the azores

So this is my first time in Europe and I loved it the azores was a blast ! We climbed volcanoes, ate with Portuguese people, swam in the sea and learned about the whaling industry. the beach was beautiful we swam into the waves and walked on sand shelves underwater. midway through the day the guys all decided to climb this volcanic hill that was formed in some eruption years ago. it was quite difficult and really fun we did it barefoot because we were on the beach and though "eh how bad could it be" turns out not as good as we thought but the view was sooo worth the struggle. because the rock was volcanic it was extremely unstable so rocks the size of both your fists broke off in your hands when you put weight on them. grabbing onto grass worked the best in my opinion. half the grass was this strange spike plants and the thorns were really sharp but if you grabbed the base of the plant the thorns didnt poke you. we were all pre tired once we got to the summit  but enjoyed the view fully and took pictures. decent was easier but slightly more painful. the best approach was to crab walk / side down the loose sandy volcanic stone side of the mountain then negotiate the rocky parts. After I got down i ran straight into the sea to cool off because we were on the side of the brown/black earth. super hot but the cool azorean sea was so nice. Ive really enjoyed my time in Horta and defiantly want to come back in the future !