Ruth:  It was raining cats and dogs yesterday, so while I tended to the cats in our cozy bungalow, my slightly crazy but wonderful husband  hiked up and over the island to pick up a rental car at the airport 13 kms away. This was a great concession to me. His plan was to have us cycle across the island twice, once for our COVID testing, and again the following day to the airport where we would pack the bikes before our departure. With a car I’m no longer worried about the climb and the packing logistics and can focus on a few more adventures before we fly home on Thursday. 
When the car arrived with a smiling but soggy Gord the rain slowed and, like it so often does here, the season started to change. After his challenging walk Gord suggested we head to the hot springs – a much easier goal with a car. The hot springs were closed because of the heavy rain, but nearby was one of our favourite hikes from our last visit. 
The hiking on São Miguel is exceptional, and completely varied. Yesterday we hiked a loop trail that included a Jurassic park forest with a gushing waterfall, a raised walkway following a pipe feeding a hydroelectric generation station, a canyon and a 19th century hot spring facility still in operation. 
Today’s hike took us up and down coastal cliffs with fabulous views of the crashing storm surf below.