A Tour of Faial ~ February 2, 2018

A Tour of Faial ~ Friday, February 2, 2018

Today's excursion takes us on a half-day tour of Faial, often called the Ilha Azul (the Blue Island) because of the hydrangea hedges that you can see everywhere on the island. First, a bit of background on the island.  Shaped like an irregular pentagon, Faial covers about 107 square miles, and is the fifth largest island in the archipelago.  It is part of the "central group" of islands.

The landscape of the island is dominated by the Caldeira, which is a huge crater that is about 1.25 miles across and a depth of about 130 feet.  The highest peak on the island (altitude 3,422 feet) is Cabeço Gordo, a volcano that has been dormant since 1672.  The town of Horta is named for the Flemish nobleman, Josse van Hurtere, who arrived on the island along with about 1,000 other Flemish people in 1466 in search of silver and tin. When they did not find these metals, they began cultivating the land instead, growing wheat as well as plants known to produce excellent dyes for export to Flanders and England. In the middle of the 18th century, Americans introduced whaling to the island.  A variety of telegraphic cable companies have also made their marks on Faial.

There were seven of us along with our tour guide, Alda, in a black Mercedes van traveling around the island.  My first impression of the island is that it is beautiful - clean, well-kept, and so very green!  Alda told us that many of the flowers we saw are blooming early this year.  We saw beautiful pink azaleas, lots and lots of bird of paradise, some hibiscus, and many hedgerows of camellias.  They actually use these camellia hedges as wind-blocks for their "plantations" (small plots of family gardens).  If they don't plant these wind-blocks, the wind blows the flowers off the plants and therefore there is no fruit.

Our tour guide, Alda talking with Jeff and Betty

View of Horta from above

The tunnel entrance to the trail around the caldeira -- tomorrow's adventure!

Capelinhos Volcano

The visit to Capelinhos Volcano was particularly interesting as it is a "young" volcano - our guide called it a "baby volcano" and is still considered "active" today.  The volcano was active for 13 months, between September 12, 1957 and October 24, 1958. The entire parish was destroyed, but nobody died since the government went door to door and provided the means for the people to move their households to another part of the island.

This lighthouse is no longer in service, but stands today due to the fact that volcanic ash has filled the interior partially, holding the walls in place.

It's hard to believe that this rock is only 60 years old!

As we walked along the side of the road, we could see the tops of the tiled roofs of houses that have been buried by the volcanic ash.  We later drove past a house that had been excavated from the ash.  The resilience of the people here is amazing!  Of course, Alda also told us stories of the thousands of people who took advantage of America's open-door policy.  Anyone from the Azores who was impacted by the volcano was given a green card and welcome to emigrate to the U.S.  Many thousands went - most settling in the mill towns like Fall River, Bedford, Taunton, and others in Rhode Island.

It is not unusual to see chickens and goats in the backyard "plantations" Although difficult to see in this picture, these chickens were huge!

Alda took us to a natural swimming hole - a place where the ocean waters come into a rock-lined area and pool.  Great for swimming in the summer, and so very beautiful to see this time of year.

A view of Horta from above

Our tour ended back at our hotel where we had a glass of wine and played a few games of backgammon before taking a nice, long nap.  After our nap we took a walk along the marina to Canto da Doca (Corner of the Dock), located .... yes, you guessed it ... at the corner of the dock!  The feature of this restaurant is that you are served a platter of uncooked meats or fish (or a mixture, such as the one I got (below on the right).  You are also brought a stone that is heated to almost 500 degrees fahrenheit, on which you cook your own meats.  The food was delicious!  It was served with several sauces -- mayonnaise based -- and a salad and some French fries.  The restaurant is designed to look like a ship.  It was a fun and tasty meal to be sure.

 I enjoyed a half bottle of Vinho Branco made in neighboring Pico - where we will visit on Sunday.

As we walked home, we caught a glimpse of the moon emerging from the clouds shrouding Pico Mountain.  All in all, a fabulous way to spend a day on beautiful Faial!