Sao Miguel: Day 3

I slept better and felt rested the next morning.  We enjoyed another breakfast of fresh squeezed orange juice, bread, cheese and scrambled eggs.  I enjoyed a couple cups of coffee.  On this day, we planned to visit a tea plantation, Hotel Monte Palace, and Lagoa das Sete Cidates.  It was a great day in spite of fog rolling in and obscuring most of the sights.

Let me be honest, I wasn’t thrilled about visiting a tea plantation.  I prefer to drink coffee and hope to one day visit a coffee plantation.  Nevertheless, I’ve learned to keep an open mind about visiting new places.  I once didn’t want to see the Trevi Fountain.  I am so glad I did.  If you’ve never seen the Trevi Fountain in person, you must.  If it is penciled in on some future agenda, chisel it in stone.  Of course, my point is to be open to trying new things when you travel.  We live in a big world and you may be pleasantly surprised when you do something out of the norm.

Cha Gorreana overlooks the ocean and is nestled near the coastal towns of Sao Bras and Maia.  When you drive by you see row after row of trimmed shrubbery.  It is eye catching from the road.  We were able to park next to the building.  There is a room showing a video describing the process of getting tea from the field to your cup.  We sat and watched this upon entering.  Growing and getting tea to the consumer is a much more labor intensive process than I previously thought.

My family and I selected cups and teas to sample.  We also purchased some goodies to go with them.  Ultimately, we tasted each of the two types of tea offered.  As we made our way to the museum portion of the building, I noted the various types of liquors available for purchase.  I felt several would be tasty additions to the tea we drank.

We didn’t take a guided tour since we had a full day planned.  We walked through several rooms with different machines, and read the placards at various stations.  I don’t remember any signs being in a language other than Portuguese.  I believe a guided tour is worthy if you wish to take one.  We passed two during our walk-through and the guides seemed very knowledgeable and friendly.  I understand they are also free.  One more note:  Tea was placed in each room and the aromas were wonderful.  My son mentioned a few times how he liked the fragrances.  If he said that, it must be good.

Walking the grounds truly gives an idea of the plantation’s size.  It is beautiful to see but amazing to consider how much tea that must receive care.  Be sure to go across the highway and walk through the rolling hills.  We thought it was pretty driving by but there is much more to take in when you walk the property.  Cha Gorreana is a worthwhile stop.  Make the time and go there.

We returned to the car and on to our next destinations:  Hotel Monte Palace, and Lagoa das Sete Cidates.  We decided to stop at a scenic overview and weren’t disappointed.  We walked over to the spot where sightseers looked up and down the coastline.  Tthere was a couple from the US taking pictures.  We offered to take their picture and they did the same for us.  It turns out we were on the same flight into Ponta Delgada.

Looking at the map, it seemed to me the quickest route to our destination was the most direct.  However, Paul had recommended going down to Ponta Delgada since it would be highway most of the way.  We did as suggested.  Here is some good news for people who plan to rent a car on the island of Sao Miguel:  There are two gas stations within a few miles of the airport when driving the highway from the east.

Shortly after passing the airport, there are towns to drive through.  Like all the others encountered, they were quaint.  I can’t help but think they feel like home.  The road turned to the northwest and we looked at the ocean beyond the coast.  Clouds were rolling in quickly and we hoped to arrive at the lakes before they were obscured.

We knew we were close to the hotel and then we were suddenly there.  Hotel Monte Palace appeared out of the ever thickening fog.  It seemed strange to see such a large building sit abandoned.  Still, we were excited to see what we could see.  As we walked toward the hotel entrance, we could see people sitting on top.  It seemed they were on the roof.  How did they get up there?

An odd sensation came over me as we entered.  Hotel Monte Palace was once an amazing hotel.  That is obvious as you walk among the ruins.  There is debris throughout and I’m sure people have taken mementos over the years.  If you visit Hotel Monte Palace, be careful.  You must be mindful of your steps and where you are going.  The elevators are gone and you can easily step off and fall to certain injury and or death.  The whole place was quite eerie to me.  We worked our way up some circular stairs and across the building.  Finally, we arrived at the area where we saw the people sitting.  Then we went a level higher than that.

We gazed out at the lakes below and watched the clouds roll over the hills.  How I wished it was a sunny day but I decided to make the best of it.  I snapped the best photos I could.  Then we headed for some scenic spots on the other side of the lake.  Again, I wished for clear skies but I also appreciated the cool breezes on my sunburnt face.

Returning home, we decided to drive around in downtown Ponta Delgada.  This wasn’t a terrible idea since it was fun to see the city.  However, the streets were narrow and many were one way.  It wasn’t long before we felt we needed to get out and back home.  We were getting hungry and had planned to dine at Os Melos and partake of the smorgasbord they promoted when we ate there.

Traffic was heavy and there were few signs to show us the way out.  Finally, we worked our way back the way we came and saw a sign for a town in the direction we needed to go.  We arrived at Os Melos before the smorgasbord was finished but, as feared, the food options were few and some were cold.  Nonetheless, we got our fill and drove home.

Our son had to return the following morning but we still had time.  I asked Paul about my wife, daughter and I staying an additional night.  Since they had no guests coming in, we were happy to have one additional day with Paul and Natérsia.  We made plans to fly to Lisbon for two days.  Our son wanted to return to the waterfall he enjoyed two days prior.  This time we took the road through town.  He and our daughter both got in the water while my wife and I took pictures.

The air was cool and the sky pretty during the walk home.  Again, our sunburns appreciated the breeze.  We petted a dog eager for attention as we entered the town.  Paul and Natérsia invited us for some special Azores goodies and drinks.  It was nice getting to know this sweet couple more.  Paul hopes to add two more buildings to his property to be used as Airbnb homes.  We hope he is able to break ground on them soon.