Pico - The Mountain Island - July 22

Europe » Portugal » Azores » Pico
July 29th 2012

Published: July 29th 2012

From Faial the island of Pico is only 4.5 miles away. The ferry ride to Pico only cost 6.80 euro ($8.34) round trip so we decided that was the easiest way to get there. Pico is 22.7 miles long and 8 miles wide and boosts Pico Mountain the highest elevation in Portugal with a height of 2351 meters (7,713 ft.). On Sunday the 22nd we took the 9AM ferry for the ride over to the village of Madalena on... Read Full Entry

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Bob & Janice Waller

s v Tsamaya

Like so many others we love to travel and we love to sail so cruising makes a lot of sense. Janice has retired from Cornell as a business manager and Bob has retired from South Seneca school district as the high school principal. It's time to sell the house, get rid of whatever doesn't fit on our 40 foot Caliber LRC named Tsamaya (this means Travel Well in Setswana) and set off to see the world. Our reasons for publishing this blog is twofold, first to keep in touch with our friends and family and secondly to share our experiences. If you would like to receive notification when we have added ... full info

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Drying Corn

Lots of corn being dried on the rack here.

Seats Provided At this One

A roadside water fountain complete with stone seats.

Whale Look Outs Still In Use

We could see someone with binoculars using this whale look-out house helping those that run the whale watching tours.

The Water Is Clear

The clarify of the water is amazing and could be seen here along the coast.

Another Windmill

The area off Sao Joao is known as the land of windmills and they can be seen throughout the area. Again, they normally would have a cloth sail attached to the blades.

View of Sao Joao

Looking back from the windmill toward the town of Sao Joao.

Lajes Marina

The marina at Lajes on Pico is quite small, but the channel is well marked into it.

Anyone for a Whale Watch Tour?

The whale watching tours start here in Lajes. It somewhat reminded us of being at the east coast of the US with all of the stands selling tours.

Foreign Flags

As you drive around the island you see many foreign flags, Canadian, Swiss, US and numerous others showing the nationality of the residents.

Whale Processing

At the Lajes Marina there were the remnants showing of a whale processing center with the stove and caldrons used for the boiling to make the whale oil.

Tall Cedars

Much of the land is used for agriculture as shown here. The clouds were hiding the mountain this day, but the coastline was still beautiful.

More Water Available

Roadside water fountans come in all sizes and shapes.

View of Sao Jorge

Looking toward Sao Jorge

As you can see the islands in the central group of the Azores are quite close.

Spirit Houses

These spirit houses we saw on Pico, however, we have seen them on every island so far.

Advanced Pricing System

We were surprised to see the advanced bar code digital pricing system on a store we went in on Pico. Bob wondered if it was because prices change so quickly!

Carnival Ware

The typical “carnival” type of products were available for sale at the festival.

Musicians Waiting

These musicians were here early and waiting for the procession to start at 6:30PM – they may have been resting for the festivities later in the evening.

View from Madalena

Looking back toward Faial from Madalena where the ferries land.

Part of the procession

One of the 3 statutes carried through town during the procession. By the looks on their faces, the statute is quite heavy.

One of Many Bands

Numerous bands played in the procession. There were always 2 bands in a row – 1 played while the other rested taking turns with songs during the parade around town.

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Pico - The Mountain Island - July 22

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