Conference Venue  

The conference will be held in the beautiful city of Ponta Delgada in Azores (Portugal), at the VIP Executive Azores****, which is a very convenient hotel, well equipped for conferences in terms of facilities, transportation and proximity to other hotels.

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 S. 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.

 

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