Day 15 - 17: Faial Island (Horta)

This past weekend was our big excursion to Horta (Faial Island) for their annual Semana do Mar (Sea Week). According to our guide book –  “…it’s an internationally famous festival with all sorts of activities related to the sea and various cultural events.” We had a blast!!

We took the ferry across from Madalena (Pico Island) to Horta (Faial Island).  It’s only about 5 miles so just a short 30 min trip. Horta is definitely more developed and touristy than Pico Island. So it was a nice change of pace for a few days.

About half way across the channel there are some large rocks in the sea – one has a cut-out in it and it is claimed to be a silhouette of the Virgin Mary. Pretty interesting.

We arrived in Horta, collected our luggage and then hung in the terminal for a bit as we purchased our tickets back for Sun eve. The boys were sure we had all the necessities for the weekend - surf boards, paddle boards and snorkeling gear!

We walked the few short blocks to our Guest House for the weekend – Banana Manor. It was a perfect spot for all of us - and the backyard was amazing! A friend of the Alkers runs this place – Jim is from Santa Cruz, CA and his wife is from Germany. They have a 6 year old son (Tiago) who was a great addition to our beach adventures this weekend.

 

 

Each day was spent at a different beach (all sand beaches here!) – loving all this ocean time!

Friday: Horta
We didn’t venture too far on Friday – just a few blocks from our hotel. Some great waves where everyone attempted a little body surfing.

 

I enjoyed some reading time while Andrew napped (typical) - thankfully you can't see the tears running down my face. "Me Before You" is not a book to be read in public. Great book - but so sad!

Saturday: Almoxarife
Some decent waves here! Luke and Andrew had a blast in the waves and definitely kept Jim and I on our toes to make sure they didn’t get swept out to sea!

 

 

Yet another great cafes on the beach and a park to keep the kids entertained until lunch was served. I think this spot may have had some of the best shrimp and clams. Yum!!

The two littlest ones (Andrew and Teah) finally caught on... if they wanted to nap, they were just going to have to take it wherever they could get it! Even Tyler finally took a break - that lasted about 5 minutes!

Sunday: Porto Pim
Previously known as Shark Bay because this is where they used to drag the whale carcasses in. But no sharks were spotted! Now it is known for the jelly fish! We had to warn the kids that we wouldn’t know if we could swim until we got there. Lucky for us the swimming beach was clear of jelly fish when we first arrived. We took the paddle boards out and found them a little farther out – giant red ones (about the size of your hand) with long tentacles and threads. As the wind and tides shifted towards the end of the day, the jelly fish started to come in a little closer and several people were walking up and down the beach warning the kids about the “agua-viva” and getting most people out of the water.

 

 

 

A little sightseeing around the island. The ocean was beautiful. The view of Pico Island on Fri eve was gorgeous right at sunset.

 

The food and drink all weekend was typical Festa food – beef, shellfish, fish, cheese and lot’s of sangria! All our favorites we have grown to love over here! My favorite meal of the weekend – a fresh plate of meat and cheese served with bread and olives – all SO fresh! Delicious!! Jim and Ashley would probably say their favorites were the meat, lapas and clams.

 

 

Festa is true celebration time in the Azores. Wow! Huge crowds, music, shopping, art and culture. The Sat eve entertainment was classic - Rollin Clones! A late night for everyone and we treated the kids to a carriage ride home Sat eve for being such troopers!

 

 

 

 

A sunset ferry ride back to Madalena on Sun evening ended our fun weekend in Horta. But we still have plenty of adventures planned for Pico! 10 more days!