Day 3: Tea time!

The Azores are the only place in Europe where tea can be grown, and today we went to see the only current plantation called Plantações de Chá Gorreana. They have a large number of plants where they grow four types of tea, including Green tea and Orange Pekoe. They are in business since 1883, and are still going strong.

We got to see the men harvesting the tea from the fields, and the process of making the green leaves and tops into what we all recognise as tea. It involves a lot of heavy (originally English!) machinery making lots of loud noises, which didn’t go well with everyone.

On the way there, we visited another viewpoint, this one is called Miradouro de Santa Iria, and it is simply stunning!

The rest of the day has been spent in the excellent gardens at our resort, where they even have a pool and a chicken coop filled with chickens, roosters and geese. The weather has cleared up quite a bit, so we are ready to explore the island further with good forecasts being made for the rest of our stay!