Exploring the Azores

Chris Carter looks for whales off São Miguel and tries a spot of volcanic cooking

Exterior view of Octant Furnas
(Image credit: Octant Hotels)

“Over there!,” came the cry from our guide, Gina, a marine biologist. Our eyes had become accustomed to the hypnotic undulations of the waves and the slow, steady rocking of the Zodiac we were on. Up until this point, we had seen plenty of Portuguese men-of-war – hundreds of them – their purplish gelatinous crested tops peaking above the water and their long stinging tentacles snaking out, hidden below the surface. I wondered at the efficacy of the life vest I was wearing were we to have to bail out. A man-of-war’s sting can be deadly if you are unlucky. 

At the raising of the cry, the Zodiac thrummed to life and we skipped across the water towards the sighted whale. Only it wasn’t a whale – it was a large tree branch bobbing up and down. Would we get to see anything? A few years ago, I went on a whale-watching tour at Kaikoura in New Zealand, famed for being one of the best spots in the world for watching sperm whales. And I didn’t see so much as a flipper. 

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.