Azores: San Jorge September 10-13

The city building of Velas, the main city of Sao Jorge Island. Velas, other than being close to the airport, didn't have that much going on. 

Our House is made of stone, sea and people, of the brightness of stars and of boats that bring us closer to each other, of hope that illuminates the nights and of the memory that inhabits the everyday silence. Our House smells like seagrass, willows, grandparents. On it cagarros, the winds, the violas da terra and the saudade sing. In our House we don’t close the doors because nature doesn’t allow it. Inside it lives the beauty, the humility and the courage of those who know themselves to be small in the middle of the sea. 

A ilha, Rui Vieira

  Sao Jorge is part of the central "triangle" of islands that include Pico and Faial. It is thought to look like a crocodile or a dragon and measures 33 miles long and 5 miles wide.  Theoretically, it was named for St. George, the legendary dragon slayer. It is oblong, characterized by the long stretch of rocky seaside cliffs, the most notable being the 656 feet high Ponta dos Rosais on the island’s northern end. Although volcanic cliffs and rock formations are common among the nine islands, they seem to be the most prominent feature of São Jorge, in addition to seventy-one fajãs (geological flat platforms along the  rocky and elevated volcanic coast that resulted from lava flows and are really the only land suitable for buildings in general). It is these cliffs and fajãs that give São Jorge its nickname “the Brown island”. The geomorphology of the island (its high cliffs, rough central plateaus and scattered fajãs) resulted in the concentration of human settlements along the coast. Historically these communities were linked by coastal ports since the trails in the interior were barely transitable. Around 9,000 people inhabit this island and around 36,000 cows (not a joke.)

Sao Jorge is the skinny one in pink. 

A view of Velas, the main city of Sao Jorge,  on the way from the airport. This gives a good idea of what a faja is. 

São Jorge is said to have been discovered in the 1400s, but the exact date remains a mystery. Genovese and Catalan maps of the 14th century originally designated the long, slender island "São Jorge", a designation that was maintained  when settlers from northern Europe began to colonize the island (around 1460, or twenty years after it was first sighted by Europeans keeping records). During the 16th and 17th centuries, São Jorge’s limited ports and isolated location left it vulnerable to attacks. English and French privateers, along with Turkish and Algerian corsairs, frequently raided the island. Notable incidents included a raid in Calheta, the second largest village,  led by the Earl of Essex, where the locals bravely defended the town by throwing stones. The French privateer Du Guay-Trouin also pillaged São Jorge, and in 1816, an Algerian pirate was driven off by shots from Calheta.  Periods of local prosperity or misery occurred; there were several bad growing seasons and natural catastrophes (such as the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tornados in 1580, 1757, 1808 and 1899) that created famines and hardships. The most famous of these eruptions began in the early morning of May 1, 1808. Suffocating gases, as well as carboxylic acid, were emitted from a vent along the Manadas ridge and thick greenish vaporous clouds (of chloric and sulfuric acids) rapidly spread to the plants. Eight major tremors were recorded per hour that caused widespread panic. Many of the homes, buildings and cultivatable lands were destroyed. Between 1580 and 1907, at least six significant eruptions occurred. The last terrestrial volcanic eruption on the island of São Jorge was the eruption of “Vulcão da Urzelina” in 1808. Sao Jorge, since 2024, is believed to be in a pre-eruptive phase. 

This tower is the remains of a church that stood in Urzelina prior to the volcano of 1808. It's considered "miraculous" as the priests placed precious items in the tower and they survived, although obviously the rest of the building fared less well.

Walkway up to the church tower is well-kept with flowers and trees (including figs!)

Nearby is the Igreja Santa Barbara. 

If the locals have this right, someone found this Santa Barbara statue in a box off the coast of the town of Manadas and saw it as a sign to build the church. Santa Barbara is the patron saint of fisherman. Our guide believes the box probably was lost from a fishing boat during high seas. 

Interior of the church of Santa Barbara. Quite elaborate for a small church in the middle of nowhere. 

Mandas is still a fishing village,  recovered over time from the 1808 volcano, and each fisherman colorfully paints his boathouse.

Another historical site we visited was in the forest where there was plenty of running water for people to go and wash their clothing. 

Tiles that show the washerwomen of Sao Jorge bringing their laundry to the forest

These were the "troughs" for laundry. It was misty up there. 

