Fresno State students discover one of Terceira’s most authentic rural treasures
There are places that cannot be understood from behind the window of a tour bus. They ask us to slow our pace, to bend our backs toward the earth, to stain our fingertips with soil and sunlight. Only then do they begin to reveal the quiet wisdom that has sustained island life for centuries. Sabores da Horta, in Cabo da Praia, is one of those places.
This summer, as part of their month-long internship on Terceira Island, students from California State University, Fresno—through the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute—had the privilege of discovering this remarkable pedagogical farm. Their visit became much more than an afternoon excursion. It was an encounter with a way of life that continues to define the Azores: one where agriculture is not merely an occupation, but an expression of memory, community, and belonging.
Nestled in the fertile countryside of Cabo da Praia, only minutes from Praia da Vitória, Sabores da Horta invites visitors to experience something increasingly rare in the modern world: food before packaging, seasons before schedules, and nature before spectacle. Here, strawberries are not selected beneath fluorescent supermarket lights. They are chosen beneath the gentle shelter of greenhouses, still warmed by the island sun, waiting to be picked one by one by the very hands that will later enjoy them.
For many of the Fresno State students, raised in California’s own great agricultural valley, the experience carried an unexpected familiarity. They recognized the rhythm of cultivation, the dignity of those who work the land, and the universal language spoken by farmers everywhere. Yet there was also something profoundly Azorean in this landscape. The Atlantic light, the volcanic soil, the intimate scale of the island, and the closeness between producer and community offered a different understanding of agriculture—one measured not simply by production, but by relationship.
Sabores da Horta is much more than a strawberry farm. It is a living classroom where children encounter animals, families gather beneath open skies, schools introduce younger generations to the origins of their food, and visitors rediscover that vegetables still possess seasons and strawberries still possess fragrance. Playgrounds, educational activities, small farm animals, and spaces for community celebrations make the farm an invitation to families seeking experiences rather than distractions.
The market itself reflects the philosophy of the place. Seasonal fruits and vegetables grown on the island remind visitors that freshness is not a marketing slogan but a daily practice rooted in respect for the land. Every basket tells the story of careful cultivation, patient labor, and the enduring partnership between people and nature that has always characterized Terceira.
For the Fresno State interns, whose academic journey seeks to understand the many dimensions of Azorean history, culture, and identity, the visit revealed an essential truth: one cannot fully understand these islands through museums and monuments alone. The soul of Terceira also lives in its farms, its orchards, its gardens, its greenhouses, and in the people who continue to cultivate both the land and the traditions entrusted to them by previous generations.
Visitors often arrive in Terceira searching for its UNESCO city, its volcanic landscapes, or its celebrated festivals. They should. Yet they should also reserve an afternoon for places like Sabores da Horta. Here, tourism gives way to encounter. The island ceases to be something observed and becomes something experienced.
Perhaps that is the greatest gift this farm offers. It reminds us that every strawberry carries more than sweetness. It carries rain remembered by the soil, sunlight gathered leaf by leaf, patient hands, family histories, and the quiet resilience of an island that has always known how to transform volcanic earth into abundance.
And for those willing to kneel among the strawberry plants, basket in hand, Terceira offers one final lesson: sometimes the shortest distance between a visitor and an island is measured not in miles, but in the simple act of harvesting something together.
Pictures from Liliana Borba, whose family has been the most amazing liaison for this program.
