One afternoon we set off in a rented car on a circum-island tour. While diriving around, we saw some of the most beautiful sites that Pico had to offer.
Our first stop, Sao Mateus.
From there, we continued along the south shore capturing the magnificent views.
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.
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
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.
The entrance of the hotel.
After the constant movement of Barcelona, it was time to return to the more tranquil pace that Frank and I are accustomed to. So, we sought solace in the Spanish Pyrenees. We headed toward the town of Baga, located in the Serra del Cadí range, still part of Catalunya, just outside of Parc Natural del Cadí-Moixeró.
How did we decide to go there? Frank and I considered a number of National Parks and other parks located in the Pyrenees. We Googled them, looked at the images that appeared, and chose the park that had the most remarkable mountains, in our opinion. The Serra del Cadi are most characterized by the peak known as El Pedraforca. Of course, it is far more mesmerizing in person than on the Internet. (from the East)
A map of the Serra del Cadi can be seen here.
Though Pedraforca dominated, there were plenty of other majestic scenes offered to us by the Serra del Cadi.
The village of Manceners.
Frank and I are nearing the end of our honeymoon. We first enjoyed our time in Spain, visiting Barcelona, the Pyrenees, and the small village of Cardona. But, we’ve spent the last week or so in the Azores, visiting two different islands- Pico and Faial. We have loved every moment. Here’s a few teaser pics!
The harbor of Horta, on Faial, with the volcano Pico on the neighboring island of Pico, rising behind.
Horta as seen from a nearby point.
We rented free bikes from the tourist info center
We biked through vineyards on Pico- not the typical vineyard, but they worked with their “volcanic” resources. This area is currently a UNESCO heritage site due to their historic and unique ways of growing grapes which actually produce quite good wine! The island of Faial is in the distance.
Pico from the town of Lajido on Pico island, where we biked to visit a historic wine distillery.
We went whale watching.
And swimming with dolphins.
A sunset view from near the mountain house midway up Pico volcano.
Southerns coastline of Pico with the village of Sao Joao.
More southern coastline.
Northern coastline, near Pont Espiago, with Pico volcano on the left.
