Sao Miguel and the Azores: Misty Fragments of Atlantis

[dhill757]

Humberto and his father couldn't understand why I wanted to go. Rising starkly out of the ocean, Corvo has no beaches, no hotels and no restaurants. All it offers the traveler who braves the boat ride from Flores is luxurious vegetation, quilted fields and a narrow-corridored village where all 363 islanders live on five square miles. At its center is the collapsed rim of the volcano that formed the island. The island is green and misty and primordial.

In the end, Humberto relented. I still don't know what made him change his mind. I like to think it was my persistence. The sea was as rough as it had been, and the sun was still shining. As we approached Corvo, it reminded me of a cupcake whose batter had spilled out a bit on one side. ''You must have a great will to see Corvo,'' Jose said, his hands busy knotting fish line. The boat was tiny, and two-foot waves tossed it to and fro like a pendulum. But I was glad to be going. My ter jeito had finally come in. ISLAND HOPPING, SHOPPING, SLEEPING AND EATING Getting There

TAP Air Portugal, the national airline of Portugal, flies direct from Boston to Terceira once a week, with round-trip APEX fare from $480 in winter to $674 in summer. Suntrips (800-444-7866), a San Francisco charter company, also flies to Terceira weekly, June to September; $799 round trip. Two charter companies that fly directly into Sao Miguel are Azores Express (800-762-9995 or 508-677-0555) from Boston June to September, at $349 to $549 round trip, and Map Tours (201-438-8002) from Boston (also to Terceira) and Providence, R.I., at $399 to $499 round trip. Getting Around

[dhill757]

From Faial, one can design a minicruise of the central islands going by boat from Pico to Sao Jorge to Graciosa to Terceira for about $30.

Another way to get around is to fly from Sao Miguel to Flores, take a boat to Corvo and fly to Faial. Then take a boat trip to Pico and Sao Jorge, fly to Terceira and then back to Sao Miguel. That journey covers seven of the nine islands on one airplane ticket available from SATA airlines that allows free stopovers in Terceira and Faial on round-trip flights between Sao Miguel and Flores (about $130, make reservations if your time is limited). Food

Restaurant prices throughout the islands - whether at a barren tavern or a cozily decorated dining spot - are almost identical. Fish dishes are between $2.25 (at 154 escudos to the dollar) and $4.50, while meats are $3.50 to $5.80. Dining rooms at major hotels have higher prices, usually between $7.50 and $11.50 for a meal that includes soup, a fish course, a meat course, dessert and espresso. Portuguese wines run between $2 and $5.85. SAO MIGUEL. In Ponta Delgada are Nacional (18-20 Rua Acoriano Oriental; telephone 22807), Coliseu (Avenida Roberto Ivens; 27120) and London (21 Rua Ernesto do Canto; 22500). Places for lunch around the island are Cavalo Branco in the village of Santa Barbara (23 Rua do Meio Moio; 98365), west of Capelas, and O Fervedouro (3 Rua do Passal; 72820) in Ribeira Grande FAIAL. Beachside favorites are Cosme (Rua Nova Angustias; 31344) and the more rustic Praia-Mar (23061) on Almoxarife beach. Club Naval (Rua Vasco da Gama; 22331), a popular yachtsmen's restaurant on the harbor, serves up a wholesome rabbit pie. Vista de Baia (9510) in Varadouro, and A Arvore (23934) in the village of Lombega both serve grilled chicken. Accommodations

[dhill757]

Knowing there are fewer than a dozen hotels on the islands, the savvy book early for summer, or else visit in late spring or early fall. Your travel agency will have the most luck if it gets its information through an agency in Fall River or New Bedford, Mass., where there is a large Azorean immigrant community.

SAO MIGUEL. Hotel Sao Pedro (Largo Almirante Dunn; 22223), $47 for a double room, is a restored manor house in Ponta Delgada, with excellent service and a Georgian colonial interior. The comfortably modern Hotel Avenida (Travessa do Sao Joao; 27331), also in Ponta Delgada, charges $44 for a double. Outside the city are Bahia Palace, a luxury hotel on Agua d'Alto beach, which charges $85 for a double, and the cozier Caloura Resort (93240) on the cliffs of the wine-growing village of Agua de Pau, with swimming pool, sauna and panoramic restaurant; $42 for a double. And In Furnas, the Hotel Terra Nostra, which sits in a tropical garden with a large thermal pool (Rua Padre Jose Jacinto Botelho; 54104), charges $51 for a double room.

[dhill757]

FAIAL. In a private garden overlooking the harbor, Hotel Fayal (Rua Consul Dabney; 22181) is a full-scale hotel with swimming pool, tennis courts, restaurant and disco; $38 for a double. Estalagem de Santa Cruz (Rua Vasco da Gama; 23021) is an inn built into a 16th-century fort on the harbor; $37 for a double room. Crafts

Among the many shops selling crafts are Casa Regional da Ilha Verde (25 Largo da Matriz), Ponta Delgada, and King's Acre (telephone 23939) in Lombega, Faial. - B .P.

A road on Pico at the base of 7,615-foot Mount Pico; on a boat from Vila Franco do Campo to Ilheu, an extinct volcano out at sea; Sao Sebastao Church, illuminated; windmill on Faial; hoisting a volcano-heated lunch, Sao Miguel, right (Barbara Paulsen) (pg. 19); chapel overlooking Vila Franca do Campo, Sao Miguel; lava rock interlaces fields of flowers (Barbara Paulsen) (pg. 35)

Correction: June 25, 1989, Sunday, Late Edition - Final A picture caption on April 2 misidentified a church in the Azores. A reader reported in April that it was the Convent and Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Esperanca; confirmation has just become available from the writer, who was out of touch.

[Mario Dantas]

Dear dhill757,

A transformed image of the MAR and the Azores region (the distance from the Azores to the Cape Verde islands equals that of Greenland's longest measurement north/south). just wanted to contribute and discuss (is it open for discussion?).

regards,
Mario Dantas

[dhill757]

Of course it is open for discussion. It would be interesting if we had a satellite image from circa 10,000 bc to see how much of the MAR was above water at that time.  I have yet to find anything totally reliable.