In September 2025 we flew from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada on São Miguel. Three days, one island, and weather that does whatever it wants.
The first evening we walked Praça do Município at dusk. Black-and-white calçada stripes, the town hall clock tower, a quiet square. That was enough for landing day.
The main thing we did was scuba dive. That was the trip. The rest of São Miguel was the slow days around it.
Then we got out of town. Cows in a hydrangea-lined pasture, a white farmhouse on the hill, and Sete Cidades: a crater lake with the caldera walls disappearing into cloud. The water was still. The hills were not. We hiked through a mossy stone tunnel and looked down through ferns at the pale green lagoon.
São Miguel is not a highlight reel. It is green, wet, and slower than Lisbon. That is the point.
Scuba days still mean walking around with wet gear and a lot of hanging about. A small day bag and a water bottle were the useful bits.
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If you are coming from the mainland:
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