Read part 3 of our São Miguel hike here.
Hike 8. Salto do Prego
Salto do Prego is a short hike on the southeast coast of São Miguel that leads to a waterfall. There are two trails: a shorter one that goes along the creek, and a slightly longer one that goes up a bench and through the old village of Sanguinho. The two trails make a nice loop.
The trail begins in the village of Faial da Terra. There is not much parking here, but we found a spot along a road.
Initially there are some ruins of a watermill. Soon after the trail enters a lush canyon.
The stream is very pretty here, flowing across huge granite boulders.
The trail crosses the creek and then climbs up to the waterfall.
We scrambled down to the base of the fall and set up the camera for some pictures.
The waterfall drops into a shady bowl.
On return we took the trail to the village of Sanguinho.
It’s a quiet little village.
A steep knee-crunching hill took us back to our car.
Ribeira Grande
I’d like to finish my description of São Miguel with a quick tour of Ribeira Grande. Ribeira Grande is a pretty seaside town on the north shore of São Miguel. In the center of town are some good examples of typical Azorean architecture: buildings made of black basalt, whitewashed only in part to give a black-and-white effect. This is city hall.
In front of it is a square that leads to the church.
The church itself is white and grey, while the belltower is mostly black.
Around the bend is another pretty church.
Our host Cristina recommended a restaurant to us called Alabote. It has a patio overlooking the sea.
We ordered grilled squid (foreground) and baked bacalau (salt cod, in the stone dish). It was very good.
We returned here another time and the food and service was so-so. But on this sunny day we ate like champs.