Okay, guys, this trip has been a fucking crazy trip, I'm not going to lie to you. We had another destination in mind to generate all the content for the new collection, and five days before the release date, with everything bought and reserved, a new law came out that forced anyone arriving in the country to quarantine, so we had to put together an express trip to another destination and bet everything on one, with the risk of the same thing happening to us again, but we had no other choice, so we chose: AZORES + MADEIRA.
Wonderful islands separated by thousands of miles, it was a perfect fit for us to produce the content for AW20. We all took a PCR test less than 72 hours before the flight, and after testing negative, we set off on the adventure with more enthusiasm than ever!
First things first, let me introduce you to the amazing team of creators, models, and thinkers who went on this adventure.
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From left to right, Nacho, co-founder of Blue Banana and operations intern for the Media team during productions; Axel, who is Axel, there's no possible description for this guy, only that he's crazy as a fucking goat. In the middle, I, Gon, I'd say the only one with a bit of sense, but that's a lie, I'm also crazy... To my right, Santi, an elegant content creator until you put a few beers in front of him, then he's a real joker. If you see him, call him SSSSoosi. Continuing to the right, Juan, the other founder of Blue Banana and a guy with an iron pulse, a magician with the Steady Cam, I'd say. Then there's Anna; you've probably already seen her in one, I mean one, in all of BlueBanana's ads, with an impeccable smile from 5 in the morning until 1 in the morning, this girl knocks us all out. And the best for last, Miss Cova, a constant positive vibe, a rainy and cold day with expectations of radiant sunshine is a gift for this woman, joy 24/7, a pleasure!
Okay, now let's get down to business! First of all, here's the itinerary we followed:
As you can see, it's quite busy and the days are quite long. I recommend adding 3 or 4 more days to take things more relaxed, especially knowing that you never know what the weather will be like in the Azores.
Day 0 and 1: Our FPV flight is down, we visit one of the most beautiful spots of the trip, and Strike 1 tries to see the Corvo caldera.
We started the trip sleepy, but very motivated. It took us two days to arrive, but it was worth it. Our first destination, Flores Island , a paradise for nature lovers.
The first place we visited was Ribeira do Ferreiro, one of the most famous spots to see on the island, and we soon understood why. A spectacular set of waterfalls that rose above a green cliff and flowed into a lake with a perfect reflection. We enjoyed the spot alone for a couple of hours, and then headed to the next, a stunning waterfall by the sea.
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We recorded some footage with the FPV, did a bit of skating, and headed straight to the port. We hadn't even been cruising for 5 hours and it was time to change islands!
We boarded the boat and headed for Corvo Island, a small, remote island with only a village and a crater. We were going there just to see the crater, with a lot of uncertainty about the weather, as we hadn't yet seen the sun during our trip. We had two opportunities, one that afternoon and another very early the next morning. Afterwards, we left the island to head to São Miguel, the most famous island in the Azores archipelago.
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The first attempt was a tragedy. We reached the crater with visibility below 3 meters, with winds of over 50 km/h and heavy rain. With long faces but eager to create, we took advantage of the downhill curves to film on our skates, yeah! Then we returned to the hotel to rest and prepare for a second attempt the following morning. Up to this point, we had taken three planes, a boat, and completed a rather unpleasant PCR test. All to get where we were. If we didn't make it, all the efforts made up to that point would have been for nothing.
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Day 2; The weather gives us half an hour, we see dolphins, and Juan almost loses his cap in the middle of the Atlantic.
At 5 a.m. the alarm went off, we woke up, and headed for the crater. It looked clear, but the closer we got to the summit, the worse it looked. All the damn storms that then reach Spain start in the Azores, so keep that in mind!
We had a half-hour window of sunshine before it started pouring with rain, just enough time to create all the content we needed and head off to our next destination. Done! Yiha!
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We took the boat back to Flores Island in the nick of time, saw a few dolphins, and almost lost a cap in the Atlantic, but all was well. We returned the rental car and headed straight to the airport. It was time to fly back to São Miguel (the main island and where we stopped on our first day).
There we rented a beautiful villa near Ribeira Grande, known for its surfing and good local food. That afternoon we relaxed and backed up the SD cards, which were loaded with precious megabytes!
Day 3: We head to the most famous spot in the entire archipelago and lose ourselves in a lush forest straight out of Hawaii.
The next day, early (for a change), we headed to Sete Cidades, the most famous spot on the island and the one through which most people know the archipelago, and no wonder, you don't see those views every day!
We spent a couple of hours recording, ALONE. One good thing about Covid was that everything we visited was empty of tourists, and it was a real blast, to be honest.
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In the afternoon we visited one of the most famous waterfalls on the island and had a nice swim. The path there looks like something straight out of Hawaii, such amazing greenery!
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Day 4; We lose an FPV drone in the middle of the lake and go down to rescue it.
The next day we saw a beautiful sunrise and continued the day with a hike at the foot of Lagoa do Fogo. Santi flew the FPV drone, and within 30 seconds it was already in the lake, so we had to go down and find it! After a long search, we finally found the drone and were able to recover the SD card with all the videos—a miracle!
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In the afternoon we had a blast skating down the roads leading to Lagoa do Fogo, a real treat if you like downhill!
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We'd just packed our bags and gotten everything ready because the next day was time to leave the Azores—short but intense! The adventure continued in Madeira.
Day 5: We barely made it into Madeira, it rained all afternoon, and we ended the day above the clouds.
We arrived at the airport without the results of the PCR tests we had taken, and the entry was a bit complicated. We spent an hour trying to explain that we hadn't received the results but that we had the tests done. We managed to get through to the São Miguel hospital where we had been tested. After calling the hospital and having the Portuguese people talk to each other, we got through—we were in!
We headed straight for the adventure, straight to Caldeirão Verde, a hike that lasted about 4 hours round trip. We had exactly 4 hours before sunset, which we wanted to see on another mountain above the clouds, so we had to run (as always). We want to do everything, and that comes at a price, even if not everyone likes it sometimes, haha.
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We completed the Caldera excursion in two and a half hours, with the content done. On a shitty, rainy, and dark day, we headed for the mountain to try to see the sunset with no expectations.
We made bets. The most pessimistic said we'd be eating our snot, while Nacho and I hoped it would open up. And so it did. After half an hour of climbing, we were above the fucking clouds. HOLY CRAP!
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We rounded out the content with a historic spot and went to dinner like champions at the local bar.
The last day was left, and we had almost all the content done, so we were quite calm even though we had suffered with the weather throughout the trip, we knew how to take advantage of the fog always with a good face.
Last day: We started the day at 2000 meters and ended up seeing sperm whales.
To top off the trip, of course, we had to get up early. We went to see the sunrise at Pico Arrieiro. What a sight! We could see the sea from the nearly 2,000m elevation gain. A spectacular view.
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We spent that afternoon on a whale-watching tour, where we saw sperm whales, dolphins, and some rare whales. The boat driver was amazed. We saw another fin, and it seemed just like the others, just as it is.
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We ended the trip watching the moon rise over a sea of clouds on Pico Ruivo, and satisfied with the work done, we went to make some beers, which we had easily earned!
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