It seemed to be a paradise in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. The island of San Miguel, a part of Portugal, one of nine islands in the Azores. From squashing my nose against the travel agent’s window on a rainy day in Dublin trying to find a good holiday, I found myself on day two of the holiday sitting by a pool at the hotel in tropical sunshine. This was Ponta Delgado and this indeed was paradise.

The effortless flight took three and a half hours and we were treated to a dinner on board. The airport was small but we landed safely and the first thing we noticed was a statue of a modern soldier standing ominously to attention on a hill.

There were two other statues which were neither artistic nor suitable for such a tropical island. They symbolised a barracks on the seafront, next to the magnificent boardwalk of the port that is Ponta Delgado.

On day three we decided to book a whale-watching trip as it seemed the most popular pastime on the island. For €45 we could spend three hours with these masters of the deep, we thought. The dolphins were all we saw on the day, but with cameras clicking and bouncing over waves we still enjoyed ourselves.

If Amsterdam is bicycle heaven, then San Miguel is motorbike heaven, and oh, how the natives like to cruise this Isle. The bikes ranged from dirt track for the teenagers to Choppers for the older ones. The children who were propped on the back were treated to a tropical breeze in their hair as the bikes toured the boardwalk and roads of the island.

To eat here means eggs– these people love their eggs, for breakfast, for dinner and eggs all around and you can see why after tasting one of their omelettes. I also highly recommend the hot dogs as I have never seen so much effort put into making one, for a mere €2.5. The cost of living itself on San Miguel is very low, from beer at €1.50 to the best meals for €10.

We decided to visit the lakes to the south of the island on our last day, and it was well worth the trip. The vegetation ran right to the lake’s edge and the view was breathtaking.
As holidays go, I highly recommend it and you will return with money in your pocket.

Above: The Terra Nostra Gardens in the Azores.