Portugal holidays: Ben Fogle on working up an appetite for the Azores… and sampling volcanic hot pot

By Ben Fogle

Printed: 06:12 EDT, 16 February 2014 | Up to date: 08:19 EDT, 17 February 2014

I’ve been obsessive about islands since I used to be a toddler. My younger creativeness was sparked by books similar to Treasure Island, Lord Of The Flies and different works of fiction whose plots are inextricably linked with unique blobs of land surrounded by oceans. This obsession has continued into maturity. Certainly, I’ve an island to thank for my profession as a broadcaster.

My expertise within the BBC actuality present Castaway 2000 – once I was marooned with 35 others on the isle of Taransay within the Outer Hebrides – led to the tv presenting roles that catapulted me to fame. Since then I’ve visited islands as distant as St Helena within the South Atlantic and the Pitcairns within the South Pacific.

So after marrying right into a household who love holidaying in Portugal, it was solely a matter of time earlier than I visited the Azores. I’ve all the time been intrigued by this chain of islands 850 miles west of the coast of Portugal and I used to be smitten quickly after arriving.

The 9 islands all have volcanic origins and the distinction between the fiery lava-rich soil and the luxurious inexperienced vegetation is breathtaking. A dip within the scorching springs at Ponta Da Ferraria on São Miguel island is a should for any customer. It is a pure swimming pool on the coast shaped by lava.

Sea water flowing into the pool is heated by a effervescent spring that pumps out water at a piping 60C. Thermal springs have had an necessary bearing on the culinary traditions of the Azores. At Furnas Lake, additionally on São Miguel, you’ll be able to have ‘Cozido nas caldeiras’ (meat and veg stew) cooked for seven hours in pots buried 3ft deep within the floor – a sort of volcanic scorching pot.

Hovering magnificence: Mount Pico seen from town of Horta on the Island of Faial

Energetic travellers to the Azores ought to climb the tallest peak on the islands – and certainly the entire of Portugal: the 7,713ft Mount Pico on the isle of Pico. It is a difficult journey – which requires a information – however the reward is a mesmerising view over the ocean from the summit. Whereas there are many actions to maintain you entertained on shore, no journey to those islands could be full with out some whale-watching.

The seas across the Azores present among the finest habitats on the earth for marine mammals, and greater than 24 species of whales have been sighted in these waters.

I headed out to sea early within the morning in a quick inflatable boat within the hope of glimpsing one in every of these magnificent creatures. Our boat leapt from wave to wave as we headed deep into the Atlantic swell.

There are few sights as majestic as that of a breaching sperm whale. These marine mammals, which measure as much as 65ft, are elusive however with endurance you may be rewarded with an expertise that can take your breath away.