In addition to historically significant places in Sao Jorge, they are known for two culinary delights. (1) Cheese. 

Cheese cooperative factory of Sao Jorge

One thing we can tell you. If by luck you see cheese from the Azores, the land of more cows than people, by all means BUY IT!

Queijo São Jorge is produced exclusively with raw dairy milk, produced on the island of São Jorge. The milk is coagulated into curd. The curd is left to stand until it  has reached the desired consistency,  good quality salt is added, at the ratio of 2.8% by weight. The curd is formed into circular wheels, numbered consecutively and a code assigned to each producer, which allows you to determine the age, manufacturer and other elements required for final quality control of the cheese. The cheese is then dried in chambers to cure at ambient temperature over the following months, then on to acclimatized chambers, where they remain for the 90 days. Special editions of the cheese have been produced with cures of up to 36 months. The cheeses after this process are selected for their quality and respect for the certification requirements, passing through a chamber of tasters, and then warehoused at low temperatures until sold to the market. We sampled three different durations of curing and found the older ones to be more mellow and the 7 month to be especially pungent. 

The second culinary delight was coffee. The easternmost coffee plantation of Europe is on Sao Jorge. (There's almost no coffee production in Europe save Azores and Gran Canaria.)

A ripe coffee bean in Sao Jorge

This is a family business run completely by hand. They use the volcanic stone to crush the coffee fruit and extract the bean on this hard surface.   The coffee drinkers agreed that the coffee was tasty. 

Along the way to the coffee plantation, we noticed quite a few windmills. Mostly these are historical, although renewable energy and recycling is MAJOR on these islands and they do have more modern windfarms as well. 

Windmills up the coast of Sao Jorge. 

All that aside, our main reason for visiting Sao Jorge was hiking and we were treated to a long but enjoyable hike from the volcanic top of the island down to Faja Cubres, a flat area that can only be accessed on foot. 

This route about 10 km length, includes 3000 feet of descent and  begins in the Eolic Park of Serra do Topo, passing by Caldeira de Santo Cristo and finishing at Fajã dos Cubres. 

Happy but probably TIRED hikers after descending 3000 feet on rocks and roots.

A well deserved refreshment to celebrate not falling down too often or hurting oneself. 

Igreja Santo Cristo is a church at the bottom of this hike...no way to get there by car, only by sea or on foot or by (unfortunately) ATV track. 

Waterfall along the way

Fantastic views around every turn in the trail. 

All in all, in lovely hike with great vistas.

Overall, we found this small island charming with great historical and hiking attractions and feel like you could see it pretty well in about three days--which is how long we spent. A car is helpful to see all the best sites, but we hired a private guide to take us around the entire place in a full day which worked just as well as the car trips down the fajas were pretty steep. The hikes were with a group using the British modestly-priced company, Explore Worldwide!

“He pulled a battered red photo album from his truck’s glove compartment and showed me pictures of green Azorean fields divided by hedges of lilac-colored hydrangeas. He showed me waves crashing against black volcanic rock and his ancient stone house next to the sea, the home where he returned every summer. “Over there the air is so clean, so nice. The ocean is right there. The fish are fresh, you catch and eat them, and the potatoes are so good, you won’t believe it. “We make wine. Put on shorts and get in there and smash grapes, and when you drink right away is sweet like juice. Every year when we get back from there, we’re fat,” Morais said. He loved his island house in the Azores so much that at the end of each summer, when he left, he had to have someone else close the door for him. “I’m a guy that came from the old country. I never go to school five minutes in this country, and still I work and I do good. I love my money. God bless this country,” he said. “But when I leave to close my door over there, I cry like a baby. I try so hard not to, but I cry.”
― Diana Marcum, The Tenth Island: Finding Joy, Beauty, and Unexpected Love in the Azores

Paul's Ponderings:  We had a great time on this island.   The most challenging part was a huge hike with nearly 1000 meters of descent to the sea on rocky/root-filled path that was often slick.   No injuries but a few of us took a soft fall!   We continued to enjoy local wines and fresh food, both hiking and near our lodging.   So far, the Azores are quite a treat for food, wine, and walking.   Weather has varied from pleasant to quite warm and humid.   And cheese....oh boy, if you like great cheese, this island is the bomb.   We still have an island or two to go, so looking forward to still more adventures here.