We loved taking pictures of Pico, and we had an extra day in Faial (which we saw most of anyway), so we took a boat to Pico for the day. It was a suggestion from our tourguide yesterday and he arranged for us to meet a guide there. Her name was Evalina and she had actually lived in Vancouver for 12 years. She took us all around the island and was so knowledgable about everything.

In the van were 2 other groups of two: some friends from Lisbon, and a couple from Barcelona. We nicknamed the wife in the couple “Misery McGee” – she started the trip making everyone change seats because she didn’t like the placement of the air conditioner in the car. She didn’t say a word all trip, held a firm scowl the whole time, and didn’t participate in basically anything. She also stayed at least 10 feet from her husband at all times. Her husband, on the other hand, was a very pleasant and jolly man who seemed like he would be fun at parties.Our first stop was vineyards that were sectioned off by walls of volcanic rock, which was built 500 years ago. It’s actually a UNESCO world heritage site. The rocks weren’t cemented together, but were balanced precariously with holes in between them to allow for airflow. Our guide said when there is an earthquake (which happens a lot), the stones behave like jello and don’t fall down. They supposedly trap the heat from the sun and protect the plants from the wind (and cows), which is good for the grapes.

It’s very difficult to water and “catch” the grapes (as our guide kept saying) because you have to walk up and down narrow lava rock paths to get to each bunch of vines. Because it’s a UNESCO site, you get a subsidy if you maintain the walls as they were 500 years ago.

We saw a really old church, with a statue of Jesus with curly hair. Apparently someone prayed to cure their sick daughter, in exchange for their curly hair. When her daughter was cured miraculously, she gave her hair to Jesus, and the hair grew LONGER (*gasp*). Everyone here is very very religious so I couldn’t really ask whether someone just snuck in and replaced the hair with a longer wig… Michael’s theory is that, on account of the heat, the curly hair straightened out a bit, making it look longer. As someone with curly hair, this theory is not supported by hair science.

We went to a public park with lots of fruit trees – figs, apples, passion fruits, bananas, a kind of wild blueberries, etc. And pineapple! Did you know that it takes 2 years to harvest one pineapple? #themoreyouknow

Hey check it out, Pico has a piquino (sp?) On top of it! And we’re on the island of Pico. So Pico on Pico on Pico!

Next, we stopped at a cheese factory, that makes Sao Joao cheese. It tasted like a creamier emmenthal without the holes. We tried a regular one, one with peppers, and one with garlic and parsley. Delish!

We went for lunch that was just ok (it was included with the tour). But 2 dishes were amazing, because they’re still made by the 87 year old grandmother of the family that owns the restaurant: the fresh cheese, and the rice pudding. When she isn’t there, no one gets rice pudding. It was thicker than usual, and the rice here is also thicker, so it was quite chewy in a good way.

This is the house of the first man to have colonized the island in the 1400s:

He went to check out the island with some buddies, the seas got rough, and his friends left him on the island FOR A YEAR! When they came back, he was still alive. He then brought his whole family back to live with him on the island.

We drove around to see some lakes but it was very cloudy and we couldn’t see much. Misery McGee, shockingly, got out of the van to take pictures of these lakes. Maybe she likes ducks? Normally she stayed in the car or begrudgingly exited and stayed 10 feet away from her husband. Maybe he dragged her to the Azores? Maybe she is just an unhappy lady? It was a mystery that we were unable to solve.

The sea was very rough and Michael took advantage of it:

We went to a spot with old lava tubes. Apparently there are lava tubes throughout the island that lead from near the top of the mountain all the way to the sea. People have actually died or disappeared by accidentally falling into them. The ones we saw are near the sea, so when the water rushes in it makes a big SPLOOSH!

After the lava tubes, we tried some liqueur using fruit and honey from the island. Then we went to a bar that has won all kinds of awards for its architecture. It’s called Cella Bar, and it’s supposed to resemble a wine barrel.

We sat on the rooftop patio and had some drinks while we watched the waves crash into the shore.

We finished the tour off with ice cream, and got on the ferry back home. We ate dinner at a pizzeria (we needed a short break from octopus). Then we went to Peter Cafe Sport to listen to an amazing artist named Sara Cruz, who is from the Azores. I highly recommend listening to her, she’s so talented! Here’s the Spotify link for all the interested peeps: Sara Cruz