Lakes of Sete Cidades
Led by another local guide, Rai, we walk among a complex network of tiny plots (called currais) surrounded by 1.5-metre volcanic stone walls, which reflect the heat of the sun onto the vines within, and protect them from winds off the mountain and ocean. There’s not much sun today, and a mist hangs over the water – and Rai notes that it’s a good day because– well, you know. She also shows me a series of adegas near the coast, small stone villas passed down through generations of families, where they still gather to eat and drink on fair-weather days. Nearby, we see the tracks of oxcarts, worn into the stone over hundreds of years, carrying barrels for export. “We have a saying here, ‘Life on Pico is harder than a rock,’” Rai says. “From here, the wine went to rowboats, to Faial, to the rest of the world.” Before heading to Faial, I have a tasting with a local winemaker, Fortunato Duarte Garcia. He tells me that three things make the vintages here special – the acidity of the mineral-rich soil, the proximity of the sea, and the rare varietals, including Arinto dos Acores and Terrantez do Pico. We make our way through a series of bottles without labels, all made from his small vineyard, just 3.5 acres. And then he favours me with a small taste of his best, Czar Vinho Licoroso (one vintage retails for more than $1,300 CAD per bottle). It’s rich, a late-harvest wine and provides good fuel for my short trip to Faial. I cross the narrow channel between the two islands where, as it turns out, nobody has heard Pico’s favourite joke. Many adventures await here: Visiting the site of one of the 20th century’s most famous volcanic eruptions, Capelinhos, which boiled for more than a year in the 1950s, lava increasing the island’s size by more than two square kilometres, with thousands displaced (many, to Canada). Also, massive blue whales, which I will see tomorrow, just a few metres from the side of a zodiac. And, Horta Marina, with its hundreds of yachts, this,
36
B O N V I V A N T T R A V E L . C A • FA L L / W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
perhaps the most important layover for modern-day explorers, making their way across the Atlantic in both directions. But first, I will eat. Finding a pub called Peter Café Sport right near the marina, I join some of those sailors who have made this place something of a legend, spreading word of its fresh seafood by word-of-mouth across the ocean. I settle in, tucking into a tuna steak, fortifying and readying myself for the rest of Faial with more islands just on the horizon.
SAVOUR THE EXPERIENCE ❱ The Azores is known as a whale and dolphin watching mecca, with 25 species of cetaceans there to be seen in their natural habitat year-round. Embark on an adventure with any provider who is certified by the World Cetacean Alliance to ensure responsible practices as you set out to Dolphins leap see some of the Atlantic’s off Faial Island most beautiful inhabitants. ❱ Most likely, travellers from Canada will be flying into Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel before venturing off to Terceira, Pico or Faial. It’s worth staying a while, especially to see the beautiful and vibrant lakes of Sete Cidades or to relax in the natural hot pools of Furnas. Either way, the island is a hiker’s paradise.
