Flores Island, one of the nine in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, is often described as a smaller version of Ireland or Switzerland. Flores’ volcanic geography and relative isolation in the middle of the Atlantic make it a place of stark contrasts between the sea and sky, and the food that the locals pull out of the ocean (and raise on the land — volcanic soil means great stuff for cows!) is absolutely sublime.The luscious green hills, the eight untouched lagoons, and the hundreds of clear-water creeks cascading into lakes or falling vertiginously into the Atlantic Ocean call for a kind of description that one, often, can’t come up with on the spur of the moment. In the presence of such magnificent, still intact, natural beauty, it’s easier to compare it with something everyone has seen before.With a population of under four thousand and an area of 143.11 square kilometers (55 square miles), Flores Island has been a well-kept secret, an offbeat destination that travelers used to find through word-of-mouth.
A haven for eco-tourism, even before it was popular, and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, mass tourism will unlikely hit the island.
