As we have stated before, Pico is full of things to do. But, to keep things a bit more interesting for ourselves, we accessed most sites that we visited by bike. We rented the bikes from the Madalena tourist office so often that the people began to know us by name.
We awoke one particularly misty morning and didn’t let the weather thwart us. We headed out to explore some of Pico’s back roads by bike. Once off the main roads, we hardly saw any traffic at all.
The Azores are a great place to see whales and dolphins. Once hunted, the commercial killing of whales in the Azores ended in 1984. Commercial whaling was immediately replaced by commercial whale watching. And Pico is one of the prime places in the Azores to gaze upon some of the world’s most majestic ocean creatures.
We embarked from Madalena and headed for the southern side of the island. Here the seas are deep and rich with squid, perfect for the Sperm Whales who like to feed on them.
Frank ready to watch some whales, complete with an oversized PFD that acts doubly as a neck pillow.
Our first sighting, however, was not whales. We first spotted dolphins. This type is called the Common Dolphin.
Our first glimpse of the Azores from the plane was that of Montanha Do Pico (or just plain Pico), peaking out above the clouds:
Needless to say, climbing this stately mountain quickly became one of my goals for our time on the islands. The desire to climb the mountain only increased during our time on the Azores, since the peak is almost always within sight, always beckoning an adventurous climber. Sure, at 7,713′ it sits well below the elevation where I now write this TR here in Crested Butte, but then again the Atlantic ocean isn’t exactly a couple of miles away, either. While it’s generally easy to get around on the islands with nothing more than your feet or a bicycle, the easiest way to climb Pico utilizes a car to get to the trailhead. Since we had a car reserved for July 10th, that became our summit day and thankfully the weather was perfect. Brittany decided the downclimb would be too tough on her knees, but she urged me to go anyway, knowing I was pretty excited about it.
Climbing Pico is a bit of a different affair than most other mountains. The trailhead is also a visitor’s center; where climbers must sign in, watch a safety video, and obtain a GPS/radio unit, all of which is free. With that out of the way, it was time to start climbing the steep, loose, and eroded trail, and start counting trail markers- all 45 of them to the crater rim:
Clouds came in and out, as they always seemed to on Pico, which at times provided some surreal views as if I were back on the airplane, or climbing the “Mountains of the Moon” in Africa.
Getting from Faial to Pico is fairly easy as there is a ferry that runs every 2-3 hours several times a day. The journey is only 30 minutes from Horta to Madalena. Since Pico is considerably larger than Faial, boasts Portugal’s highest mountain, and has scenic vineyards, we knew we’d find plenty to keep us entertained during our four day stay there.
The ferry- a carless one.
As the ferry pulled from the dock, this group of young sailors moved out of our way. I couldn’t help but reminisce because I grew up sailing in dinghies like these.
But now I wished we had a boat like this to take us all over the Azores and beyond 
Goodbye Horta and Faial.
Hello Madalena and Pico.
The island of Faial has more to offer than just the amazing port-town of Horta. There are volcanoes and lighthouses, beaches and beautiful sights every where you go.
In order to explore Faial outside of Horta, we rented a car. Faial is small, being only about 7 miles long and 5 miles wide. We began heading west first, out of Horta, enjoying the fantastic coast line along the way.
A lighthouse hear Capelo.
The coast line with the volcanic moonscape of Capelinhos in the distance.
Capelinhos is a very interesting site. In 1957, a volcano began to erupt just off the coast of Faial. It erupted several times within the course of about a year. First below the sea, the volcano eventually grew to above sea-level. Eventually, the lava flow grew enough to attach itself to the island of Faial. Faial was suddenly about 1 and 1/4 square miles bigger. In the process, a lighthouse that was once right on the coast became partially buried in volcanic ash. It still stands today, seen in this photo.
We were so fascinated with what the historic and nautical town of Horta had to offer that we didn’t feel that we could do it justice in just one trip report. So, we split it into two!
As I said in our previous blog about Horta, this city is historically a port that has been used as a resting and refueling station for ships/sailboats that were crossing the Atlantic. Thus, the Horta harbor has become a popular destination for current sailors who are just out on their own ocean adventures.
This harbor is most known for the murals that these sailors paint during their time on-shore. They have covered the harbor with their stories. The murals can include the name of the boat, where they’ve been, where they are going, their website address, they names of the crew, and more. Growing up a sailor myself, I wanted to make sure to give this harbor the time it deserved.
From Lisbon, we took a 3 hour flight to the Azores. We landed in the nautical and historical town of Horta on the Island of Faial. One of our first sights was the Pico volcano on the neighboring island of Pico. Guides and tour books highlight this very view. Still, it’s a sight not just to be seen, but also to be felt.
