In S. Miguel we were told that all the islands in the archipelago of the Azores are different. We started to believe in it as soon as we got to Faial. This time our plan was to stay in Horta and use it as a base to explore the surroundings.
Our first day on the island was spent walking. In the morning, we went up to Monte da Guia - a lovely place, which provided us with magnificient views over Porto Pim - and in the afternoon, after what felt like the most unsuccessful shorcut in the history of walking, we reached Praia do Almoxarife and made our way to the ocean through unbelievably black sand.
Throughout all this time Mount Pico stood there as if inviting us to pay a visit to its peak. And so we did. The next day we took the boat to Madalena and then hopped on a taxi to Casa da Montanha located at 1250m above sea level. The landscape on the way up was more than beautiful and it continued that way throughout our entire trekking adventure.
The path was a bit too tricky for me from the beginning but I must say that I started feeling more insecure above 1500m, which was when it became increasingly steep. Somewhere between 1700m and 1800m we came to terms with the fact that that would be the highest point of our journey and decided to start heading down.
Shortly after we got back to Casa da Montanha, we were picked up by the taxi driver who had driven us up. He convinced us to go on a tour of the island just before heading back to Faial. The opportunity to check out the rest of this precious gift of nature was great; having to listen to the prick going on and on about the people who left the mainland and are now living there; having to endure his lack of professionalism and end up involved in a car crash was not. But, hey, at least we got a good laugh out of it; and some great snapshots of Mount Pico.
We woke up the following day with muscle pain all over the body. It was so bad that it was actually difficult for me to lye on the beach. In an attempt to make the day count anyway, we decided to try and watch whales. Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be seen, which was the reason why we ended up driving to the Capelinhos Volcano, an unforgettable natural site, and then walking circa 2kms down the western coast of the island.
On our last day, we decided to try and see if we could spot whales. We started having fun as soon as we got on the boat; plus the views over S. Jorge and Graciosa were so beautiful, that it actually occured to me that it wouldn´t be so bad not to spot any. But then I heard that they had been seen 2 miles ahead and that we were heading that way.
The first couple of times we saw them, they didn´t look like much. So much so that when the dolphins showed up, we were completely taken by their friendliness. But then I saw a 7m to 8m long sperm whale dive and realised just how exquisite those animals are. We were really happy when we got back to Horta. And farewell dinner plus gin tonics at Peter´s might have tasted better because of the whole experience - it was definitely a good way to finish a holiday in paradise.
It was sad to start the following day leaving those beautiful islands behind and saying goodbye to Sara shortly afterwards but the truth is that for one trip to begin, another one has to finish. And you can´t even begin to imagine just how much this is true...
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