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Pico’s major claim to fame is as the home of the highest mountain in Portugal,
which – at 2351 metres – truly dominates the landscape. Although it is
the second largest island in the Azores, it is still almost entirely rural, and
whilst there are no major towns, there are three municipalities fanning out from
the main harbours.
Lajes, in the south of the island, was the first settlement and during the
whaling years the most important port. The impressive buildings are a clue to
the town’s wealthier past but nowadays it is one of the most popular whale
watching ports and home to a fascinating whaling museum with an extensive
scrimshaw collection, some of the historical tools of the trade and an excellent
library.
To the west Magalena looks out across the narrow straits to the port of Horta
on Faial. A former Carmelite convent now houses the wine museum in homage to
what was once another important mainstay of its economy. The early settlers
constructed thousands of low walls of lava to enclose small plots of land and
protect the vines for the production of Verdhela wine and the local aperitif
Lajido.
São Roque on the north coast was another important whaling port and a ship
building area. Although the shipbuilding yard at Santo Amaro still survives the
only remnant of the whaling days is the Museu Industrial which illustrates the
rather grisly process of turning the magnificent mammals into such mundane
substances as oil, soap and bonemeal.
The centre of the island is almost all taken up by the mountain and is a
designated nature reserve but the foothills make excellent grazing terrain for
the hardy cattle. Fitter visitors can climb the mountain (the company of a local
guide is recommended) with the round trip from the starting point at Cabeco das
Cabras taking around six hours. For the less fit a scenic road crosses the
centre of the island making the volcanic caves at Funa ds Frei Martias and the
Capitao, Caiado and Paul lakes accessible. The slopes of the mountain are often
shrouded in mist, a much studied phenomenon known as ‘The Hats of Pico’, and
residents of the neighbouring islands of Faial and São Jorge take great glee in
the fact that they almost always have a better view of the mountain than the
residents of Pico.
Another of the features of the island are the ‘misterios’, lava fields
which although fascinating and rather beautiful, have restricted the areas
available for cultivation. Lava flows under the sea, particularly in the channel
between Pico and Faial, have created fabulous caves and tunnels and these
combines with the large range of aquatic life make Magdalena a renowned spot for
scuba divers.
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