MULTIFACETADA, AZORES
Can you call yourself lucky when you book your tickets 6 months ahead and still manage to score the biggest swell of the year during your trip? The Azores archipelago sits alone in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and, as you can imagine, its coastline picks up plenty of swell as soon as autumn arrives. We had booked our trip for 7 days in October and, even though we were right in the middle of the good season, we were only there for a week, so the risk of getting no swell was high, especially with the luck we had while filming 'Ulang Tahun' & 'Maybe Tomorrow'.
We took the gamble, and this time luck was on our side.
After a short flight from Lisbon, we land at night on São Miguel, the largest island of the archipelago. A good night of sleep to get ready for the intense week ahead. The swell was already there, so filming started the very next day.
It is our first time in the Azores and, apart from what we had seen on the web about the island, we did not know much. We quickly get in touch with our rider on the spot: Pedro Correia.
Pedro, or Pedrim as everyone calls him, is a hugely talented local bodyboarder and a real bon vivant. We meet him in a café on the first day and he was like a kid: over the moon and delighted to show us around his home. We do not waste much time, we down a quick coffee and head off to the spot of the day.
We discover a long black sand beach with very fun wedges breaking beneath a huge cliff, a setting that immediately reminds us of a very famous bay in Java, Indonesia.
On the first days we were lucky enough to get perfect little wedges of 1.20 m to 1.50 m breaking close to shore. Add relatively warm water, few people out and a good vibe at the peak, and you have every ingredient of the perfect session.
The team paddles out and starts tearing the spot apart until the very last ray of light, pushing the camera ISOs to their limits. The waves held for 3 days, then the swell began to fade, leaving us a little time to rest and enjoy the other attractions of the island.
The 9 islands of the Azores form a volcanic archipelago, discovered and settled by the Portuguese at the beginning of the 15th century. The island where we drop our bags, São Miguel, is the largest of the archipelago. It is famous for its volcanic landscape and for its rich and diverse marine life. Because of its location in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, we learn the hard way that the weather in São Miguel (or at least our iPhone weather app) is not reliable at all. The island literally has four seasons in a day. We could wake up to heavy rain and stormy weather, then have a wide cloudless blue sky all day 30 minutes later, when a rainy day had been forecast.
With its many incredible landscapes, its hikes and its waves for every level, São Miguel is a must for every nature lover. Local airlines run quick, affordable daily flights from Lisbon, Portugal. And if you are still not convinced, the food is as incredible as the scenery and the cost of living is fairly cheap.
After 2 days resting and visiting the island, a huge swell was on the charts. The low was so big and the winds so unfavourable that we did not really know whether we would find anything rideable, but we headed to the spot at first light and it was simply incredible. Wedges of 2 m to 2.5 m with perfect ramps.
Needless to say the team could not wait to jump in and start the carnage. On every wave the riders pulled a different landed manoeuvre, and it went on until the tide turned bad. In just a few hours, the team had literally wrapped up the final section of the film.
It was without a doubt one of the most unexpected and most intense sessions we have witnessed in recent years, and in one of the most beautiful settings we have ever visited.
That swell turned out to be the biggest of the year, and the locals admitted they had not seen the spot work that well for many years.
Thank you Azores, thank you mother nature.
