The Blue Island Trail

How it began…

The idea to visit the Azores popped into my head when I saw there was a trail running event happening on one of the islands—Faial—in early May. I started browsing through photos of the place and quickly became obsessed. The landscapes looked fantastic, and by the end of December 2023, I was already seriously thinking about signing up for the run.

I casually mentioned the idea to some friends—and that’s when Olga jumped in saying she was looking at same event! Even though we’re both part of the same two running and orienteering clubs in Zagreb, we barely knew each other. Just the usual quick chats at races. But somehow, this trip idea clicked—and just like that, we had the beginnings of a trail running adventure in beautiful spots.

Now that Olga picked up this idea, we soon registered for the run and booked flights and accommodation. The Azores Ultra Blue Island Trail takes place on the Faial Island. This island is called Ilha Azul in Portuguese – the Blue Island – because of the large number of hydrangeas that bloom in summer. The Azores archipelago consist of total nine volcanic islands, situated app. 1,400 km from the Portuguese coast in the North Atlantic Ocean. So the plan was first to visit Faial and possibly Pico, the island with the highest peak of the Azores and Portugal (Pico, 2,351 m) which is very close to Faial so that we could get there with a ferry. The biggest island, Sao Miguel, is quite far away from Faial, so flying there is the only option.

Faial, the Blue Island

Traveling via Lisbon and spending one night there, we first arrived in the late afternoon at the international airport in Ponta Delgada on São Miguel, where we waited for our delayed flight to Horta on Faial. It was 2 May, and after the sunny Lisbon, rain and wind awaited us in the Azores. The climate on the islands is quite unstable, especially in spring, but this is one of the reasons that the Azores are so wonderfully green. We boarded the plane to Faial, which made a short stop on Santa Maria Island, where some passengers disembarked. In total, it took one hour from Ponta Delgada to reach Horta.

Lisbon, enjoying the sun and wind at one of the most scenic viewpoints

Boarding the plane to Horta in wind and rain

It was a dark evening when we finally arrived at the airport near Horta. We found a taxi to take us to our accommodation in the town, but we still made it on time to walk to the municipal theater, where the organizational office of the trail event had its temporary headquarters. We collected our starter packages, which included a beautiful white and blue running shirt, one of my favorites, and learned that our trail, the 63K, had been shortened by about 5K due to the tough weather conditions with wind gusts and rain, so the finish was not going to be at the Capelinhos volcano on the opposite (western) side of the island from Horta. We decided to visit the Capelinhos volcano the next day.

In front of the municipal theatre in Horta

In the morning, we went for a walk in Horta, a picturesque town, and tried to find a bus connection to Capelinhos. It turned out to be a mission impossible because the beginning of May was still outside the tourist season, so we decided to rent a car for the day.

We traveled to the western side of the island to see the magnificent Capelinhos volcano, which erupted for the last time in 1957 and left such an interesting landscape. Next to it is a lighthouse and the Capelinhos Volcano Interpretation Centre. We hiked from the lighthouse up the hills to enjoy a fantastic view of the volcanic landscape and the cliffs. It was a bit windy, but without rain, perfect weather for hiking. After the views from above, we went to the sea, where there were remnants of the once very popular whaling industry on Faial. Whaling was abandoned almost 50 years ago, and now Faial, like the other Azores islands, is quite famous for whale watching.

At the Capelinhos

After Capelinhos, we drove back to Horta, taking the road along the northern coast of the island. We stopped to see some parts where the trail would take us the next day, such as the village of Ribeirinha, which has an old abandoned lighthouse and quite a “spooky” church ruin (Igreja de São Mateus). We stopped for lunch at the beach restaurant in Praia do Almoxarife and returned the car in Horta. In the evening, there was a briefing for our trail running event at the municipal theatre, very original and nice. We went to bed early, a bit apprehensive about what to expect the next morning since the weather forecast predicted heavy rain throughout the night.

