Monte Horizonte

As Knight and Day, with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz opens around the world, audiences will see Cruise’s character being chased by a team of his former CIA colleagues from Boston to what is mentioned to be the Azores (where he maintains a private island). Sounds fun, well maybe not.. But anyone can find their own private island in the Azores… Here is how:

FLORES
Depending on how you look at it, Europe either begins or ends at the island of Flores, the western-most Azorean island. Along with nearby Corvo, the two islands form the western group of islands of the archipelago. Flores was discovered between 1450 and 1452, but it remained isolated for centuries, really until the airport was constructed there in the 1960s. Only then did Flores develop a stronger connection to the outside world.

Today, the island¹s economy is still based largely on fishing, agriculture and, now, a blossoming tourism industry. Flores is a welcome escape from the modern world. Its slow pace is hard to find anywhere else.

The island is a mix of deep green forests, pastures, and fields. As the name suggests, Flores is always in bloom with wild flowers, including blue hydrangeas and wild cubres (a yellow bloom) grown on seaside cliffs.

The landscape is rugged, with crater lakes and dramatic coastal cliffs and waterfalls–more than any other island in the Atlantic.  The rocky coast of Flores is dotted with still more tiny islands, some home to grazing sheep.

CORVO
Flores¹ sister island, Corvo, is even more isolated and sparsely populated.
It was the last of the Azores islands to be settled, sighted around 1450 and settled, finally, by 1548. The island¹s isolation once led to an interesting trade relationship with pirates‹they were given supplies by the island¹s residents and, in exchange, the pirates protected the residents.

Today, Corvo is home to just a few hundred people ­ all residing in the seaside village of Vila Nova do Campo. Besides this village, the island seems to swirl around a huge crater, 500 feet deep. There are no other towns. Corvo is mostly open hinterland, making it an excellent place for undisturbed hikes and communing with sky and sea. Many visitors also come to Corvo for its excellent scuba diving and fishing.

GRACIOSA
The small and hilly island of Graciosa was discovered in 1450. Soon, the island¹s green fields were drawing people from throughout Portugal and Flanders. And, it got its fist hotel EVER last year.

While Graciosa has not seen volcanic activity in some 500 years, the island has active geysers. Often called ³the white island,² Graciosa has low hills at is center, circling around a series of extinct volcano craters.

Azoreans know Graciosa for its fine wines and brandy produced from Isabela grapes. The island¹s Flemish-inspired windmills are also well known.
Cheesecakes, embroidery and linens are other examples of Graciosa¹s specialties.