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Faial’s capital Horta holds a legendary status in the yachting world as the
last European landfall for transatlantic sailors. The best-known image of Faial
is the vibrant tapestry of paintings on the harbour wall, as sailing
superstition decrees that it is bad luck to leave port without completing one.
Another maritime ritual is a gin fizz and a gossip in Pete’s Sports Bar on the
waterfront, something recommended to all visitors interested in any current
local information. Upstairs in the bar is a fascinating collection of whales
tooth scrimshaw, a reminder of harsher times for the local mariners.
The Azorean whalers of the nineteenth century were a brave and hardy breed
who set sail in the harshest of conditions to do battle with the mighty mammals
using only simple harpoons and ropes as weapons. Happily, the sperm whales
are now protected and thriving since tourists armed with cameras and binoculars
are the only remaining hunters.
There are plenty of attractions for landlubbers too, and Horta is one of the
most attractive towns in the Azores. Set against a backdrop of hillside
pastures, impressive churches, a historic fort and the layered terraces of
houses all face out towards the forest of swaying masts in the harbour and
across to the often mist-shrouded Monte Pico on the neighbouring island.
Away from the coast, the luxuriant vegetation is pierced by black volcanic
outcrops, cows graze in pastures framed by banks of hydrangeas, old Flemish
windmills sit in valleys below craggy peaks and the area around the caldeira is
protected. All this provides walkers and cyclists with more than enough
variety and the less energetic can enjoy the views and contrasts from the local
bus or by renting a hire car. In the summer months the beaches of coastal
villages are perfect for sea swimming but dedicated bathers can enjoy the
thermal springs at Varadoura in the south, with their year-round temperature of
over 35C.
One of the most interesting sights on the island is in the far west at Ponta
dos Capelinhos where extensive volcanic eruptions in 1957/8 partially buried the
former lighthouse and added an extra chunk of land. The lighthouse is now
surreally marooned in the centre of a stark and futuristic landscape.
Legend has it that the whale watchers on the hillside above mistook the first
signs of the eruption for water spouts from the whales blowholes!
In addition to all the nautical and natural attractions Faial has always had
some significance to the outside world – notably as the base for the
meteorological station determining the weather heading towards Europe, as a
major transatlantic communications link and even as the stop-over for the first
transatlantic flight. Despite all this, in the friendly spirit of inter-island
rivalry, other Azoreans will always say that the most remarkable thing about
Faial is the view of Pico.
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