A Day on Pico - The Mountain Island ~ February 3, 2018

A Day on Pico - The Mountain Island ~ February 3, 2018

Pico is the second largest island of the Azores archipelago and covers a little over 278 square miles. It is 28.5 miles long and about 9 miles wide. Pico Alto is the highest peak in all of Portugal at about 7,717 feet tall.

Pico is famous for its whaling tradition, and we were able to see a Whaling Museum on our tour today. The island is a UNESCO World Heritage site because of the ancient vineyards that cover many acres of the island.

In addition to Pico Alto, we could see the Planalto da Achada, which has several dozen volcanic cones, several crater lakes, pastures, and forests that stretch along most of the eastern part of the island. The slopes of the highlands roll gently down to the island’s rugged and steep black coastline. The many bizarre rock formations along the northern coast were fascinating to me - especially the Arcos do Cachorro on the northwest coast - more about this later.

We started our trip with our driver, who took us to the ferry terminal. Grey skies greeted us, but at least there was no rain, and the temperature was about 60 degrees, so we were comfortable with just jackets and sweaters. Another couple (with whom we had shared a taxi from the airport), Rich and Linda, joined us on this excursion, and it was interesting to get to know them.

Here, Jeff is waiting for our ferry to arrive

As we pulled into Madelena, we noticed what looked like a fairly new ferry that had collided with the rocks. We later found out that this accident happened about a month ago on January 6th. There were 61 passengers aboard, but no one was seriously injured

Fortunately, our ferry docked without incident, and our guide for the day, Evalina, met us outside the terminal. Evalina was very knowledgeable and very talkative, so we were constantly entertained with stories of the island and stories of her family. By the end of the day, I felt as if we were old friends. In fact, she gave us each a big hug and told us to "look me up when you come back to Pico, and we'll go for a coffee."

We started our tour in Madalena, on the western edge of the island. From there we went to the UNESCO World Heritage site of the landscape of vinoculture on Pico. Along the way we passed the Wine Cooperative building.

Because it was Sunday, the Cooperativa Vitivinícola da Ilha do Pico (Pico Island Wine Cooperative) was not open. Next time we come, we will definitely do a wine tasting here. Some of the vineyards offered are Terras de Lava (I had a glass of this red wine at one of the restaurants we went to), Frei Gigante, and Basalto. The wine cooperative was founded in 1949, and it was this organization that began restoring the basalt walls and re-establishing the vineyards that had been hurt by vine diseases that nearly destroyed the wine-making culture of Pico.

The island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage landscape site because of the remarkable pattern of spaced-out, long linear walls running inland from, and parallel to, the rocky shore. This viniculture dates back to the 15th century, resulting in extraordinarily beautiful man-made landscape that is the best remaining example of what was once a widespread practice. Dating back to the 15th century, the lava walls form thousands of small, contiguous, rectangular plots built to protect crops from wind and salt spray. Vines are planted within the small and soilless plots (locally called currais). The extensive system of small fields, as well as the buildings (manor houses, wine cellars, warehouses, conventional houses, and churches), pathways and wells, ports and ramps, were produced by generations of farmers enabling the production of wine.

Wine production on Pico Island reached its peak in the 19th century and then gradually declined due to plant disease and a loss of soil and reduced rainfall. However, a low level of grape vine growing and high-quality wine production continues on the island, especially around the village of Criação Velha. We have tried a number of wines produced on Pico and have found them quite wonderful.

Because the vines are dormant, and because it was a grey and overcast day, it was difficult to capture the scope of the vineyards.

(Photo credit: http://blog.brillianttrips.com/2011/01/pico-vineyards-the-lava-trail-azores/)

The walls of each rectangular plot (currais) are 5 feet high, and these walls line roadways as well as the currais themselves. The picture above shows what they look like in summer, and my photo below shows the dormant vines planted in the volcanic soil. I definitely look forward to a June return so that I can see the verdant greenery. The vines are planted in the volcanic soil, and the heat of the sun collects in the dark rock and keeps the vines warm throughout the night. The grapes are generally harvested and worked by hand -- very hard work.

Shortly after the islands were settled in the mid-15th century winemaking came to the island. Legend has it that Franciscan friars brought the verdelho grape to the Azores, and when Pico's winemakers discovered that this grape variety made good fortified wines, it became a specialty of Pico. Unfortunately, oidium and phylloxera attacked the vines of the island causing winemaking in the Azores to come to an abrupt halt. It wasn't until the 1990s that growers returned to the verdelho grapes that were the traditional grapes of the Azores. Also traditional were the arinto and terrantez. Pico, Biscoitos (on Terceira), and Graciosa became well-known for their fortified wines again starting in 1994.

One famous brand of fortified wine is called Czar. We had the opportunity to taste this wine, but the five euros per taste made us decide not to do so.

