At the Crater's Edge

From the city of Ponta Delgada on São Miguel island - one of nine islands comprising the Portuguese archipelago, the Azores - it's a seventy-five minute bus ride to the hamlet of Sete Cidades and the start of the hike along the extinct volcano's crater edge.

It started to rain heavily the moment I disembarked from the bus.  I decided to have a long, drawn-out coffee in hopes of favourable weather. The heavy rain did indeed subside and I set out on the 11 km hike amidst a gentle drizzle. Before long, the rain stopped, the clouds and fog began to dissipate, and the sight of two stunning crater lakes and the Atlantic Ocean blew me away.