Sete Cidades parish, on the island of São Miguel, has an incomparable beauty resulting from its magnificent valley and beautiful lagoon. Although this lagoon is the largest reservoir of freshwater in the Azores, it is also a place that presents several legends around its origin. In this article, we will present one of the best known in popular jargon and that will leave you with the lighted curiosity.
The legend tells us that in the place of the parish of Sete Cidades, many years ago, there was a kingdom where a slender blue-eyed princess lived. This princess, unlike many others, loved the country life. Some of her favourite activities were walking through the green fields of São Miguel, where she had the possibility to feel the true essence of nature. She spent her days smelling the flowers, dipping her feet in the streams and admiring the landscapes that the valleys that surrounded her kingdom provided.
In one of the days when the princess occupied her time doing what was mentioned above, she came across a flock. Taking care of this flock, there was a green-eyed shepherd, who the princess decided to address.
From this long conversation, the two talked about many subjects, among them flowers, animals and the simplest things that nature offers, such as the beauty that surrounded the place they lived.
As time went by, the princess and the shepherd continued to have these meetings that ended up culminating in a great passion between them.
Shortly after, it came to the ears of the king, father of the princess, that his daughter was meeting with this shepherd, something that did not please the whole kingdom. The king intended, like any other, that his daughter would marry a prince so that she would have a fortunate life. Thus, the king forbade his daughter to see the shepherd again, a decision which broke the princess’s heart.
In spite of her pain, she accepted her father’s decision, on only one condition – to see the shepherd one last time. Moved, the king accepted his daughter’s condition. The princess and the shepherd met again, for the last time, in the same green fields where they had met for the first time. The conversation was long and both took the opportunity to talk about their feelings, but also about their separation. The pain of separation was something that shook the shepherd and the princess in an intense way.
Legend has it that both cried so much that, the blue-eyed princess formed a blue pond and, the green-eyed shepherd, formed a green pond.
Today the two lagoons are united, just like the outcome that the princess and the shepherd wished for their future.