Enroute to the U.S., we had one more stop that was planned but not well understood by us in advance. We landed in Terceria, Azores for refueling and security screening. So technically this brief stop in Portugal enabled us to visit six of the seven continents as we journeyed around the globe.
I did a bit of intelligence gathering about the Azores from the friendly staff at the Terceria airport since I was impressed by the beauty of the island as we landed.
The Azores are an autonomous region of Portugal, and are actually an archipelago of nine islands about 900 miles off the coast of Portugal and 2400 miles off the coast of North America. The islands are known for their dramatic landscapes, rocky beaches, fishing villages and green pastures. Terceira is one of the larger islands with many hiking, biking, wining and dining options but is not well visited. Most tourists go to either São Miguel, the largest island, with its lake-filled calderas and tea plantation or Pico with 7700 ft Mt. Pico and its vineyards.
Two hours later we took off for the U.S. As we ascended, I could see both the coasts of Terceira and Pico Island with snow capped Mt. Pico in the distance. I have decided to add this archipelago of lovely islands to my ever expanding bucket list!
