Monday, January 14, 2008

The Whalers and Moby Dick - Faial - Horta - Azores History

The hulls were as black as coffins, The ships stank of oil and death. They were the hunters of the sea, the whalers. And every year they came to Porto Pim inlet to rest their crews and leave barrels of whale oil.
Horta was part of the odyssey of those rough men who would leave New Bedford to return years later, tired, sick and not always rich. Horta therefore appeared on the cyclorama painted on cloth that was displayed from town to town in the United States to show the life of the whalers, their ports of call and their hard toil.
In the spring and summer months, dozens of whalers would take shelter behind Mounts Queimado and Guia, All had Azorean crewmen, attracted by the risk and pay. They were appreciated for their resistance and courage, like the young Daniel who, in the famous book by Herman Melville, took part in the implacable chase of the great white whale, Moby Dick.

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Açores - Azores - São Miguel - Furnas

Açores - Azores - São Miguel - Furnas , originally uploaded by Luis Miguens .