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The nine islands of the Azores are all volcanic in their origin. The archipelago is divided up into three geographical groups; The Eastern, Central and Western Group.
All the islands share an extraordinary natural legacy and they also have their own unique landscape, traditions, cuisines and architecture.
The Azores are considered to be a sanctuary of biodiversity and geodiversity and are one of the best destinations for Nature Tourism. There are many protected areas that are home to unique flora and fauna, beautiful forest reserves and sites of special geological interest.
Throughout your Explore The Azores trip, you will be fully catered for with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between.
Azorean cuisine is a rich, hearty and peasant-based style of cooking. Here's a typical daily menu.
Breakfast:
Lunch:
Dinner:
Here are a few of the most popular dishes:
Cozida - A unique stew from the island of Såo Miguel. This is a sort of one-pot meal that is actually cooked by digging a hole in the ground near the famous caldeiras (hot geysers) of Furnas.
Alcatra - A popular Azorean dish that hails from the island of Terçeira. This pot roast-style dish can be made from pork, beef, or another meat and is slow-baked with tomatoes, onions, garlic and cloves.
Ananas - Pineapples are grown throughout the islands - they feature on most desert menus!
Massa Sovada - Portuguese sweet bread, massa sovada, originated in the Azores and is a common part of Christmas and Easter.
Dairy - The Azores are famous for their rich dairy products. Cows tend to be used for milk rather than as meat (pork is the main meat used in cooking). At breakfast, you are likely to be served a small glass jar filled with local yogurt, bread and rich butter, and coffee with lots of steamed whole milk.
Check out the Visit Azores website for more information.
The official language in Azores is Portuguese. On most of the nine islands, the variety of Portuguese spoken is similar to an archaic form of European Portuguese due to when it was discovered.
Here are a few useful words and phrases to get you started.
English | Portuguese | Pronunciation |
---|---|---|
Hello | Olá | oh-la |
Good morning | Bom dia | bom-dee-ah |
Please | Por favor | por fav-or |
Yes | Sim | sim |
No | Não | naoum |
Thank you | Obrigado (m.) / obrigada (f.) | ob-ree-gah-doh/dah |
You're welcome | De nada | de na-dah |
Excuse me | Com licença | kom lee-sen-sah |
How are you? | Como está? | ko-mo es-tah? |
Do you speak English? | Fala inglês? | fa-la in-gles |
If you're keen to learn more about Malaysia before you go, there's plenty of information to be found online, in travel magazines and in guide books. Here are a few recommendations;