A visit to Belém, Portugal

I've been to Lisbon a few times now, as it's typically the port that I fly from to get to the Azores. To keep it interest, each time I'm there I try to visit some different places, rather than just the centre. This time I spent some time exploring Belem, located to the west of the city centre. It's a beautiful area that is well worth a day trip. It's not easy to capture the essence of Belem in photographs.

 

Jeronimos monastery

Jeronimos monastery

Back in Lisbon centre

I just love the buildings covered in beautiful detailed tile work

The unique beauty of the Azores

The Azores is a truly unique and diverse place to live. Every day I lived there was very different, as the clouds moved quickly and the light changed. The more you explore the islands the more surprises there are, almost everywhere you took the time to look. 

Madeiran wall lizard (Teira dugesii)

Calla lily at Santa Iria lookout

Rocha da Relva - a place of no roads or connection to the power grid. Donkeys are still used to transport goods up and down the steep coastal track

The sunset in the west

Over the years while I was in the Azores I got to see some nice sunsets, both by boat and from land. The west of the island was definitely the best, particularly from the coastline of Mosteiros, looking out towards the setting sun with the islets of Mosteiros in the foreground.

The year of the orca in the Azores

In January 2013, a male orca arrived to São Miguel and he was later followed by a pod of several females and young that visited the island sporadically until the end of May. It turned out to be the best year on record to see orcas in the Azores, so we felt very lucky that they had chosen our island for whatever reason. I still find it fascinating that almost nothing is known about the orcas seen in the Azores. They have not yet been assigned to an existing orca ecotype, and we don't even know where they come from or go when they are not in close proximity to the Azores islands. When I have seen them here, I observed them feeding on loggerhead turtles (one orca even breached with a turtle in his mouth and released it mid-air so that the poor turtle went flying before being devoured). I have also seen them chasing dolphins and our famous male that first arrived in January was toying with a stingray. Hence this male orca is still known today as "Mr Ray".  

The male orca we call Mr Ray

Orca in the last light of the day

Azores - some first impressions

In 2010 I moved to the Azores for the marine life. But during my first few days on São Miguel Island the ocean was too rough to go out, so I did some exploring on land instead. To my surprise there are a lot of beautiful sights to take in and these are just a few photos from this very green island. 

Furnas church

Furnas church

Overview of Vila Franca do Campo and Vila Franca islet

Morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea) flower

Indian shot (Canna indica)

A day in Lisbon

In 2010 I made the big move from New Zealand to the Azores, Portugal. But first I scheduled a short stop in Lisbon, to have a look at some of the sights of the capital. Lisbon is a beautiful city to explore on foot and photograph with its historic buildings, numerous "praças" with their pretty water fountains, steep streets and of course its iconic trams that weave through the centre.

Lisbon seen from Castelo de São Jorge

Praça do Comércio

One of the iconic Lisbon trams