Handicrafts - Popular Art - Pico Island - Azores

The hands of the women of Pico create fine crochet lace using traditional or more modern designs, straw hats and rush mats.

The hard tooth of the sperm whale serves as the raw material for the scrimshaw techniques brought over a century ago by the American whalers who came to the waters of the Azores to hunt and recruit harpooners who were famous on the seven seas. The themes carved on these small but valuable works of art are sailing ships, scenes of combat with the great sea mammals, the feminine figures that fill mariners' dreams. But the cachalot also gives rise to other curious pieces. From its teeth, bones and jaws, skilled hands make small sculptures recalling its asymmetrical profile, tails that seem to sweep the ocean and rings, ear-rings and pendants.
Connected with whale hunting are also the delicate and complete miniatures of the elegant whaling-boats, worthy to appear in museums, produced by some of their former crew members.

Gastronomy - Pico Islands - Traditional Food Specialties - Azores

Torresmos de porco (small browned rashers of bacon), morcela (blood pudding), linguiça com inhames (Portuguese sausage with yams) and molha de carne (a meat speciality) are the main dishes of a cuisine which, with caldo de peixe (fish soup), polvo guisado em vinho (octopus stewed in wine) and bolo-de-milho (prepared with maize), delights ail hearty eaters. Those who like shell-fish will find worthy companions for their appetite in the local lobsters, deep-water crabs and cavacos. The soft, white fresh cheese of Pico is a good start to a meal, which can end with the typical, delicious cheese of São João, with its yellow rind, soft interior and intense smell, produced from cow's milk.

Massa sovada, rosquilhas, vésperas and arroz doce are the typical sweets of the island, connected with the Holy Ghost Festivals. They are completed by the Carnival sweets, the filhoses, coscorões and sonhos. Fig and local brandies, made in old copper stills, are digestive beverages that are much appreciated. For those who like sweet drinks, Pico can offer the typical angelica.

Inhames

A famous "verdelho"
Born on the soil of lava, protected from the wind by walls of rough, dark stone, warmed by the rays of the sun, the bunches of grapes acquire the sweetness of honey. Squeezed, they produce a dry white wine with an alcoholic content of 15 to 17 degrees which, after ageing serves as an excellent appetiser. In the last century it was exported to many countries in Europe and America and even reached the tables of the Russian Court. The vineyards, which mark the landscape of the island, also produce a dry, fresh, light and fruity wine that is the ideal companion of a dish of shell-fish or fish, and also the red vinho de cheiro whose presence is compulsory on tables on feast days.

The orchard island
The ground made of lava, the sun and the dry climate make Pico the orchard of the Azores, where apple and pear trees, damson and peach trees, plum and orange trees flourish and produce sweet, juicy fruits that are taken early in the morning on the fruit boats to the town of Horta by the men and women who sell them there. But it is the figs, with an interior that is as red as rubies, a true delicacy for gourmets, that best symbolise the delicious fruit of Pico.

Festivals - Pico Island - Azores

Festival of Bom Jesus - São Mateus
Well attended. The parish is colourfully decorated for the occasion. Music supplied by bands. One of the most important religious festivals in the Azores, the high point being the Ecce Home. Every year on 6th August.

Festivals of the Whaling Men - Lajes do Pico
Dates back to 1883, with the arrival of an image of Our Lady of Lourdes. The whaling men gradually took part in the festival over years. Splendid religious procession. Evening festivity with music and dancing. Last week in August.

Festival of St. Mary Madalene
Traditional festival with a varied programme, including a procession and other liturgical ceremonies, festivities with music, dancing and illuminations. 22nd July. Grape harvest festival in the second week in September.

Holy Ghost Festivals - Pico Island - Azores

A tradition brought by the first settlers and deeply rooted in the population since the aid of the Holy Ghost used to be requested to hold back the streams of lava that devastated houses and crops, these festivals have retained the charm of former times in Pico. The curious ceremony of the "emperors" carrying the crown and sceptre in procession, and the "function" that marks the feast day itself, are repeated in every parish on the island from Whitsun. The processions, with such delicacies as rosquilhas, bolos de véspera and pão doce which at the end of the festivities are distributed among all those present and passers-by, maintain all the colour of limes gone by.
The "empires", which are simple constructions having the white dove of the Holy Ghost at the top of the roof, are present all over the island and are an interesting example of folk architecture.

