WITNEY TRAVEL THE AZORES & MADEIRA BROCHURE

Destination Portugal - The Specialists.....31 years experience of travel to Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.

The Azores

These 9 volcanic islands are reputed to be part of the legendary lost continent of Atlantis and were discovered in the fifteenth century by Portuguese navigators on their way to the New World. They were named "Açores" after the hawks that constantly circle the islands which the sailors mistook for vultures.

Set in the middle of the Atlantic 1000 odd miles West of Lisbon, for five hundred years the Azores have remained almost totally unspoilt, the tranquillity is ideal for those who wish to escape from the pressures of modern day life. The leisurely pace of agriculture and fishing has only recently been interrupted by the Autonomous Government's realisation that tourism can also bring financial benefits.

So holidaymakers to the Azores are relatively few although, in the height of the summer Portuguese from the mainland rapidly fill the small number of beds available.

The cuisine of the Azores is rich and varied. The fish dishes, seafood, meat and cheese, pineapple and the famous Verdalho wines of the islands of Pico and Graciosa (once the table wines of the Tsars of Russia) form an enviable basis for regional cooking. Newer wines include the excellent Terras de Lava.

Not to be missed is the excellent "cozido" at Furnas on São Miguel, where sealed cooking pots containing a mixture of meats, vegetables and spicy sausages are buried in the ground for 5 or 6 hours and the food is slowly cooked by the steam from the ground near the sulphurous springs.

Traditional handicrafts reflect the folk law and activities of the Azores and include scrimshaw, (ornamental objects made from whale bone and theeth ) usually miniatures of whaling boats, artificial flowers made from fish scales, or wicker work, glazed earthenware and delicate carvings made from fig pith.