Logbook and Photos

After so many days at sea, this comfortable-looking marina is a sight for sore eyes.  As we clear into Portugal (hence Europe), we really hope we will be able to afford the marina because anchoring has no appeal at all just now.  It turns out to be affordable enough at 8 euros (about U$10 / C$ 13) per day.  Yes!!   A lot of boats pass through the Azores each year so our first initiation into Europe is the concept of being rafted or tied to another boat when the dock space if full - which it is.  We are initially rafted to a French boat with a pair of great guys on board returning home with a boat one of them had just purchased in the US.  After the first week, we have the tie to the wharf and no further rafts to us after that. 

Our friend and crew-member, Wayne, is still with us and the plan is to rest-up, see a few sights, and prepare for the final 8-day passage to Spain on the European mainland.   We decide to rent a car for the day to get an overall look at the island.  The island is dominated by a central volcano that rises to 1043m: at the top is the caldeira which is now a nature reserve.   We are happy to see it with clear views as it can often be engulfed in cloud. 

On the other side of the island, we hike about the site of the Capelinhos eruption.  Here in 1957-58, a series of eruptions added another 2 square kms to Faial. In total 300 houses were destroyed and many more damaged; 2,000 people were rehoused; crops were killed and a 5 m layer of ash and rocks buried houses and fields in the area.  The eruption changed the lives of many islanders and thousands emigrated to Canada and the USA.  We finish off the day with a cool dip in the Atlantic ocean among the lava pools created by the eruptions. 

If a boat and its crew visit the port of Horta, it has long been tradition for them to paint a logo on the marina seawall, identifying themselves and their travels.  In fact it is considered bad luck not to honor this ritual from the past.  We carefully select our piece of the concrete and go to work with each of us four having a quadrant to fill.   The end product is a colorful display adding Tioga and her crew to the history of boaters passing through the Azores. 

Well, we've been watching the weather since arriving here in Horta and the long range forecasts for crossing to the mainland continue to be unfavorable, with head winds.  Not something we are prepared to take on and yet Wayne is running out of time.  He decides he can no longer continue to wait so he catches a plane back to Calgary, Canada.   Funny, he emails us upon his safe arrival home, within a mere 24 hours after leaving us....hmm 26 days to get here and 24 hours to get home!!  We are forever indebted to him and his efforts as well as his wonderful family for loaning him to us for such a long time.   Thank you Dawn and family.  

With Wayne's decision to head home, comes the realization for us that we now have more time to explore these beautiful islands.  We were able to switch into cruising mode for the first time in a long time.  While on the island of Faial, we enjoyed many hikes and short walks about exploring the beauty.   This day was spent hiking a long loop to the Botanical Gardens and marveling at the sights along the way.  This clock tower stood high on the island as we climbed up.   The views were stunning and the garden housing this tower was splendid. 

The port of Horta (the island's capital) has been an almost compulsory stop for the thousands of transatlantic sailors that pass each year.  Peter's Cafe Sport is a Portuguese and international yachting legend. It is the place where yachtsmen, visitors and locals of all shapes and sizes, swap dreams and adventures over a beer or a coffee.   Upstairs from the bar is the Scrimshaw Museum.  Scrimshaw, engraving on whales’ teeth, was an art born of loneliness onboard 19th century whaling ships, and has been an Azorean art form since the seventies The Scrimshaw museum, has a permanent exhibition of the best works ever made.  It was an amazing little museum that we really enjoyed.  

This mountain is a remarkable, steep-sided, dormant  volcanic cone rising to 2,351m, constituting the highest point in the Azores or in mainland Portugal.  Our family along with John, Laurie, Belle (10) and Nate (8) from s/v Aventura, decide to climb to it's peak and spend the night under the stars.   We take a cab to the base camp and the remaining 1100m ascent is hard work but the stunning views and sense of accomplishment keep our families going.   Overnight the weather deteriorates, turning the situation into a bit of a survival story of it's own.   The mini tour explains all!  MINI TOUR

The Azoreans are a deeply traditional people and the islands are known for their various and varied festivals or 'festas'.    Sea Week is Faial's big party and it is about to be upon us.  With all the pre-festival preparations going on, we decide we might as well stay on the island a bit longer and see what all the hype is about.  Every night for a week, there are all sorts of activities and musical celebrations, like this more traditional 'tuna', a folkloric group of dancers, singers and musicians playing mandolins and Azorean guitars which are unique to the islands.  Dressed in colourful 17th or 18th century costumes, these groups keep the old songs and traditions alive.   We took in a few of  these groups throughout the week and were never disappointed. 

A big bandstand was set up right in the marina and the main act started every night at 11pm.  With Tioga a mere stones throw away, we knew we may as well join in the fun rather than try to sleep.  We switched our days to sleep in until 11am in order for us all to stay up to catch some of these bands.  Towards the end of the week, no matter how loud the music, Gerrit (and his mom) just couldn't stay up anymore. 

Well, guess what?  Our "quick stop" in the Azores has now stretched out to over a month on Faial!  Time to get going...but we hear we can't miss the Island of Terceira.  Okay, but just for a week.  We set out for a quick overnight passage to Terceira aiming for the UNESCO World Heritage and historic port town of Angra do Heroismo.  This was an obligatory port of call from the 15th century until the advent of the steamship in the 19th century. The 400-year-old San Sebastićo and San Joćo Baptista fortifications are unique examples of military architecture. Damaged by an earthquake in 1980, Angra is now being restored.

Some might say that Terceira is best known for its Azorean bull runs in the streets.  The runs happen almost daily from May to September, and we arrive just in time for one right here in Angra do Heroismo.   This picture shows how a typical home boards up when a run is scheduled on the street.   This is a traditional and major spectators' event all over the island. It consists of setting a bull free into the streets, tethered to a long rope controlled by a group of men, while others challenge the bull. There are touradas on a daily basis (sometimes 2 and 3 in one day) and we end up going to two.

We decide to once again rent a car to explore this island.  Terceira is a larger island than Faial so we travel many more miles to circle it in a day.   Here's a colorful fishing village. 

Another neat excurion was the decent into a volanic vent hole. The 'Algar do Carvćo' is a huge, about 100m deep, lava tube, which is the remains of a ~2000 year-old volcanic eruption of the nearby Terra Brava volcano (about 707m above sea level). The cave is the now empty tunnel of a lava flow. The name means coal pit in English and was given to the cave because of the cave walls of dark black lava. Of course there is no coal found in this area.

Very astonishing is the fact, that this volcanic cave contains stalactites and stalagmites. They were formed by silica, soluted from the lava, not by calcite as in karst caves. This is really exceptional and the result of a special chemistry of the lava.

The cave is entered by going down stairs inside the former vent of the lava flow. The end of the tour is a subterranean lake, formed by rain water. Depending on the season and the amount of rain water, the lake can be up to 15m deep. The whole cave is spacious, and our passage is up to 45m in depth.

Two weeks later, and with the weather still not cooperating for us to cross to the mainland, we decide to move on to yet another island!  The trip to Sao Miguel is a rough one with 40 knots of uncalled for wind and very rough, ugly seas.  It is an overnight trip that we can't wait to end.  We'll continue with our island visits to Sao Miguel and finally our passage to the mainland in our next log.  This one has become long and somewhat random.  It's really hard to capture the beauty and ambiance of these islands, so we've tried to make the pictures speak for themselves.