Holidays - Pico Island - Azores

The crystal blue ocean surrounding Pico is an invitation to fish and to practise underwater observation of the rock formations and rich sea flora and fauna. Swimming is possible in the various natural pools along the coast. The numberless rabbits that hop around the island are able to provide several days of pleasant hunting, with the certainty that you will return every evening with dozens of these soft-skinned rodents (since there is almost a "plague") of rabbits, the law allows them to be hunted all year round.

The hunter will also have a chance to aim his rifle at partridges, snipe, pigeons and quail, which can be found or the island though not in large numbers. Those with resistant legs will want to climb up Pico mountain, a task which can be more or less difficult according to the access chosen.

People interested in speleology have long caves to climb down and discover, although they should always be sure to take a guide with them. But it is the simple charms of the island of Pico, made up of green pastures, maize fields, sweet-smelling orchards and dark mistérios, that excite those who seek to discover, by walking, all the attractions of this island born of fire.

The "maroicos" - Pico Island - Azores

The volcanic stone prevented the fields from being cultivated. So through year after year of toil the inhabitants of Pico erected the truncated pyramids made of thousands of stones - the maroiços which still constitute dark spots in the scenery, mainly in the western area of the island.

The Vineyards and "Currais" - Pico Island - Azores

The ground was hard, dark lava. But the hand of man transformed it, at the cost of hard work, into vineyards producing wine with a delicate flavour called verdelho. In witness to this are the maze of walls made of stone on top of stone - the currais and canadas - where one or more shoots of vine are made to grow. The vineyards stretch all over the western coast of Pico, particularly at Madatena, Bandeiras, Santa Luzia, Criação Velha and Candelária, and also to the south up to Manhenha in the parish of Piedade.

Volcanic Curiosities - Pico Island - Azores

Pico mountain, the lava beds of the mistérios and the caverns and grottoes that pierce the solidified magma are not the only visible results of volcanic activity in the island. If you walk over the plateau area, with an average altitude of 800 metres, you will find dozens of small volcanic cones and craters covered by basaltic slag, dominated by Pico do Topo with a height of 1,007 metres. On the cone of Pico mountain, at an altitude of about 1,500 metres, there is a series of secondary craters called Furnas where people usually spend the night when they climb the height. In the channel separating the islands of Pico and Faial there is an enormous underwater crater with a diameter of about 4 km.

Quinta das Rosas - Matos Souto - Pico Island - Azores

Quinta das Rosas
Park with a great variety of species of trees, including many exotic ones. Belvedere.

Matos Souto
Forested park, with some rare species of trees and an appreciable garden. A place to spend your leisure time. Magnificent earthen pots with species that are being carefully grown and tested.

Arcos do Cachorro - Pico Island - Arches of the Puppy - Azores

Impressive group of lavas next to the sea, perforated by many grottoes and tunnels. Volcanic arches over the sea. Rocks with curious shapes, one of them resembling the muzzle of a dog which possibly gave the place its name (Arcos do Cachorro means Arches of the Puppy).

The Grottoes and Caverns - Pico Island - The Charm of the Landscape

The cooling of the lava and the escape of volcanic gases caused the appearance of cavities that take the form of grottoes covered with volcanic stalactites and stalagmites or long corridors stretching into the depths of the earth. Deserving a visit, accompanied by a guide and suitable equipment, are the caverns (furnas) called Frei Matias (connected with the legend of a hermit), Silveira (with long galleries) and Montanheiros.

The Mysteries - Pico Island - The Charm of the Landscape

Lava beds originating in eruptions that took place after the settlement of the island, they have locally been given the name of mistérios or "mysteries" since the people knew no explanation for the volcanic phenomena and mainly for the effects of the eruptions which destroyed cultivated lands, making them inproductive. Covered by more or less dense woods, they are spread all over the island, the dark lava marking the surrounding landscape. The mistérios of Prainha (1572), Santa Luzia/Bandeiras and São João (1718) and Soldão (1720) are spectacular.

