The oldest island, where golden shores meet warm, sheltered water.
In history
The oldest island in the Azores and the first the Portuguese settled, in the 1430s. Its pale soil, red clay and sandy bays make it unlike the others.
In 1493 Christopher Columbus stopped here on his way home from the Americas; some of his crew went to pray at the chapel of Anjos, where his statue stands today.
In the game
- Harbour
- Vila do Porto
- Local catch
- Amberjack
- Speciality to deliver
- Red clay pottery
- Stone
- Cut here and sold at the exchange, for captains’ own harbours.
- Harbour paint
- Pass the quiz at its exchange and the island’s colours paint the walls and trims of your own harbour.
- Gonçalo Velho lighthouse
- On Ponta do Castelo at Santa Maria’s south-east corner, named after the navigator who reached the islands around 1432.
- Pico Alto loop
- From Vila do Porto up to the slopes of Pico Alto, Santa Maria’s highest hill, and back across the sunny plateau.
Landmarks to find ashore
- Barreiro da Faneca · Santa Maria’s red desert: bare red clay on the north-west plateau, baked by the sun and cut by the rain.
Festas
- Festas do Espírito Santo · On every island from the Sunday after Easter to Pentecost and Trinity Sunday; Terceira’s impérios carry on through the summer.
- Maré de Agosto · Praia Formosa, Santa Maria, over a few nights in the second half of August, every summer since 1984.
Open the game with a course set for Vila do Porto.
Sail to Santa MariaThe other islands: São Miguel · Terceira · Graciosa · São Jorge · Pico · Faial · Flores · Corvo