Corvo

The tiny island that stole my heart

When we were planning our Azorean trip, we had to choose which islands visit – with the time we had, it was impossible to visit all the 9 of them.
We felt an attraction for Corvo Island, I don’t know why… maybe because I’ve read that on that island, with only one 400-people village, 1200 cows and an impressive volcano crater, you can breathe the true Azorean atmosphere. In any case, it was a very good decision. I could say that the two days spent on the island were like a big dream in a parallel, wonderful, world.
The only uncomfortable aspect was the sailing trip to get there. It should be a 40-minutes ferry ride, but it became 2 hours and a half nightmare, with waves covering the boat, wind, rain, and stormy sea. My stomach still torches when I think about it. But the captain was a real man of the sea and made us reach Corvo. And once we touched the land, the sun came out… Azorean weather irony.
On the Azores guide, it was suggested to call the restaurant before going there for dinner, since due to the low travelers’ flow, they are not like those “eat all day long” you can find in other touristic places.
So we did. We asked for a suggestion to our host, and she said that in those days no restaurants would be open because there was a local patronal feast, and everyone was having dinner at the food stands prepared from the church. By the way, we stayed in a beautiful B&B, Joe&Vera’s Vintage Place, hosted by a super-nice couple that helped us to fully enjoy our experience on the island.
So for two nights, we had dinner at that feast, trying to communicate in a mixed English-Portuguese-gestures language, and having two of the best dinners of the entire holiday, falling in love with the local Lapas (limpets).

After a good sleep to recover from the sailing, in the morning we were full of energy to go exploring the volcano crater. We had a ride with the mountain bike available in our B&B (from the village is a 6 km – 4 miles long paved path, gaining an altitude of 550 m – 1500 ft). Once there, the view was astonishing, and once we walked down in the crater, we were overwhelmed from the sensation of being so small in front of mother nature’s creations. But better not being too relaxed while in the Azores… when we started our way back, a “summer shower” caught us in the middle of the ride… it was very heavy but very short: in twenty minutes, we got completely wet and then dry again thanks to the warm air of the downhill. We spent the rest of the day exploring the village, eating, and attending one of the most spectacular sunsets of our lives.
Corvo island and its wonderful, friendly, and kind inhabitants will remain in our hearts forever.