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Show ike Azore3 V ! g '-'.. ; ! i -v, x- j , V v V' t - " ' 't-Srt Jvfi lrHiH T f? rj iW-' "c? -,x J . vw,- ..-x ; 1 ic"""J v s . z. T:i or-j?. . - j" - , : , -vA i , ' " - - v. . " f 'T-Jfj I !, ; -vv . w - , " , Photo b-. )v, I V---.? "w . Western Newspnper Union ft Ponta Delgada, With NC-4 in Harbor. elers who come over the sea in search of the health they always find, either climbing the volcanic slopes or bathing in the warm baths of Furnas. As for scenery, where will one find pine and elm trees growing in the same neighborhood with oranges, bananas, ba-nanas, citrons and pomegranates? Long kuo.vn only as the little islands where there are no snakes, the Azores are believed to have a destiny as replete re-plete with adventure as they are full of volcanic crevices and craters, all extinct, ex-tinct, but alive with possibilities. AIRMEN are preparing to make the Azores islands the aerial junction of the future. They predict that this garden spot nf the Atlantic, with its mild climate and other health giving qualities, will become the stopover for all overseas travel by airplane and dirigible. They point' out that the exploit of the United States navy in effecting a crossing has virtually put the islands on the map, as far as the general public is concerned; con-cerned; that for many years problems of construction will limit the overseas over-seas route to the Azores, where fuel and other supplies may be replenished, replenish-ed, says the New York Tribune. Rising to a height of more than 7,000 feet as in the case of Pico and at the lowest 350 feet above sea level, as the island of Corvo, the islands is-lands form an oasis in a desert of water wa-ter and mist and heavy banks of clouds -clouds that rise off the water in the morning and blot out everything from view, narrowing the horizon to a few feet for the anxious aerial pilot and his tiavigator. Already navigators are at work on instruments to eliminate these difficulties. diffi-culties. They count on the Azores with all of its mists and clouds to furnish them with correct weather reports, radio stations and rescue ships in case of accident to the planes. Pleasant Place for Stopover. And a stopover at the Azores will not be in the nature of a hardship to overseas passengers. What would a tourist find, for example, if his plane dropped him at Ponta Delgada, the capital of St. Michael's? On approaching ap-proaching the islands he would find a great cloud of dense, gray mist resting on the horizon. Nearer it becomes a reddish brown dotted with moldy green. Veering to the southeast toward Ponta Delgada he would see the city first as a formal white line, or, If the gaze could pierce the cloud, it would be a broken line extending back from the sea wall with a series of wh:,:e splotches, small conical hills of bright green and stiff white houses edged with black trimmings. The white lines would become walls the next instant,, disclosing orange gardens, and the passenger would drop Into e. little harbor cluttered clut-tered with tramp sailing ships of a half-dozen nations. The harbor Is a busy one, far superior in commercial aspect to the town Itself, which has been maintained in all Its primitive state by the early Portuguese settlers. The admixture of Moorish and Flemish Flem-ish has not served to quicken the pace of the community, nor that of any other In the island groups, for that matter. The clouds are most dense in the morning. Toward noon the humidity is a source of discomfort If one is in the city, but not so on the mountain slopes, The thermometer has never been known to go below 48 degrees in Jan uary, the mid-winter month, and it never has risen above 80. The average aver-age is 72 degrees the year round. ; Weather Is Always Mild. Some of the finest homes in the world have been built there by wealthy and often titled continentals, principally princi-pally Portuguese. In the farming districts dis-tricts (and theie are large farms among the vario-is islands) many of the natives wei.r costumes entirely red short jackots, vests and kn?e breeches, with gaiters buttoned over the feet, which are often bare. When anything at all is worn on the soles it usually consists of leather sandals. san-dals. These people tire of retiring dis- position, rarely visiting the communi-i communi-i ties for fear that some one will laugh at them .and their dress. Tn the towns, however, German, English, Portuguese and American commercial i visitors have introduced modern modes of dress and influenced social and business busi-ness life. I The natives do not overwork, unless in caring for the many trav- |
