STRESS RELIEF Visiting six islands in the Azores FAIAL and PICO Finally the winds were favorable for us to set sail from Flores and head for Faial, and that was an overnight trip. We had following seas and winds all the way to Horta and arrived there after 26 hours on the ocean. Our friend Maria was born and grew up on Faial, and she still has relatives living on the island. We were soon invited to her Uncle's house, where we enjoyed a deliscious meal, and were shown around their farm and gardens. Banana and orange trees in the gardens where laden with fruit, and before we left the island, we had cartons of both, along with fresh potatoes, stowed onboard. It was quite an uphill walk to see where Maria had lived, but once in the village, we had a gorgeous view out over the island and the ocean. More of Maria's relatives lived in the village, and we were offered newly baked meringue cookies, which is my favorite, and we even got a bag to go! Could it get any better than that! A tour of the island revealed many more beautiful views, but once again the caldeira was hidden from us in fog and rain. The volcano at Ponta dos Capelinhos was a sight to see! As soon as you set foot outside the car door, the black sand blew straight into your eyes and found its way into everything else. In 1957 the volcano had erupted and practically buried the lighthouse, that stood nearby. We could only see the top floor and tower. The land had already started to rebuild itself, as some kind of trees and grass had taken root and helped hold the blowing sand down somewhat. An awsome place to say the least! While our boat still laid tied up to the dock in Horta, we opted to take the ferry across to visit the island of Pico. Pico has the highest peak of all the islands, roughly about 7000 feet, but it's almost always covered in clouds. Pico is also the second largest island. The ferry went into Madalena, and there we found a taxi driver who spoke fluent english. He was hired to take us on a six hour tour of the island. Once we got around to the northern side of Pico, the volcano tip revealed itself in all its glory. It was a majestic sight! When the whaling industry was still going strong, every small fishing village on the island had its whaling fleet. We were fortunate enough to visit two museums on the island, and it was very interesting to find out how they caught the whales. A bit sad also, I thought, becuase the whales are such magnificent creatures, and it seemed cruel to kill them the way they did. Our tour continued on and as the island is famous for both its wine and cheese, we stopped to sample and buy both. The ferry took us back to Faial at the end of an interesting day, and we had to think about continuing our trip. Like all the sailing vessels coming to Faial, we had to paint our name on the wall in the harbor at Horta. It is considered bad luck if you don't! Actually the walls were pretty full already, but we found a bare spot and painted "Stress Relief", the date, and all our names, before we said goodbye to Marias' relatives and headed out from Horta. Between Faial and Pico the wind and water were a bit confused, but once we reached the northeastern point of Faial, the winds became more westerly and we enjoyed following seas towards the island of Sao Jorge. |