The lakes - Pico Island - The Charm of the Landscape

The lakes of Capitão, Caiado, Rosada, Paúl, Peixinho, Ilhéu, Negra and Landroal are situated in the central plateau area which stretches to the eastern tip of the island. Of modest size, they are surrounded by the original vegetation of the island cedars, laurels and the tree called vinhático.

The mountain - Pico Island - The Charm of the Landscape

Majestic volcano dominating the island, with an altitude of 2,351 metres. It is crowned by Pico Alto, a round crater with a perimeter of about 700 metres and a depth that reaches 30 metres. At the extremity of the crater lies the volcanic cone Piquinho or Pico Pequeno, with a height of about 70 metres and with fumaroles at its base, and which constitutes the summit of the mountain. It is covered with thick forests up to about 1,500 metres, but above this altitude the vegetation is reduced to shrubbery ending at 2,000 metres. After that there is only the cone of bare, naked lava, which is covered by snow in the winter. Provides magnificent views, including glimpses of the islands of Faial, São Jorge, Graciosa and Terceira. Sunrise viewed from the top of the peak is a spectacular and unforgettable sight.

Whalewatching in the Azores - Pico Island - The Island of the Whaling Men

Whale-watching has replaced hunting as a source of income on Pico, says Cathy Packe

Lajes, on the south coast of Pico, is a sleepy little village. The main street, which runs north to south, is rarely packed with shoppers, and the mother church, as the main religious building in each Azorean settlement is known, looks disproportionately large for the needs of what must be a small and dwindling population. But along the seafront are two reminders that this was once one of the most important places on the island.
The concrete and marble structure at the end of the quay is the whaling monument; three interconnecting boat houses on Rua dos Baleeiros now house the whaling museum. Apart from the signs advertising whale-watching trips from the village, these are the only indications that Lajes was once the centre of an industry that flourished in the Azores, and mainly here on the island of Pico, for more than two centuries, until the late 1980s.
Whaling was introduced to the Azores by whalers from the east coast of the United States, who arrived in the islands during the 18th century, driven further and further south by a decline in the numbers of sperm whale to be found closer to their own shores. They stopped in the Azores in search of supplies and human reinforcements, and a logistical support industry grew up around the harbour of Horta, on Faial. But the local fishermen quickly realised that there was money to be made in hunting large cetaceans and an Azorean whaling industry began to flourish, based on the islands of Flores, Faial and, particularly, Pico.

Lajes do Pico

The whale first had to be identified from the shore by keen-sighted whale-spotters who kept watch from huts, or "vigias", on the cliff-tops. Many of these structures can still be seen around the islands. These men would send up flares to alert the whalers that they needed to get ready to go to sea. The boats set out in pairs, and once boat and whale were alongside each other, the whalers harnessed them together by spearing the creature with an eight-foot harpoon, and then killing it with a lance which pierced its heart.


After the whales had been brought ashore, they were cut open and taken to a nearby factory for processing. One of these was at São Roque do Pico, on the north coast of the island, which has now been turned into a Whaling Industry Museum. The tanks on display here were once used to melt the blubber - an unappetisingly smelly procedure - and to turn it into sperm oil, a valuable commodity which could be used in cosmetics, lubricants, paints, wax and many other products. This was the most useful part of the whale, but nothing was wasted. The meat was ground and the bones crushed to make animal feed and fertilisers and the liver was ground to produce an oil rich in vitamins A and D.

The sight of the old ship on display in the island's other whaling museum, back in Lajes, highlights the dangers that the whalers were subjected to in order to bring these vast creatures ashore. It seems remarkably small, given the strength of the ocean and the size of the whales that it went out to pursue. Open boats like this one offered little protection from the either the weather or the whale itself, although they continued to be used in Pico longer than anywhere else.
Whaling was finally abandoned around the islands some 20 years ago and the whalers were forced to look elsewhere for work. But whales continue to provide the Azores with some of their income. Whale-watching has become a popular activity, with trips available on a daily basis from several of the islands during the summer months. A three-hour trip from Lajes with Futurismo on Avenida Marginal (00 351 292 672 000) will cost €45 (£32). There is a full refund if no whales are sighted, although this rarely happens. The company sends whale-spotters to the old look-out posts on the cliff-tops, but these days when they see a whale they communicate direct with the boat by radio instead of sending up a flare. These trips take place from April to October, although the company also operates year-round trips from Ponta Delgada (00 351 296 628 522). Companies that operate from Horta include Norberto, based at Rua do Paiol 12 (00 351 292 293 891; www.norbertodiver.com).

