The Azores
The Azores are made up of nine islands spread over 200 miles. We had really wanted to explore our landfall island of Flores, which is one of the most remote and hence relatively unspoilt. However, we had just time for a leisurely lunch ashore on the first day before discovering the weather was about to change.
A big low pressure system was bearing down on us and would make the anchorage very uncomfortable if not untenable, so sadly we decided to head for shelter on the neighbouring island of Faial.
This turned out to be a good move as the next four days brought strong winds and heavy rain. Every day brought new arrivals from sea, including one yacht that got towed in by the lifeboat.
A long-lost friend of ours from the Exe rafted next to us after a rough delivery trip from the Caribbean. He and his two crew-mates had spend 26 days at sea, survived two fires on board from a faulty starter motor and several days of gale force winds. They were delighted to tie up ashore, especially as the owner of the boat treated them to a few nights in a hotel to recover.
Katie was delighted to be on solid ground again and was itching to walk, even in the rain! We squelched around the town in search of internet and fresh bread, admiring the mosaic pavements and fancy Portuguese architecture. The cafes were refreshingly cheap – a toasted sandwich, a beer or a freshly squeezed orange juice all cost around 1 euro.
We hired a car to explore the island during the worst of the weather. Volcanic explosions in 1957/58 created a half-mile of new land at one end of the island and a museum there was meant to have fantastic photos. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the entrance as workmen were digging up the carpark and it had become a mudfield.
The spectacular view from the top of the caldeira was also completely lost in fast-moving clouds, but it was a spectacular drive, mostly for the fact that Dave could barely see the road in front of us! However, we did have a tasty meal in a local snack-bar and got a taste of the island – fields of grazing cows, old red windmills and hundreds of hedges of the famous Azores blue hydrangeas.
The harbour walls of Horta are a sight in themselves. Their entire length is covered with paintings from boats that have visited the island, some dating back to the 1980’s. It has become a mark of good luck to leave your mark and we had fun searching for boats we recognized. Finally, the rain cleared up and I was able to find a clear spot on the wall and carry on the tradition of painting our boat on for posterity.
Jackie’s sister, Mag, joined us in Faial and the three of us took Katie to a natural seawater swimming pool. We had seen it from the hire car and watched waves crashing over the rocks and swamping the pools. This time, it was calm and tranquil and one pool was completely empty. A few stray jellyfish got scooped out by a brave local before anybody ventured in. Jackie stayed with Katie, who didn’t want to get her feet wet, while Mag & I braved the chilly water. One end of the pool had a barred ‘window’ overlooking a rocky channel. You could hold onto the bars and watch the sea surge towards you until an extra-big wave come right in over your head. All very invigorating!
We then left Faial and had a sailing tour around the central group of islands. Jackie did the navigation and did a great job of plotting courses and transferring them into the GPS. She also managed to finish her hat! Mag survived her first experience of sailing without getting seasick and even seemed to enjoy it!
First stop was Sao Jorge, with its fantastic views of the mountain on Pico opposite. All night we listened to the bizarre noises of the local Cory’s shearwaters which roost in the cliffs surrounding the harbour. They sound almost like wailing children, or cats.
Our next stop was the lovely island of Graciosa, very green and lush with minimal development. Red windmills overlook the harbour.
We all went for a long hike in search of an old stone tower leading down inside the caldeira. It took us a while to work out that we had been walking round in circles for an hour at the top, and the road we wanted entered via a tunnel below us! By this stage, the tower was closed but the caretaker passed us on his way home and took pity on us. He not only opened the tower up especially for us but also gave three of us a lift the last km. What a hero!
The inside of the caldeira was a green oasis and a path in the corner led to the tower. This went down 103 steps into a huge cave. One side had a pool of cold water (15 degrees) and the other side had rocks which were hot to the touch and a bubbling sulphurous ‘siltpool’. Very weird and wonderful.
From there, we sailed to Terceira, a much more built-up island. We arrived late, had a meal in a very touristy restaurant and left the next day after a brief wander around the town.
Then an overnight sail to our final island, Sao Miguel, where we were shocked to find ourselves in a big town, complete with busy traffic, a buzzing whale-watching business
and construction work galore.
However, there is a lovely open air swimming pool right next to the marina. With such a great venue we expected the price to be steep. It is in fact free for under 16’s and over 60’s and costs everyone else 40 euro cents!
Jackie and Mag flew to France from here and John joined the crew two days later.
John is an avid bird-watcher and drove us 40 miles along the island to see one of Europe’s rarest birds - the Azores bullfinch. We were pleased to spot several of them, and took in some lakes and steaming fumaroles along the way.
Now we are heading out to sea once again, 1100 miles to Brest in France, where we hope to arrive around the 6th July.
From the crew:
I’m happy to say that since 2005 I did manage to remember three Portuguese words: caneca – 1) mug, 2) big beer; galao – white coffee; obrigado – thank you. You’d be amazed how important those can be after a night out in the Azores. Now, on to Brest. Bierre, café au lait, merci.
Jay
PS - Miss ya Jackie. Couldn’t ask for a better ex-wife. See you in Maine. I might even
cook dinner…or supper…or is it tea?
A big low pressure system was bearing down on us and would make the anchorage very uncomfortable if not untenable, so sadly we decided to head for shelter on the neighbouring island of Faial.
This turned out to be a good move as the next four days brought strong winds and heavy rain. Every day brought new arrivals from sea, including one yacht that got towed in by the lifeboat.
