Amazing Azores

First of all, the Azores are a stunning adventure to take on one´s personal travel list. It´s the perfect mixture of old towns, protected natural reservations, tourist friendly infrastructure, camping sites and of course hospitality. Wow, the people on the Azores are welcoming visitors with an open heart and often a homemade glass of wine. Horta. Here in the small cafe in front of Porto Pim, people just pass by for a quick cup of coffee, before going to work. 30 years ago it was used as the harbor for whale fishing. Now it has gone quiet, except for the emigrants who come back in summer exchanging stories about their life back in the US. Only a few tourists and some sailors find their way here, especially in one of these rainy days like today. A couple stands besides the harborwall and looks onto the horizon, it seems more rain will arrive in the coming days. It is the second day of European summer, but it feels like winter especially for the many sailors who arrive here from the Caribbean, before the hurricane season starts over there. But the charme of this small bay remains and the church on “Monte guia” behind the whaling factory is covered in clouds. It is another perfect day for some writing and possibly the best day for reflecting the last month, that I have spent traveling these islands. In the beginning it was just a quick call from a friend, who sent me the promotion offer by SATA airlines to go to the Azores for an incredible airfare. I was hungry for some timeout, so it did not take any longer than an hour to book the flights. When I was already travelling I was so amazed by the beauty of these islands, that one morning I woke up and knew I had to do a book project. This is it! Its a visual review of the five major islands and somehow I learned that every island has its very own energy, face and kindness of people.