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in azores

green patterns

our hiking boots are still wet and the weather isn’t helping them dry… so today we put on our other shoes and went for a stroll on the local botanical gardens here in horta, which were amazing! there are so many species of plants that are endemic to the azores, but they’re threatened by other exotic or invasive species introduced over time. so a part of the job of the local scientific community is to study these native plants, collect their seeds and participate in projects that ensure they can thrive again, all the while educating people.

in contrast with the dry, muted landscapes of the south of portugal, the oceanic subtropical climate here makes everything radioactive green, and i find myself looking around in awe at how luscious this green is, especially in contrast with the volcanic soil. the leaves make pretty patterns too, and i couldn’t resist photographing them:

i wish i could bring these all home in my suitcase! :D

Categories
in azores in portugal

hiking caldeira

azores priorities are always about 2 things for us: hiking, and volcanoes. so putting these two together to hike around the ridge of an old volcano’s crater seemed like the right thing to do on our first day in the island of faial. :) the weather here is always changing, so it’s no use wasting much time planning — we just went for it!

i love how these paths disappear into the fog, so different from the weather we get in the south of portugal! we didn’t get a good view of the whole crater, grabbing just glimpses of it here and there as the clouds shifted, but it was magical nonetheless. we ended the 8km circular trail soaked through and with our feet swimming in the boots, but really happy! :D