portugal’s beautiful countryside and beaches, staying in another historic property in the elegant small coastal city of Viana do Castelo. Casa Melo Alvim (www.meloalvimhouse.com, www.arteh-hotels.com) occupies a grand manor house, a historic landmark in the heart of the city.
Book trans-Atlantic travel to Lisbon or Porto from New York and Star Alliance hubs via TAP Air Portugal (800-221-7370, www.flytap.com) or to Lisbon from Boston, Oakland or Toronto on SATA Azores Express (800-762-9995, www.sata.pt/en).
For more information visit www.visitportugal.com