Ever wondered what a holiday in a resort in the island of Azores would be like? well im here to guide you on that and give you an in depth article on the small town of Ponta Delgada located in Azores Portugal.
Highlights:
street of hintze ribeiro
history and architecture of ponta delgado
avenida infante dom henrique waterfront
sunset beach – cherry beach cocktail, melon beach cocktail
avocado breakfast sandwich
hotel casa hintze rebeiro
en suite, steam room
sagres portuguese beer
flight and stop over in Lisbon
ponta delgada casino
truffle mushroom ravioli
ponta delgada church metrez
city arch military museum
Azores is an island in the mid-atlantic and is a region of Portugal. The landscape and architecture is as picturesque as you can get anywhere in the world.
Webooked a roundtrip on Expedia and with the Portugal airlines, with a nine hour stopover in Lisbon. The stopover itself was a pretty bad experience. The airport didn’t open until 6am and I was left sleeping on the floor until the gate opened. We then had a 3 hour flight to the actual island itself. After arriving on a Saturday morning the flight back to London was scheduled on a Monday morning so we decided to extend my stay until Wednesday morning. With the island catching me off guard, we were mesmerized and shocked in awe at so much to explore, we were instantly captivated by the atmosphere and charming hospitality and service of the people of Ponta Delgada.
Our hotel was located in the street of Hintze Rebeiro and the name of the hotel was named after the street. This hotel instantly drew me in with style of the king size ensuite with a sofa, a table, mini bar, bathroom, and coffee making area. All this for only 89 euros a night, Part of the reason for me extending my stay as where else can I
we got such a nice ensuite at this price and believe it or not it had a major impact on the reason for me to extend my holiday at Ponta Delgada.
The street of Hintze ribeiro was beautiful and mesmerising with different coloured buildings in a small piazza (village). As soon as we had landed in Azores it cost me 10 Euros to get a cab to the small village of Ponta Delgada, Hintze Ribeiro where I was staying. After checking in there was the intz 48 café next door to my hotel. When we checked the menu, we had asked for an avocado sandwich. The man working behind the bar instantly built up rapport and offered me a special sandwich with egg, avocado and chili, we said why not, also with a glass of orange juice. After waiting 10 minutes on the table outside, the sandwich had arrived. A Fresh bun with eggs, avocado and chili with olive oil on the side. The sandwich was mouth watering, with the taste of chilli which was just right and not too hot. The juice had made a very nice combo, after that I went into my ensuite and had crashed out for the day, only to wake up late in the evening by sounds of crowds from the bar opposite the hotel on a Saturday.
The next day, a brisk 10 minute walk away was the Dom Henrique waterfront which was like a strip. Later we took a ride to the sunset beach which had a café named after it, we tried two cocktails there, the cherry beach tasted great and cost me 7 euros. The cherry beach consisted of cherry crème, gin and Aperol. Later on I took a cab to the hotel and went to my en suite to rest contently. The next morning I went to the lounge in the hotel and had breakfast which was included, scrambled eggs, croissants assorted breads and cake with some juice. we were offered a coffee which I chose to be a cappuccino. Afterwards we booked the sauna steam room. This was a highlight of my trip to Ponta Delgada. The leisure room consisted of a sauna, steam room and jacuzzi which we made good use of and it was a really breath-taking and relaxing experience. Later on we visited the Terras restaurant, a one minute all away where they served Italian food. we ordered a Sagres Portuguese beer and a truffle mushroom ravioli. The pasta was very well presented in a gourmet style with about 6 pieces of truffle ravioli covered in a mouthwatering mushroom sauce which immediately drove my tastebuds craving for more.
The next day at the Azores Casino require ID to register you for a week pass and we were given a 10 euro voucher to play. I used it on roulette
hard luck this time though. The city arch, military museum and the historic church metrez are key landmarks to see in Azores. The city arch known as the portats di cidade is consisted of Iconic 18th-century gates featuring ornate archways in a picturesque and attractive public square. The church metrez known as Igreja Matriz de São Sebastião has been around since the 16th century and it was eye dropping to see a beautiful piece of architecture that has been around for centuries and is still standing tall in nice condition. A 10 minute walk down the waterfront, the military museum can be visited for only three euros, known as Museu Militar dos Açores, which exhibits many military weapons and you can also read on the history of the colonial wars between 1961-75 and a brief history on the islands role in world war 2.
All in all 5 days in Azores was a trip well done, just about enough time to see and learn many things about this mysterious holiday destination. We came back refreshed and satisfied after this trip and for any backpackers planning a trip there we definitely would recommend it, especially during the off peak times during the Spring season.
- Written by – Adil Ciaodurri