From there we traveled to the village of Lajes, stopping along the way to visit a beautiful church in São Mateus, a parish along the southwestern coast in the city of Madelena.

To the left is the bust of Francisco Ferreira Goulart, resident and patron of the small parish, and to the right is a photo of the old fishing port of Sao Mateus, which we passed along the way.

Here, Evalina talks to Linda and Jeff about the history of the church

The construction of the Church of São Mateus started after the destruction of the old temple by the volcanic eruption of 1808. It is based on a raised churchyard, with two bell towers and a unique body. Inside, we find the altarpiece of the carving of motifs of plants, painted in gold, blue and pink, as well as the tabernacle in gilded carving. The body in the high choir was built in the studio of the Faial-born Marialino Lima.

The old Church of São Mateus was destroyed in the volcanic eruption of 1808, leaving only its bell tower, which fed several local legends associated with the event. The eruption destroyed some of its foundations, walls and estate, so we do not know its initial architecture.

Today, despite being in private, we can observe the surviving bell tower on the site. A lintel stone from the Baroque period is situated in the Urzelina Rural Exhibition Centre, with a relief decoration with volutes.

The festivity in honor of the patron saint is carried out on the fourth weekend of September. It is a religious festivity.

The flower arrangements in the church were absolutely magnificent! Evalina told us that the ladies of the church divide into teams to take responsibility for one altar area, and they work together to make sure that all of the arrangements coordinate with one another. The Bird of Paradise in the photos above are the unifying force behind all of the arrangements in this particular church. My meager pictures cannot do justice to the beauty of these arrangements -- all made from flowers growing in the gardens of the "flower ladies."

Throughout the island at this time of year ("first spring" as the islanders call it), we saw amazing displays of azalea, Bird of Paradise, and a variety of other flowers. A wonderful sight for eyes that had seen nothing but the bleak colors of winter!

Our next stop took us for lunch at Restaurante O Lavrador (Restaurant of the Farmer).

Our lunch was delicious, starting with a bread and cheese course. The cheese was delicious and creamy and could be paired with honey, a wonderful blackberry or fruit jam, or local honey. There was also a very spicy sauce that looked and tasted like crushed red pepper in olive oil.

They also brought out a plate of sausage and pieces of local sweet potato -- wonderful flavors from both.

White or red wine was served throughout the meal. At this point I was so enamored with the food that I stopped taking pictures! They brought out a plate of fresh fish -- served with the heads on ! But so delicious. Then there was a meat course (which I did not love -- a bit tough), followed by homemade flan for dessert. All in all, a wonderful meal!

Along the way to our next stop we passed this house - dating from 1465 -- the oldest house on the island!

As on Faial, there are areas of the island that are very green and covered with forests. These are lava fields called ‘mistérios’ by the islanders as it was ‘mysterious’ to them why this bad luck struck them. Pico Alto has erupted four times in the past 500 years - most recently in 1718, but our guide, Evalina, says that islanders are always preparing for volcano and earthquake. Two misterios that we passed along the way were the Mistérios São João and Silveira.

Our next stop was Lagoa do Capitão, or Captain’s Lake, a small and shallow lake that is also the largest lake on Pico. It is in a protected area and is surrounded by many endemic plants.

Evalina brought along some bread for feeding the ducks. Here Jeff and Rich, our travel companion for the day are making friends with some of the migratory birds that enjoy the protected lake.

And then it was back in the car for the journey to Lajes, home of the Museu dos Baleeiros (Museum of the Whalers).

The building was once a processing factory, and this machine was used to haul the whales from the boats up the ramp and into the factory for processing.

Inside the museum we were able to see and read about how every bit of the animal was used in some way. At first we were not planning to make this stop, but I was glad we did as it was interesting to see this bit of the island's history that is so closely connected to the whaling industry that was an integral part of life on the New England coast. It is part of the reason so many Portuguese people emigrated to the Bedford, Massachusetts area.

After returning to the car we moved onward to Porto Cachorro, a village on the northwest coast that is an important part of Pico's wine heritage. The village is dotted with small black basalt buildings called "Coast Places" that are used to make and store wine. There are handmade stone barrel ramps leading from the coast places to the port.

We enjoyed a small wine tasting here. Nothing exciting, but fun all the same.

A bit further down the road, we stopped to view a spot called Arcos do Cachorro, which means "Arches of the Puppy" in English.

The wine warehouses for storing barrels as they age

As the sun began to go down, we made our last stop - Cella Bar, a wonderful bar shaped like a barrel.

Wishing that we had the time to have a glass of wine and a bite to eat, alas, it was time to head back to the ferry terminal for our ride back to Horta. Along the way, the sun made its spectacular show as it slowly sank into the sea.