We took the ferry across to Pico, rented a car and had a fabulous 2 day tour of the island.
On the first day we travelled up the North coast. We stayed at a wonderful resort in the SE corner of the island and continued along the south coast back to the port.
Howard [Just Imagine] 27-Jan-2008
Whaling Museum (Point of Interest)
Ferry To Pico (Transport)
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Howard [Just Imagine] 26-Dec-2007
Magdalena
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Howard [Just Imagine] 26-Dec-2007
Aldeia da Fonte (Hotel)
Wonderful resort hotel where we spent the night. Go to
www.aldeiadafonte.com for more information.
Don't be alarmed by the strange screeching noises that you hear after dark. These are shearwaters in their breeding colonies.
Howard and Jayne [Just Imagine] 13-May-2005
Madonna in the rocks (Point of Interest)
The natural tunnel through this island is said to reseamble a statue of the Madonna.
Howard and Jayne [Just Imagine] 26-Dec-2007
A quest for wine tasting (Winery)
A quest for wine tasting
We kept seeing these grape signs and were determined to find some wine tasting on our way back.
The route took us along extremely narrow roads between high farm walls. We never did find a winery, but the roads were so narrow that we could not turn back. It was a wonderful experience anyway, and we eventually ended up back near the port.
Howard [Just Imagine] 27-Jan-2008
Climbing Pico Volcano (Hike)
A most magnificent climb to a height of 2351m up a 5 Km path. Today you are required to have a local guide with you. We met some young, athletic looking climbers in 2005 that said it took them 2 hours to climb to the top and back to the taxi.
I climbed Pico with a friend, back in 1981, before you were required to have a guide accompany you. It was quite an adventure, since we did not know where we were going, except up.
A regular taxi dropped us at the highest mountain road and there was no sign of any path, so we simply started up the slope.
The rock turned to loose ash and lots and lots of strenuous scrambling.
The summit eluded us as evening drew close. Each time we thought we saw the summit, a new ridge would appear behind the last.
When it got dark, we decided that we had better make camp for the night and ended up sleeping, in sleeping bags, on a small ridge at a 45 degree angle.
We had hoped to sleep in the shelter of the crater, but on the mountain slopes it was bitterly cold, even in June, due to the altitude and the wind.
The view was fabulous, and with clear skies we were very conscious of the curvature of the earth on the horizon all around us.
The sunrise was breathtaking. Ironically, the next morning we found that we were only 10 minutes from the real summit.
Inside the caldera there is another small volcanic cone about 70m high, but we felt that we had done enough climbing.
We descended via the proper path, which was much easier.
Of course we had not arranged any transport once we got to the road, so we set off on an amazing journey through rocky ravines, forests and farmlands, narrowly escaping charging bulls. It was a real fantasy trip back down to civilization and the road.
We hitch hiked a ride back to the port on a truck, but the driver insisted that we first come to his farm and sample his wines. Wonderfully hospitable people, and they expected nothing in return.
When we finally got to Magdalena, the last ferry had left, so we hitched a ride on a fishing boat, which is apparently very illegal for them to do.
They fed us a fine meal of fish and potatoes on the trip across the channel, and then sneaked us off at the fuel dock when we arrived back in Horta.
What an adventure.
Howard and Jayne [Just Imagine] 10-Jun-1981