Azores Islands
Located less than 5 hours off of the U.S.’ east coast lie the Portuguese Azores Islands. I was headed to the Hawaii of Europe out of intrigue and also because it was the site of the Travelers Century Club meeting.
This club maintains a list of 330 countries and territories that one can visit. I’m a fan of this list as it honors the difference between the “mainland” of a given country and the outer portions it may have. For instance, French Polynesia is split from mainland France, and Alaska is split from the United States.
I first joined as a provisional member of the club in 2021 (a status you can obtain after having visited 75 TCC regions), and then as a full member in 2023 during the Most Traveled People (MTP) Conference in Equatorial Guinea.
Due to the close proximity to the U.S. east coast and the substantial population of Azorean people in New England, there are regular flights from Boston and New York to Ponta Delgada, the capital of the Azores. Before taking off I met Diane who I previously met at the MTP conference in the lounge and a few other people heading to the conference at the gate. The flight was convenient, though there were an excessively high number of announcements (unideal on a short red eye).
On arrival, there was a short queue, and since I had pre-arranged a car to the hotel, I was through in no time.
The conference was held at the Grand Azores Hotel, which is located right in the heart of the city and across from the water. Out of convenience, I stayed at this hotel, though in retrospect I could have stayed somewhere less expensive nearby.
That being said, the hotel is well appointed and boasts a nice indoor pool.
Shortly after landing I went with my friend Sherri from the TCC New York chapter for some coffee and bread. It was a great time to meet other conference attendees who were passing by as we sat outside.
Then, after enjoying a lovely walk around the town, Sherri invited me to join her and her friend Amanda for Amanda’s birthday lunch. We enjoyed some of the excellent beef, cheese, and fruit of the sea that the Azores has to offer.
Day 2:
The following day I took the opportunity to walk through more of the city on my own, taking few photos as I enjoyed the atmosphere.
After registration I met Christine and Noel, two of the most traveled members of the New England Chapter (of which I am a member). They graciously invited me to visit the hotel at which they were staying
That evening, the conference programming began with an excellent presentation on the history of the Travelers Century Club and what qualifies a location to be included on the group’s list.
Day 3:
The following day, the group set out on a bus trip to explore the island.
We first stopped at a look out site. Afterwards, we stopped down at a beach.
And thereafter got out at a location with many hot springs. Due to the mineral content of the water we were told any clothes we wore to bathe would likely never be the same. I enjoyed the garden area here and thus decided not to immerse myself in the water.
Afterwards, as the rain picked up, we stopped at an excellent tea factory. Here we were able to see the machinery that takes the fresh tea leaves to a packaged product. We were able to sample, and I thoroughly enjoyed the green tea.
The highlight of the day, however, was without a doubt the lovely conversations I enjoyed with my fellow travelers. We had fun talking while in the gardens and at the bar that evening.
Day 4:
The following morning we listened to multiple presentations (of varying degrees of interest for me) before going on a walking tour. Since I had already walked much of the city over the past few days, a few friends and I decided to abbreviate the 4 hour walking tour that was originally planned. After about two hours of enjoying various churches and old buildings we paired off and went to a cafe to meet up with some other conference goers. While I enjoy some of the formal programming of these travel conferences, I really go to connect with people who have grown into some of my closest friends.
That evening we had an exquisite local dinner in a restaurant. The highlight was the traditional Azorean dancing group which gave a performance. At the end, we were encouraged to join. Cathy from New York asked me to dance with her, and I had to oblige. While I don’t think I’ll qualify for full membership of this dance troupe, it was fun to partake.
Day 5:
The following morning the programming continued with excellent presentations on travel credit cards and my favorite: how to get to some particularly difficult destinations. I especially enjoyed João Paulo’s presentation on Aksai Chin, a contested region between India and China. Because Aksai Chin is not on the Travelers Century Club list (and it’s quite obscure), many of the conference goers were not familiar with it. This made for a very engaging presentation with the discussion of the location’s history and the difficult process one must go through to get there.
That evening, we had a farewell dinner in the hotel’s main restaurant. Afterwards, travelers who reached a milestone (100, 150, 200, 250, 300) number of TCC locations were awarded their certificates. Who knows? Perhaps by the next meeting in 2026 I will have reached the 150 milestone.
To round it off, we were presented with the semi-finalists for the 2026 TCC meeting (based on proposals given by conference goers earlier in the conference). Hilariously, I have been to all but two— Santiago, Chile and Brisbane, Australia. Personally, I’d be happy with either one of those as it enables some great side trips to nearby islands.
What a pleasure it was to attend the TCC conference, both for the setting and the excellent company. I look forward to 2026, wherever the meeting ends up being.