exp.at’15 conference will take place on the campus of Ponta Delgada of the University of the Azores, São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal.

The university campus is located at a convenient distance from hotels, restaurants and diverse cultural sites. Being close to the center of Ponta Delgada, University of the Azores is within walking distance of any location in town and only about 10 minutes by taxi from the airport.

The best way to get to the Azores is by plane. There are daily flights leaving from Lisbon and Porto to the Azores and also from other European cities (for example: Munich, Frankfurt, Paris, London and Amsterdam). It is also possible to fly directly from Canada (for example: Toronto) and USA (for example: Boston) to the Azores. Within Azores archipelago, it is possible to travel by boat or by plane.

Situated in the middle of the Atlantic, off the coast of Europe, the nine islands of the Azores is home to a variety of landscapes and spectacular volcanic scenery. Discovered by the Portuguese in 1427, these islands became one of the axes of navigation between Europe, Asia, and America during the 16th and 17th centuries. Christopher Columbus, returning from his momentous 1492 voyage to the New World, first stopped in the island of Santa Maria before reaching mainland Europe in Lisbon. The name Azores was given by Gonçalo Velho Cabral who, with Diogo Silves, landed in Santa Maria in 1427. They mistook the many buzzards there for hawks, which are called “açores” in Portuguese.

São Miguel is the largest of the nine islands, known for an enchanting natural wonder, the “Sete Cidades” twin lakes. In the sunlight, one lake is blue and the other is green, best seen from a vantage point called “Vista do Rei” south of the crater. Another curiosity in the island is the food prepared in hot volcanic rock. A favorite dish is “Cozido das Furnas”, in which meat and vegetables are stewed in pits in the heat of the volcanic earth. “Furnas” itself is a popular whitewashed town with hot springs used in the treatment of respiratory ailments and rheumatism. Nearby is the beautiful “Parque Terra Nostra”, a garden with a remarkable collection of trees and plants, as well as an odd swimming pool with warm yellow water.

Ponta Delgada, in São Miguel, is the capital of the entire archipelago of Azores and the tourist heart of the island. Its arcades and 18th century city gates, fine baroque churches, and volcanic cones rising on distant hills are its main sights. To the north of the city gates stands the Church of São Sebastião, founded in 1533 with a fine Manueline portal intricately carved in limestone. The sacristy is decorated with tile panels and 17th century furniture.

In the center of the island is a majestically beautiful spot, “Lagoa do Fogo”, a crater lake formed by a volcanic eruption in the 16th century. An activity that takes place in São Miguel that doesn’t happen anywhere else in Europe is tea production, and you may visit the Gorreana Tea Factory and Plantation.