We started early in the morning, walked to the start line about 20 minutes away from our accommodation, and there was a pleasant surprise waiting for us—free coffee and cakes in the cafeteria/bakery that opened early to feed the runners. It was still dark and chilly at 5:30 when the run started, but luckily the rain stopped. The trail led us first through the city of Horta, up and down the hill next to Horta, along the beach, and then into the interior of the island. The sunrise was beautiful, and then the trail went through meadows filled with plenty of flowers and cows; it was all so green and peaceful. Then came the rough part—crossing creeks on improvised “bridges”, muddy trails, wet shoes and socks, dirt, and finally the first aid station. The aid stations were incredibly good, offering boiled eggs, chicken, soup, tomatoes, fruit, and the usual snacks.

At the start in Horta early in the morning

The next stage was quite easy and runnable, sunny single trails with stunning views of the ocean and the Ribeirinha lighthouse, the Pico mountain on Pico Island; we even came down to the beach. After the second aid station came a section with some dirt road in the middle of the island, which was a bit boring, but the third aid station was just before the start of the long and steady climb on the road to the Caldeira.

The Caldeira (do Cabeço Gordo) is one of the highlights of the Blue Island Trail (the official name of our 65K trail). In the middle of the island, with a perimeter of 2 km and a depth of 400 m, it is the largest crater in the Azores. After climbing all the serpentines up to the top of the Caldeira in sunshine, the clouds suddenly covered the Caldeira, and the wind started to blow so heavily that it was a real challenge to try to run (or hike) on the narrow trail without any view inside the Caldeira. It was a very long way to go, about 5K around the crater, with heavy wind, a bit of rain, and freezing temperatures inside a cloud. But this is also part of the adventure of trail running—you do not get to choose the weather conditions.

After the descent from the Caldeira, the weather was suddenly fine; the wind stopped, and there was another aid station. The next section got very interesting, with a lot of mud and running along levadas (irrigation channels); it was quite a hard section. Then came the final aid station and the last section until the finish. I thought this would never come to an end with all the hard climbs, but then there was a flat section at last and the finish line. I covered almost 58K with a 2,780 m elevation gain in 12.5 hours.

Olga was already waiting for me at the finish line with a well-deserved beer. She is faster than me and competitive, unlike myself; I take the trail runs quite relaxed, seeing them as a good opportunity to experience new outdoor adventures (I am a bit more competitive at home). We both commented that this trail was so much harder than expected, with all the difficult climbs, muddy trails, and crazy weather in the Caldeira. But it is also so rewarding, with all the stunning views and nature. And it is not too popular, which is one of the best things about it. There are no crowds, and you feel kind of special, almost like an elite runner! (LOL)

Pico

The next morning, after a short walk and coffee in Horta, we took the ferry boat to the island of Pico, a half an hour trip. Our flight to Sao Miguel was in the early evening so we decided to spend some hours on Pico. We didn’t have time to hike on the top of the Pico mountain (and were not really up to it after the run), so we strolled around the little town with the port and then further along the coast to explore the volcanic vineyards. Since this was not the tourist season yet and we haven’t made arrangements in advance, we couldn’t taste any of the famous wines from Pico, but this is another reason to go back to the Azores. The vineyards are black and quite interesting to hike through them, so after some two hours of hiking in sunny weather we went to a pub for a burger and back on the ferry boat.

São Miguel, Nordeste

We arrived at the airport in Ponta Delgada on São Miguel, the biggest island of the Azores, the Ilha Verde (the Green Island), in the evening, picked up our rental car, and drove a bit over one hour to reach our first destination, Nordeste. Nordeste is both a region on São Miguel and a town. Our accommodation was in a kind of hostel in the center of the town. The next morning was cold and rainy. After a quick breakfast, we went out to see the town and buy some groceries to make sandwiches and for breakfast the next day at the local Spar supermarket. The town is nice, but it looked completely abandoned in that lousy weather.