One aspect of the ancient whaling tradition still persists in the Azores. Scrimshaw is the art of engraving whales' teeth with intricate carvings. Its origins were prosaic. Cutting patterns into teeth pulled from captive whales kept bored whalers occupied while they were at sea. But much of the work that they produced has lasted, and there are displays in the gallery above Peter's Café Sport on the harbour at Horta on Faial and in the Whalers Museum at Lajes do Pico. The original technique was simple. Once a design - often a scene depicting the harpooning of the whale - had been scratched into the ivory it was rubbed with lamp-black to bring out the detail. The process eventually became mechanised and, now that whales are no longer hunted, the art of scrimshaw is gradually dying out. But there are still some scrimshaw artists at work, like John van Opstal, a Dutchman who has made the Azores his adopted home. He welcomes all visitors to his studio at Banda da Vila 17c, in Conceição, on the road that heads north just above Horta (00 351 292 392 720).

The Whalers' Museum (Museu dos Baleeiros) at Rua dos Baleeiros 13, Lajes do Pico (00 351 292 672 276) opens 9am-12.30pm and 2-5.30pm Tuesday to Friday, 2-5.30pm at weekends. Entrance costs €1.25 (90p).
The Whaling Industry Museum (Museu da Industria Baleeira) at Rua do Poço, São Roque (00 351 292 622 147) opens 9am-12.30pm and 2-5.30pm Tuesday to Friday, 9am-12.30pm at weekends. Entrance is free.

Criacao Velha - Sao Mateus - Candelaria - Sao Caetano (or Prainha do Sul) - Pico Island - Azores

Criação Velha
Of advanced age, as its very name indicates (Criação Velha means Old Creaton), it is still the true home of verdelho wine, with golden grapes that ripen on large beds of lava at the place called Lagido. Place to visit: Church of Nossa Senhora das Dores.

Moinho do Frade - Lajido da Criação Velha

São Caetano (or Prainha do Sul)
It is still called Prainha do Galeão (literally, Little Beach of the Galleon) because of the ship built there by Garcia Gonçalves Madruga in the 16th c. to pay debts owed to King João III. Magnificent bay.
Belonging to the parish is the locality called Terra do Pão, with a small church dedicated to St Margaret.
Place to visit: Church of São Caetano.

São Mateus
One of line oldest villages in the island. Its foundation dates back to 1482. An alternative port for connections with Faial and one of the last existing bases for whale hunting. Land of lace-makers, who produce excellent crochet work.
Place to visit: Church of São Mateus.

Candelária
Picturesque village in an area or vineyards and orchards. Birthplace of the late cardinal, José da Costa Nunes. Place to visit: Church of Nossa Senhora das Candeias.

Lajes do Pico and Sao Joao - Pico Island - Art and History

Lajes do Pico
The first settlement on the island. Important fishing and commercial port. Whale hunting centre with a centuries-old tradition. Old houses, with dressed stones and balconies running the length of the facade, revealing past prosperity. Picturesque views of the port, with its houses by the sea, and of the volcano of Pico. Curious plant for making dairy products.
Place to visit: Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição; Chapel of São Pedro and Whalers' Museurn. Set up in the former Boat-House. Whaling-boat with its equipment. Products of the whaling industry. Important collection of scrimshaw made from the teeth, bones and ivory of the sperm whale. At the place called Silveira, the only source of mineral water in the island.

São João
Set between two mistérios, destroyed by the volcanic eruption of 1718 which buried its original church, it has a small port, one of the first that was used as a whale hunting base. Its inhabitants, whose men work on land and or the sea like most of the people of Pico, have won fame for making the savoury cheese that bears the name of the parish.
Place to visit: Church of São João Baptista.

Santo Amaro - Ribeirinha - Piedade - Calheta de Nesquim - Ribeiras - Pico Island - Art and History

Santo Amaro
Small village stretching from the small beaching-place for poets to the heights of Terra Alta. Main shipbuilding yard in the Azores, using old manual techniques.
Place to visit: Church of Santo Amaro.

