The Azores region of Portugal was an epic place for some of our Senior and Sixth Form Geographers to explore! 

Thirty students from Years 9 to 12, Mr Barry John, Ms Claire Kyndt, and Mrs Melanie Hughes went on the three-day educational trip during the second week of half term.

The Azores are a volcanic archipelago straddling the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The main aim of the expedition was to view the volcanic features of the largest island, São Miguel, and see how the Portuguese take advantage of the landscape. 

Over three busy days, students and staff visited calderas, hot springs, lava flows, and plantations, seeing how the unique environment provides habitats for native flora and fauna, and how local people have utilized these features.  

Mr John, who is Head of Geography at King's Ely Senior, said: "On the first day of exploration, in the Centro de Monitorização e Investigação das Furnas, we investigated the history of volcanic activity that produced São Miguel, before heading out to see first-hand the fumaroles produced by the volcanoes, and using the hottest of the hot springs to cook eggs for our lunch. We then visited one of the black sandy beaches to climb across one of the more recent lava flows that produced the island before taking a dip in the hot spring-fed pool initially built for a visit by the King and Queen of Portugal.  

"On day two, we visited dramatic waterfalls in the Ribeira dos Caldeirões park, which were once used to drive mills by the local people. Later we visited two plantations, tea and pineapple, which take advantage of the Azorean climate to produce some of the goods that we all sampled. We had the opportunity to get up close with volcanic activity later in the day too when we visited the hot springs for a swim and, in some cases, a basting in the iron-rich mud. 

"On the final day of the tour, we hiked along a dramatic trail around the rim of São Miguel’s most western caldera, before donning helmets and heading into a lava tube to view the strange features produced by the flow of lava as it makes its way to the sea.

"The students were all a credit to themselves and the school throughout the trip, and I was really impressed by their enthusiasm. I would also like to thank Ms Kyndt and Mrs Hughes for all of their support in helping to run the trip."