The Azores 2025
The ‘folly of optimism’ may be a much-maligned attribute, but thankfully the 25 students who embarked on a five-day trip to the Portuguese Azores islands had this in spades. From the torrential rain and gale force winds of the first day, we held fast to a belief that the blue skies would come, and they did! So much so that we were able to see the incredible crater lake and bubbling fumaroles at Logo Furnas, the national park of Caldeira Velha and the twin crater lakes at Sete Cidades.
Subtropical in climate, the Azorean plant life certainly showcased this, something we experienced first-hand at the botanical gardens at Terra Nostra, and the abundance of fertile pastures where everything from tea to pineapples can be grown, as well as providing pasture from more dairy cows than there are people!
Situated in the middle of the Atlantic, 1,000 miles from Portugal and 2,000 miles from North America, the seemingly small archipelago of nine islands that comprise the Azores are some of the newest land on the planet. Formed from volcanic activity on the junction of three main plates: Eurasian, North American and Africa, these islands continue to experience tectonic movement and can experience up to 11 seismic tremors a day. It was great for the students to observe this power of volcanic activity with their own eyes, standing in the 5,000-year-old lava tube caves of Gruta do Carvao.
