Islands Of Portugal - History and Adventure

Madiera.- take a step back in time to an era not forgotten on this lovely island paradise.

The RIU Palace Madiera has an old world charm that is reminiscent of the Victorian Days. The entertainment is very classy with a mix of both European Waltzes and Latin dances with some modern music thrown in to make a very entertaining  combination. Needless to say I could really get used to this lifestyle; not to mention the added benefit of mild temperatures year round.

My time in Sao Miguel was a lot more active with my first tour beginning the day I arrived. I had dinner at an Azorean Restaurant that cooks the entire meal in one of the nearby natural hot springs. The dish consisted of a variety of meat and vegetables left to stew in a pot for several hours in the boiling volcanic hot spring. After our meal we proceeded to spend sometime basking in the relaxing and refreshing warm waters of the local spa pools fed by the natural hot springs. 
The following day I spent exploring the downtown area and local marina; since all my tours were cancelled due to hurricane Lorenzo…his appearance did not have any impact on the island itself. 

I had pre purchased a 2 day yellow bus hop on hop off tour ticket, which is a very informative and leisurely way to explore the island at your own pace, I preferred the small jeep guided tours that was included with the flight and hotel package I purchased. We were given a closer look at the various points of interest and driven through areas of the island that the yellow bus was not able to venture.

The highlight of my trip was the whale and dolphin watching adventure. There were many playful and curious dolphins swimming alongside our boat. With one spectacular siteing of a sperm whale that gave us a formidable display of its tail fin as it dived down into deeper waters.

I was sorry to leave Portugal, and plan to return to Madiera as well as explore other islands of the Azores.