We drove to our first stop along the coast, the Farol do Arnel, the oldest lighthouse in the Azores. From the parking spot, we walked down to the sea on an extremely steep road (and then back up again) to a little bay with some colorful boats.

After the lighthouse, we continued along the coast, stopped to enjoy the views from some famous viewpoints—the views were covered in clouds with strong wind gusts—and then arrived at our trail for the day, starting in the village of Faial de Terra. After a quick coffee (and a nice liquor) at a local café, we hit the trail that took us to two beautiful waterfalls, the Salto do Prego and the Salto do Carragão. On the wet single trails that led us through a proper jungle, we met very simple, not too exotic animals: hens and roosters. The waterfalls are really nice; now I regret not jumping into the water. On our way back, the last half of the trail took us on a different path passing through the village of Sanguinho, where we made a stop to enjoy a beer and a marinated turkey egg we bought at a truck bar (not too exciting).

After the trail, we continued our journey to see Furnas, the famous town with the hot sulphur springs. We had no time to make a full circle around Furnas Lake, but just enough to get the atmosphere and be ready for dinner—a selection of meats, potatoes, and cabbage slowly cooked in the heat of the sulphur springs. Not too exciting, but we had to try it.

Ponta Delgada, Lagoa da Fogo, Sete Cidades

The next day, we left Nordeste and headed towards Ponta Delgada, where we had booked accommodation for three nights. The day started with rain showers and wind gusts and continued in the same manner until the afternoon. On the way there, we stopped at Ribeira dos Caldeiroes for another “green” hike, then visited the famous tea plantation Cha Gorreana. I am a big tea fan, and this was my first time at a tea plantation, so I enjoyed it very much (and the pineapple liquor we had with the tea was also good). We also stopped to see the Salto de Cabrito, one of the most famous waterfalls on São Miguel, but the waterfalls from the day before were much more exciting.

Ponta Delgada is a nice town. We visited one of the two botanical gardens, the local market, did some cheese shopping (the Azores are known for excellent cheese), and had an excellent dinner at a local restaurant—tuna with several types of potatoes and very good wine, followed by a glass of milk liquor, an Azores specialty.

The next morning, our first hiking destination was the Quatro Fabricas de Luz trail, a very interesting trail passing remains of industrial architecture in beautiful nature. We had lunch in Vila Franca do Campo and continued to Lagoa da Fogo, a beautiful lake in a crater. The trail that took us to the lake is a circular trail with beautiful parts in the forest, alongside some levadas, with stunning green views, a bit of fog, rain, and even sunshine.

On our way back to Ponta Delgada, I wanted to stop somewhere by the ocean to swim. It was a bit disappointing; the waves were not friendly, and the “Portuguese Man o’ War” I saw on the sandy beach was completely discouraging. Before going back to our hotel, we stopped to see the famous pineapple plantation in Ponta Delgada, just to say we’ve seen it (the mini pineapples are quite expensive).

Our last day on São Miguel greeted us with sunshine. The plan for today was to visit the famous Boca do Inferno, the green and the blue lake, and Sete Cidades. The start of the trail to the Boca do Inferno was beautiful, but when we arrived, the cloud covered it, so we couldn’t see much. The trail above the two lakes, Lagoa Verde and Lagoa Azul, is nothing special—a long section on a dirt road frequented by quads and jeeps—but the views of the lakes and the green hills, like in Teletubbies land, are nice. We descended to the town of Sete Cidades, stopped for a break, and continued on some quite interesting narrow paths to the road where we left our car. It was a long hike of 20 kilometers.

We stopped in Mosteiros, a small town at the coast with natural pools where it was much easier to swim in the ocean and then continued to Ferraria with some natural thermal pools in the ocean and interesting black rocky beaches. Back in Ponta Delgada, we went for our last walk, had some dinner and decided that the Azores are so beautiful that we have to visit them again. And discussed that we should pick another island trail for next year.