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Being excellent navegators and having a deep desire to expland its territories, The Azores Islands were established by the Portuguese in 1317. This is a clump of nine islands in the rough Atlantic Ocean about 1,400 kilometers west of Lisbon, Portugal. As a curious visitor, I constantly make it a practice of discovering out how a city, town or in this case an island got its name. The name http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/?action=click&contentCollection®ion=TopBar&WT.nav=searchWidget&module=SearchSubmit&pgtype=Homepage#/travel europe Azores originates from the name of a bird comparable to a goshawk which is what the very first settlers believed they saw, but it turned out that what they were seeing in abundance was just a kind of eagle.

The nine islands that comprise the Azores are called Santa Maria, Sao Miguel, Terceira, Graciosa, Pico, Faial, Sao Jorge, Corvo and Flores. As far as we know, they are all from a volcanic eruptions and still appear to be active as far as registering seismic motions. Culture, custom and faith have actually constantly been closely connected and therefore there is a tight tie between the joyful celebrations held all over the islands in the little chapels from the 26th of August up until the 31st. This celebration is to honour the Holy Spirit which the islanders feel will secure them from any natural disaster, particularly the ones connected to its volcanoes.

Under the command of Henry the Navegator, these islands ended up being a very crucial stop over for ships sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1420, Henry sent inhabitants to the island of Madeira with plants that he thought would grow well in the volcanic ground and in the moderate year round climate common there; the grapevine and sugar walking stick being the best item up till now, both greatly utilized in the Portuguese cuisine and well as other spices like the black pepper and cinnamon.

Azores Islands and Its Third-Terceira

As its name well reveals, Terceira was the third island discovered by the Portuguese around 1450 having had as its initial name that of Island of Jesus Christ. As we all understand, improvements were made and they decided to utilize the town of Angra do Heroismo as the new capital, probably since it was well secured by the bay (angro) and the Brasil Mountain standing strong versus the ocean. All over the islands there are lagoons which look like huge cauldrons which provide a breathtaking view of its natural environments.

Easy Come and Easy Go to Azores Islands

On all the islands, tourist is really well cared for and the hotels are tops. And in the place of Lajes on the Terceira island and http://www.pinnaclespcllc.com/activity/p/1086211/ in Ponta Delgada in Sao Miguel island, there are airports which have daily flights in between them and to Lisbon on mainland Portugal.