My name is Mateusz and I would like to share with you my experience from the first month of participating in the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Program. My host lives in the westermost area of Europe – the Azore Islands, which I specifically selected because of the weather conditions there, that allow to operate a business in adventure tourism for the whole year around. After being here for over a month and talking with many locals, I can say that this is truly the ‘land of eternal spring’. The islands are incredibly green and it is common to have a lot of sun and rain on the same day. The temperature remains the same during both day and night (around 20 degrees Celsius). The nature is truly incredible – a mix of agriculture areas with rainforests, old volcano craters with lakes and hot springs, black sand beachs and ocean cliffs. What really surprised me though is the huge amount of cows (more than habitants), that occupy around 70% of the island. You can meet them even in the city 😊
My host Paulo turned out to be a friendly and open-minded person, who at the same time is very professional at what he is doing – canyoning tours. Working with him during the first few weeks was a truly interesting experience where I could learn many useful skills – from preparing the right equipment and guiding the tours to interacting with the customers from different nationalities and making sure they are satisfied with the experience. Before coming here, I was a bit worried that I might feel lonely, as the Azores are quite far and sparsely populated. Luckily, I’ve had already the chance to meet many international people who stay here for a longer period – expats, digital nomads and exchange students. Saying that, I can definitely recommend this destination for future New Entrepreneurs and I look forward with excitement for the upcoming months!