Unless you live on the East Coast, you probably aren’t sure where the Azores are. When I describe to people that they are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, most people picture the Canary Islands. But the Canaries aren’t really in the middle of the Ocean. The Azores that lie about 2000 miles from the East Coast of North America and about 1000 miles from Europe, right smack on the mid-Atlantic Ocean ridge. At the boundary of three tectonic plates, the volcanism in the area created this group of nine islands that belong to Portugal.
The original history of the Azores is a bit scant. But it is clear that Europeans knew about this group of islands in the Middle Ages and even appeared in maps in the 1300′s. Still, their official “discovery” happened in 1427 by Diogo de Silves, or in 1431 by Gonçalo Velho Cabral- depending on the source. Cabral is responsible for the first settlements, which happened in 1436 on Santa Maria first and then later on São Miguel. So, these islands were settled long before Columbus made his way to the New World.
From ECHO- A Natural Connection to the Azores, Log Books.
Though the Azores are not as well-known today, their location made them the center of many important matters throughout history. The Azores provided important refueling opportunities for ships between Europe and North American, the first telegraphs and phones relied on stations in the Azores, and trans-Atlantic flights used to stop here for rest and refueling as well.
Today, many Americans are unaware that the Azores even exist, even noted by Mark Twain during his visit to the area. But, ties between the Azores and America are actually pretty tight. In the mid-18th century, Americans had a crucial role in the development of the whaling industry in the Azores, which quickly became a major economic staple. Horta became the the sister cities to places like Nantucket, New Bedford, Fall River, and Cape Cod. Evidence of these ties can still be seen today: see Nantucket Today and New Bedford Whaling Museum (has an Azorean Whalemen exibit). As we visited whaling museums in the area, Nantucket and New Bedford were mentioned over and over.
Pico depicted by Russell & Purrington’s panorama Whaling Voyage Round the World, from New Bedford’s Whaling Museum website, but seen in various whaling museums in the Azores also
After a stressful drive from Cardona to Barcelona, thanks to an accident that nearly made us miss our flight, Brittany and I found ourselves in Lisbon, Portugal. With five hours to kill before our connecting flight to Horta in the Azores, we decided to do a quick tour of the city rather than sit in the airport for half the day. Whether or not we can claim to have “been to” Lisbon is a question that is open to debate, but we liked what we did see. What we saw was a clean, history-filled city with lots to do and a bit of Moorish influence.
We had a quick lunch in this square. Prices were fairly reasonable, much like Spain, despite the awful exchange rate.
Lisbon is famous for its trollies, but from what we understand they are becoming rare in this city.
Portugal, and Spain to a smaller extent, is also known for its black and white decorative paving which adds a touch of flair to the ground you’re walking on.
That’s about it for our whirlwind tour of Lisbon. Here’s our other honeymoon TR’s:
Complete List of Honeymoon Trip Reports:
Barcelona
Gaudi
Spanish Pyrenees
Climb of Tosa d’Alp
Cardona Castle
Montserrat
Five hours in Lisbon
Horta Part I
Horta Part II
Island of Faial
Island of Pico, Day 1
Portugal and The Azores Highest Point: Montanha Do Pico 7,713′
Watching Whales & Swimming with Dolphins
Pico Adegas, Gardens, and More
Island of Pico
Montserrat is an impressive looking mountain chain just North of Barcelona, but it’s perhaps best known as the site of a Benedictine abbey, not to mention the home of the Holy Grail, if you believe some myths. Brittany and I visited it on our last day in Spain before heading off to the Azores Islands. Like Machu Pichu, many Buddhist Temples, or even Mesa Verde here in Colorado, the first question a visitor asks is “Why would you want to build in such a difficult location?”
Okay, the brief divergence from our honeymoon TR’s to post our wedding pictures and our latest skiing TR is over After our time in the Spanish Pyrenees and Andorra, we headed to Cardona, a small town in the middle of Catalunya. Why were we going there? To stay in a castle, of course I mean, it IS our honeymoon after all. Why NOT stay in a castle?!
Cardona is a town that was founded centuries ago, largely due to a deposit of salt in the area. The corresponding castle was built largely at first to protect and monitor the salt mine. The castle was modified and rebuilt several times through the centuries but was eventually basically abandoned as the need for a fortress became obsolete. Eventually, the castle became part of the Spanish Parador system- this a group of high-end hotels that are built in historical buildings in Spain. Cardona Castle opened as a parador in 1976.
The salt mine, still in use today.
The interior and exterior of the castle were dotted with plaques talking about various aspects of the castle, such as this one detailing the overall history.
