Out in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, about 10 million years ago, a series of volcanic eruptions developed into what we now know as the Azores Islands. There are 9 islands in all and we managed to make it to 3 of them. The history of these islands are filled with mythical legends, tales of pirates and stories of whalers. Islands that claim to have more cows than people. I like cows. Islands with local wines selling for $4.00 a bottle. I like wine. Come along and Island hop with us in the Azores….

Getting There

Once you are on the island of Sao Miguel, You can hop on a prop plane and fly to Pico. The flight takes about 45 minutes and costs less than $100. This was the smallest plane I have ever flown on (30 seats) and after I got over my initial horror, it was totally fine. You can fly to the other islands in the Azores from Sao Miguel as well.

Things to Do

Hike the Wine Trail- Pico is well known for their production of wine. There is a hike you can take through the local vineyards along the coast with beautiful stops along the way including a beach bar, windmills, a black lava beach and at the end of the hike; a cooperative winery where you can sample wines from the island. The hike is a little over 4 miles and takes between 2 and 3 hrs. to finish.

Visit the Wine Cooperative-This is the winery (not a vineyard) that can be visited either after the hike, or independently. They have several different tastings available, all served with cheese and crackers. The wines are all local and some of the vineyards are part of the wine trail mentioned above. We did the 5 classic tasting which did not disappoint.

Visit the Wine Museum- I can see how this may seem like I have a problem…..but Pico is really all about the wine and a visit to this museum will explain it all.

Climb Mount Pico– This volcano is the highest point in all of Portugal. People travel to Pico just to conquer Mount Pico. We did not. I really wanted to. I even booked us on a tour. It is recommended that you go with a guide if you do attempt the climb and they only allow a certain number of climbers a day….. so why didn’t we climb it???? This is a serious climb. The elevation gain from midway is 3,772 ft and the climb takes around 8 or 9 hours, leaving from a place called the Mountain House. The total height of Mount Pico is almost 8,000 feet! There is a lot of loose volcanic rock and constant weather changes to deal with, along with the sudden change in altitude. We cancelled our tour believing that we could have done it (many people do),but the fact that Pico has no hospitals on the island also made me believe that maybe it was smart for us to skip this one.

Take the Ferry to Pico’s neighbor, Faial- There are many ferries each day that cross over to the island of Faial. Some of the ferries take cars across (which we did the first day) and the ride takes under a half hour. We paid a total of $35 with the car! We took the people only ferry the next day, which was a smaller boat and therefore, a bit more of a vomit comet..

Things to Do in Faial

Hike the rim of the Caldeira- This was one of my favorite things to do on the islands. The entire hike is a little more than 4 miles and takes around 2 hours to complete. You basically follow the trail around the rim of one of the largest volcanoes in the Azores. The views are out of this world!!

Climb the Lighthouse of Ponta dos Capelinhos and Visit the Museum– We could have spent all afternoon here. This area was completely altered when a volcano erupted in 1957 burying the base of the lighthouse in ash, changing the landscape and sending many Azoreans packing their bags and moving to America! The museum (including a climb up the lighthouse ) is very extensive and includes information on volcanoes worldwide, as well as volcanic activity on the Azores Islands.

Visit the Scrimshaw Museum – This museum is above a famous bar on Faial and I was not sure what to expect. We paid a few euro to a guy in the back of the bar and he called upstairs to see if the “guide” was available. The last time I paid a few dollars to a guy in the back of a dark bar I found myself on stage in a contest that I will not discuss at this time….This turned out to be one of the best tours I have taken in a long time. The tour guide was hilarious while still being extremely informative. I learned more about scrimshaw than I ever needed to know. If I am on Jeopardy some day, I feel confident about my chances of winning if the category is The Lost Art of Scrimshaw….

Spend an afternoon at Porto Pim Beach- I could spend every afternoon of my life on this beach. Beautiful views, calm warm waters and soft black sand.

Visit the Whaling Museum-Another fantastic museum (if you are a museum nerd like me) on the island of Faial. The museum is housed in an old whaling factory where you can still observe much of the original machinery used during the height of the whaling industry. The museum had a plethora of information about sperm whales, but my favorite display was the actual life size skin from a sperm whale’s penis. It was as tall as me. I’m not sure that the whale would have shared my amusement..or the fact that his penis skin was on display for all to see..Apologies to my Sperm Whale friends. Fun Fact: shoes were made out of the skin from the sperm whale’s penis..apparently it was the softest part of the sperm whale. I guess we could say that these shoes were not hard-on the feet…..

Have a Drink (or lunch) at Peter’s Cafe and Sport- This is a bar with personality! It’s been around for over 100 years and is a famous stopover for yachters crossing the Atlantic. The Scrimshaw Museum is upstairs.

Admire all of the paintings in the port– The port of Horta is a great place to stroll around and admire paintings and murals left by sailors from all over the world. There’s a ton of places to sit on the water and sip a Galão (a great coffee drink in the Azores), enjoy the view and admire the yachts docked along the harbor.

Where to Stay

My bed in Pico– Great location right near the port and above a great restaurant. free parking. $120. a night for our room with a private balcony in season. 5 different rooms to choose from.

Pousada Forte da Horta- Sad to say we did not stay here! We visited Faial by ferry for 2 days in a row, but went back to our base in Pico. If I could redo it, I would stay on Faial and visit Pico and would splurge for this hotel (which is an old repurposed fort on the harbor). Fantastic location, charming history and a pool on the roof!!!

Where to Eat

My Bed in Pico has a restaurant right below with amazing passion fruit sangria and a good selection of lunch and dinner items.

Peters Sports Cafe– I absolutely love the atmosphere… The food would have been good had they not messed up our order…

Mercado Bio- Some of the most amazing curry along with other Thai options. Across the street from My Bed in Pico.

Travel Tip; I would recommend renting a car if you visit the Azores. We actually rented a car from a local dealership in Pico (Terauto) because it was the cheapest rate we could find. They e mailed me with directions to pick up the keys at the airport cafe counter and find the car in the airport parking lot! It was easier than it sounds. Their airport parking lot was smaller than the CVS parking lot near me. The contract was in the envelope with the keys and drop off was the same. They actually called me while I was at the airport leaving because they needed my credit card information to charge me! As I mentioned, they are extremely honest and trusting.

So if you are planning a trip to the Azores Islands, you might want to try and visit another island during your trip. The islands of Pico and Faial are easy to visit together due to their proximity to each other. My favorite of all 3 that we visited? Faial!!! If you get a chance to visit the islands, take time to sit and enjoy a galao while enjoying a sunset on the Atlantic, hike some of their beautiful volcanoes (maybe even Mount Pico if you dare), but leave nothing behind but footprints on their trails …..