Faial

After being in Horta for nine days, we managed to escape the repair cycle and actually visit something. We only had one day and the rental car was due in the next morning, so we made the most of it.

We started out early morning, and the roads were pretty quiet as it was a Sunday and most Portuguese don't do much before noon except go to church. So did we:



A very nice ruin in Ribeirinha, left from the last big earthquake in 1998.

The new peninsula in the West after the eruption of Capelinhos also merited a visit, so we walked around the old light house and read the signs depiction the cataclysmic events of 1958. Since the visitor center wasn't open until the afternoon, we walked around the area covered in volcanic ash for a while and then sought the trail to the cauldron from a previous eruption. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the end of the trail so we coudn't visit the cone.



The old light house, partially covered in ash.

While driving up the volcano, we did come across the Levada trail, whit its nice meandering water conduit in very good order. It reminded us of Madeira and the excellent trails we have taken whilst visiting that island.



Next up was the Northern coast, where we drove down to the ocean and visited the destroyed harbour of Porto da Eira. It's amazing how the fishermen could have used this port over hundreds of years, when it was always just a small indentation in the coast, without any protection from the ocean swell. It was destroyed by a winter storm and doesn't look like it will be used for anything else than bathing anytime soon.



Whilst driving back to Horta, we passed the Botanical Gardens, and even though the sign at the gate indicated they were open, there was nobody there. The gate itself wasn't shut though, so we could walk the gardens at leisure. We didn't however get to buy the T-shirt, because the souvenir shop was closed.



Back in Horta, a parade was underway for the ascension festivities, so we visited the Monte de Guia cauldron as we couldn't get through town. Next to it is a nice little museum in an old whaling factory. It has some interesting displays as well as documentaries about Faial's past as a whaling station.



As the big Continente supermarket was open until nine p.m. - and this on a Sunday! - we did our shopping for the crossing to the Isles of Scilly.

Flores

The first island we made landfall on after our ocean crossing, proved to be the right choice. Flores is beautiful, has only kind people and the pleasantest tiny marina.



We had a few days to relax after we settled down a bit, so we rented a car and drove around the island. Visiting lovely towns, crater lakes and taking walks on the hillsides proved the perfect antidote for ocean tiredness.



There are a lot of people doing handicrafts and we got some nice souvenirs from them that I'm sure the people who receive them will be thrilled with. Lace, paintings, crafted objects and shells make very good gifts after long travels.



We met tons of kind people, from the couple looking for the wedding party they flew in to attend to the numerous sailors getting into the marina to Paula who catered for our every need, from cars to excellent birthday cake.

Flores has a limited surface, but it goes very deep indeed.