A long-lost friend of ours from the Exe rafted next to us after a rough delivery trip from the Caribbean. He and his two crew-mates had spend 26 days at sea, survived two fires on board from a faulty starter motor and several days of gale force winds. They were delighted to tie up ashore, especially as the owner of the boat treated them to a few nights in a hotel to recover.
Katie was delighted to be on solid ground again and was itching to walk, even in the rain! We squelched around the town in search of internet and fresh bread, admiring the mosaic pavements and fancy Portuguese architecture. The cafes were refreshingly cheap – a toasted sandwich, a beer or a freshly squeezed orange juice all cost around 1 euro.
We hired a car to explore the island during the worst of the weather. Volcanic explosions in 1957/58 created a half-mile of new land at one end of the island and a museum there was meant to have fantastic photos. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the entrance as workmen were digging up the carpark and it had become a mudfield.
The spectacular view from the top of the caldeira was also completely lost in fast-moving clouds, but it was a spectacular drive, mostly for the fact that Dave could barely see the road in front of us! However, we did have a tasty meal in a local snack-bar and got a taste of the island – fields of grazing cows, old red windmills and hundreds of hedges of the famous Azores blue hydrangeas.
The harbour walls of Horta are a sight in themselves. Their entire length is covered with paintings from boats that have visited the island, some dating back to the 1980’s. It has become a mark of good luck to leave your mark and we had fun searching for boats we recognized. Finally, the rain cleared up and I was able to find a clear spot on the wall and carry on the tradition of painting our boat on for posterity.
Jackie’s sister, Mag, joined us in Faial and the three of us took Katie to a natural seawater swimming pool. We had seen it from the hire car and watched waves crashing over the rocks and swamping the pools. This time, it was calm and tranquil and one pool was completely empty. A few stray jellyfish got scooped out by a brave local before anybody ventured in. Jackie stayed with Katie, who didn’t want to get her feet wet, while Mag & I braved the chilly water. One end of the pool had a barred ‘window’ overlooking a rocky channel. You could hold onto the bars and watch the sea surge towards you until an extra-big wave come right in over your head. All very invigorating!
We then left Faial and had a sailing tour around the central group of islands. Jackie did the navigation and did a great job of plotting courses and transferring them into the GPS. She also managed to finish her hat! Mag survived her first experience of sailing without getting seasick and even seemed to enjoy it!
First stop was Sao Jorge, with its fantastic views of the mountain on Pico opposite. All night we listened to the bizarre noises of the local Cory’s shearwaters which roost in the cliffs surrounding the harbour. They sound almost like wailing children, or cats.
Our next stop was the lovely island of Graciosa, very green and lush with minimal development. Red windmills overlook the harbour.
We all went for a long hike in search of an old stone tower leading down inside the caldeira. It took us a while to work out that we had been walking round in circles for an hour at the top, and the road we wanted entered via a tunnel below us! By this stage, the tower was closed but the caretaker passed us on his way home and took pity on us. He not only opened the tower up especially for us but also gave three of us a lift the last km. What a hero!
The inside of the caldeira was a green oasis and a path in the corner led to the tower. This went down 103 steps into a huge cave. One side had a pool of cold water (15 degrees) and the other side had rocks which were hot to the touch and a bubbling sulphurous ‘siltpool’. Very weird and wonderful.
From there, we sailed to Terceira, a much more built-up island. We arrived late, had a meal in a very touristy restaurant and left the next day after a brief wander around the town.
Then an overnight sail to our final island, Sao Miguel, where we were shocked to find ourselves in a big town, complete with busy traffic, a buzzing whale-watching business
and construction work galore.
However, there is a lovely open air swimming pool right next to the marina. With such a great venue we expected the price to be steep. It is in fact free for under 16’s and over 60’s and costs everyone else 40 euro cents!
Jackie and Mag flew to France from here and John joined the crew two days later.
John is an avid bird-watcher and drove us 40 miles along the island to see one of Europe’s rarest birds - the Azores bullfinch. We were pleased to spot several of them, and took in some lakes and steaming fumaroles along the way.
Now we are heading out to sea once again, 1100 miles to Brest in France, where we hope to arrive around the 6th July.
From the crew:
I’m happy to say that since 2005 I did manage to remember three Portuguese words: caneca – 1) mug, 2) big beer; galao – white coffee; obrigado – thank you. You’d be amazed how important those can be after a night out in the Azores. Now, on to Brest. Bierre, café au lait, merci.
Jay
PS - Miss ya Jackie. Couldn’t ask for a better ex-wife. See you in Maine. I might even
cook dinner…or supper…or is it tea?
posted by Katie at 11:48 AM
3 Comments:
Very well written, enjoying every word and felt as though I were walking along side of you. Best regards & safe voyage.
'Carlos'
Lover of the Azores
Hello John!
We have just seen you on the web-site -thanks to Maggie. Hope you are enjoying the sailing. 1000 miles seems a long way to me! Hope you are having better weather - it's raining here.
Love from us all Mum
Hi Ros Ailither,
Just a quick note to let you know I tried to make a visit home to Killybegs last week but failed with the gales, which actually sound nothing to what you put up with. Got within 50 miles and some of the crew from the 60's came overland to Burtonport where I was hiding. Anyway I'm safely tucked up in Loch Etive again. Regards, Ros Donn.
P.S. I've put up a photo of you on the web from the 50's wearing your D428 dress...
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