The next boat took us again to the Azores Triangle, specifically to Faial. The harbor of Faial is located in Horta, the most important villages of the island and one of the most authentic of all the archipelago. Its marina is a primary stop for yachts crossing the Atlantic, and its walls, and walkways are covered in paintings created by visitors who noted the names of their vessels, crews, and the years they visited. We didn't have a lot of time to visit the island, so we went directly to the main tourist attraction: the Capelinhos volcano!
INTER-ISLAND TRIP: FAIAL & SÃO JORGE
The Capelinhos is a monogenetic volcano located on the western coast of the island of Faial. The volcanic eruption took place on 1957 and lasted for 13 months, causing the evacuation of 2,000 people (emigration to the US and Canada). As we split in order to make the hitchhiking easier I arrived there with just another friend. We visited the amazing and black crater, and then we had a picnic near the lighthouse.
The first thing we visited there was a shady and green park near Ponta dos Rosais, in the northwestern coast of the island. The little and shy residents of the area came out to welcome us, and in the other side of the ocean Pico was majestic as always.
The purity and authenticity of the place together with the soft climate that accompanied us made the long trip a memory before leaving the island directly to our next destination: Graciosa Island!
Although we had split before, we were not very lucky when hitchhiking and we spend a lot of time on the road. Thus, we couldn't visit the Caldeira, another touristic site located in the middle of the island. However, we were excited as the next stop was São Jorge, maybe the most different island of the Acores. Why? Because its 54 Km length and a maximum of 6.9 Km width it seems a large whale emerging from the depths of the Atlantic waters. Even though it is very small in width we can find the highest point of the island, Pico da Esperança, at an altitude of 1,053 m. Simply amazing!
Even though the cliffs are almost vertical, some of them are interrupted by small coastal flat areas: The fajãs. These are the real treasure of the island, incredible natural formations perfect for relaxing and enjoying the tranquility. As we were running out of time we chose to visit the most famous ones by the hand of a Jorgense friend who has lived always there and knows the island like the back of his hand. These were Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo and Fajã dos Cubres.
