Flores – A quest to the west

Has it ever happened to you that you cannot sleep because you cannot wait to start exploring your new destination? Well here I am writing this post at 5:00 am as I am so excited to start exploring this beautiful island that I cannot sleep. It is still pitch dark outside and too early to go out but I just cannot sleep. While we were driving to get here I could see some of the most beautiful scenery I could imagine. It feels like living in a fairy tale: waterfalls everywhere, greenery, flowers and the best of it all is that we met almost nobody! We have all this paradise to ourselves!

Most of the people who visit the Azores stop at São Miguel and visit the main island. However I am quite stubborn, and even though we had to catch 2 more flights from São Miguel to get here I am happy with my decision. I had made lots of research on the internet and although the information is somewhat limited I knew it would be a beautiful destination. Flores did not just meet my expectations but went well beyond them!

Flores island in the Azores is politically the westernmost point of Europe. However geographically it lies on the North American plate. This makes Flores very different from the other islands – the climate is different and there are also less tremors and earthquakes than on the other islands. If São Miguel was rural with 185 people per km² population density, you can guess how even more rural Flores is with a density of 27 inhabitants per km^2. The ratio of cows to humans is 3:1 here! I compared it to Gozo, however it is double the size with far more natural attractions, that left me mesmerised with each corner we turned as there is always something to leave you in awe!

I couldn’t believe that such a small island would have so much to offer. We only had two nights here since finding accommodation can be difficult. I would suggest staying at least 3 nights so that you can do a day trip to the nearby island Corvo or have some time for the awesome treks around the island. However we still managed to visit all the island and experience canyoning. Canyoning was the highlight of the activities we did on these islands as it allows you to be part of the nature. More photos of this experience are on my Azores Photographic Adventure Page here.

Where to stay

I usually never speak about accommodation, but here I have to mention one of the best accommodation options I ever chose! This is Aldeia da Cuada that is in Faja Grande. It consists of an abandoned village that has been turned to houses for tourists. All the houses have amenities like kitchen and an outdoor dining area in the garden. These houses are connected with each other through a foot path and lie in the countryside facing waterfalls on one side and a spectacular sunset on the cliffs to the other side. I cannot recommend this accommodation highly enough!