Ribeirinha
The youngest parish in Pico (1980). Places to visit: Church of Santo Antão and Sitio da Baixa, a characteristic example of the summer sea-side resorts preferred by the inhabitants of Pico.

Piedade
Village situated at the eastern extremity of the island. Interesting vistas of the sea and the inland areas. Lovely, curious park of the Forestry Services.
Place to visit: Church of Nosse Senhora da Piedade.

Calheta de Nesquim
Important old port. Typical base for whale hunting, with tug boats and elegant canoes. Place where the first base for hunting the sperm whale was set up in 1876.
Place to visit: Church of São Sebastião.

Carlos Fontes Gallery
Wineries of Feteira de Baixo, in the picturesque village of Calheta de Nesquim. The houses and garden walls built out of black basalt blocks. A peaceful place in a gentle landscape.

Ribeiras
One of the first settlements in the island. Fishing port with long traditions and experienced sailors. Worthy of visits are the churches of Santa Cruz and Santa Bárbara (which replace a 17th c. place of worship), as examples of the rural-style religious art of the Azores.

Santo Antonio - Sao Roque do Pico - Prainha do Norte - Pico Island - Azores

Santo António
Named after the great Portuguese-born saint, the parish includes the small villages of Santana and São Vicente, with their chapels.
Church of Santo António. Small place of worship, founded towards the end of the 17th century. Unlike most churches in Pico, it has only one tower.
The place called Furna, where arriving birds perch, displays a curious combination of volcanic forces and the fury of the ocean waves.

São Roque do Pico
Old town, with characteristic and interesting houses, Commercial port at Cais do Pico, connected with the whaling industry and the site of the only whaling factory in the archipelago.
Church of São Roque and Convent and Church of São Pedro de Alcantara are good places to visit.

A monument for the Azorean whalers in São Roque do Pico.

Prainha do Norte
The second settlement founded on the northern coast of the island.
Church of Nossa Senhora da Ajuda and Large edifice, with an interesting facade (18th c), are good places to visit.
Typical old wine cellars, connected with the centuries-old production of verdelho wine, mainly in the area of Canas bay. Close to a large mistério (mystery), a lava bed covered with trees, resulting from an eruption in 1572 and, in the woods overlooking it small but bucolic Lake Caiado.

Madalena - Bandeiras - Santa Luzia - Pico Island - Art and History

Madalena
The trading and communications centre of the island Its position facing Faial and the town of Horta has made it, since line initial settlement period, the port that ensures links with the neighbouring island. Even nowadays picturesque coasting vessels connect the two fishing ports. Typical town. Fishing port. Daily connections with Horta by motor-boat, Facing the town lie the curious islets "Deitado" (Lying Down) and "Em pé" (Standing), where a birds have their nests.
At Areia Larga, a traditional summer resort you may enjoy the sight of some of the oldest manor houses of the "verdelho" cycle.
You can visit the Church of Santa Maria Madalena; the Town Hall and the wine Museum set up in the former Carmelite convent.
At Areia Larga a traditional summer resort, one may find the largest cannery in the Azores and a co-operative wine cellar.



Bandeiras
A village connected with the "wine cycle" and the prosperity it brought to the island in the 18th and 19th centuries. Resorts at Cais do Mourato and Cachorro. At the latter place there is an old chapel, the destination of tin most traditional penitential pilgrimage of the people of the Azores. The locality called Cabeço Chão has a outstanding micro-climate in the mild weather that is enjoyed all over the island.
Here, too, is one of the most characteristic rural chapels, in which the artistic wood carvings of the altar are outstanding.
You can visit the Church of Nossa Senhora da Boa Nova; Construction dating from the middle of the l9th century. Excellent facade made of good dressed stores.

Santa Luzia
Characteristic village. Close to the small, picturesque sea-side villages of Lajido and Cabrito. Have a look at the place called Ribeira Nova - a recently abandoned small village - where you can still enjoy tin sight of some basaltic constructions with original characteristics.


You can visit the Scrimshaw shop of the artist Fátima Madruga and Church of Santa Luzla.