Admiring a Beautiful Black Sand Beach in Portugal's Azores

In May 2018, Ben and I, along with his family, were fortunate to visit São Miguel, a volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Perched on a high cliff overlooking a dramatic black sand beach is the Santa Barbara Eco Resort, where we were staying for the 6 nights of our trip to the Azores. And right at the foot of our hotel was Praia do Areal de Santa Barbara, this incredible strip of sand known as a bodyboarding and surfers paradise.

We were lucky enough to see this beach on a daily basis during our stay, but even perched high above it didn't quite capture the beach in all its glory. Ben and I decided to take a closer peak one day, and came away incredibly impressed by its dramatic beauty. Let me show you why.

As mentioned above, our hotel was located at the top of the cliff above the beach, and getting down required following a short by somewhat steep trail. Because it includes stairs, those with mobility issues may face challenges getting down to the beach.

However, if you are able to navigate the hill and steps, the effort is well worth it.

Once down on the beach, we found the sand to be a very soft black sand, something that is unusual, even on my volcanic island home back in Hawai‘i. But not only is the sand striking, the color and vibrancy of the water was also lovely to look at.

Above, looking east towards Riberia Grande.

The waves were very choppy, and it didn't appear to be a very appealing beach to take a swim in. The only people in the water (with one exception, shared a little further below) were boogie boarders, who would have the requisite experience to navigate these challenging waves.

As always, Ben looking excited to get his picture taken! Behind him, you can see some structures of our hotel and the Santa Barbara Surf School on the cliff.

These two above were definitely professionals of this beach, knowing how to navigate the challenging surf conditions with ease. The man below, however, was not. Let me share with you the story I posted on Instagram about the photo below:

I don't know this man. I was standing on a beautiful stretch of sand in Ribeira Grande, a small town on the north shore of São Miguel in the Azores, taking pictures of the beach in front of our hotel when this gentleman decided to stand right in front of me, looking defiantly at the thundering waves. Initially, I was annoyed that he had to stand in that exact spot when he had an entire beach to canvas. However, the longer I waited, the more I appreciated his fearlessness and admiration for such an awe-inspiring setting. I decided to go back to taking pictures, and not five minutes later, our hero had been tackled by a giant wave. He scampered out of the water, head down in defeat. But for a few moments earlier he had looked like the king of the beach, and I was happy I was able to capture that small, fleeting moment before it was lost forever.

@brookehawaii

Needless to say, he was a great example of why the ocean on that day required lots of caution.

But after walking around for a little while, checking out all the boogie boarding action, seeing our hero above eat it big time in the surf, it was time to head back to our hotel and relax before our dinner in Ponta Delgada later that evening.

Bonus picture of Ben looking excited (again) to have his picture taken in a beautiful location! :)

Though this beach wasn't on my original travel itinerary, it was a pleasant surprise finding it so close to "home." If you get a chance to visit the Azores, I would definitely recommend a trip to this lovely destination.

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Praia do Areal de Santa Barbara

We were lucky to discover Praia do Areal de Santa Barbara simply due to the location of our hotel, Santa Barbara Eco Beach Resort. Living on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, we do have the occasional black sand beach, but very rarely as large and impressive as this one.

For those not staying at the resort (and therefore lacking the easy access to the beach), there is parking further down the street, closer to the town of Riberia Grande, as well as right outside the property itself.

Definitely heed the warnings of the signs - as someone who grew up around the ocean and lives with it in my backyard, I would not have gone into that water on that day. It's the perfect beach to look at and lay out on, but perhaps go swimming or for a dip elsewhere.

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Day of travel: May 7, 2018