As we missed out on the S1 Trail Corsa della Bora in Trieste this year my brother and I decided to test the Winter climate on the Azores and signed up for the Columbus Grand Trail which takes you fully around the island of Santa Maria and to its highest peak (Pico Alto, 587m). Despite the onset of the Corona virus panic and plenty of stranded Chinese tourists in Portugal, we got to the starting point in Vila do Porto on Santa Maria without issues on the evening before the race (daily flights go from Lissabon to Ponta Delgada and from there to Santa Maria and other Azores islands).
