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- blue-church-at-angra-do-heroismo
Blue church at Angra do Heroismo Igreja da Misericordia, which translates to church of mercy, is located near the marina in Angra. - basalt-playground
Basalt Playground Swimming areas are a premium on volcanic islands so they make do with what they have. This is an example. - angra-do-herosmo
Angra do Heroísmo Settled in the 1400's, more than half of the island's population lives here. - angra-beach
Angra Beach There weren't a lot of sunbathers on this day. - algar-do-carvo-steps-300-ft-down
Algar do Carvão Steps to 300 Ft Down Debby decided to go down while I saw no need. - algar-do-carvo
Algar do Carvão She made it to the the bottom and as you can see it looks exactly like I envisioned it. - alcatra
Alcatra Very, very yummy. - what-do-you-do-with-a-5-foot-candle
What Do You Do With A 5 Foot Candle - whaling-tools
Whaling Tools The inscription reads "There are three types of men: the living, the dead, and those who walk in the sea." The third tool down was used for butchering. - whale-boats
Whale Boats We visited a whaling museum and the whale boats were inside. - whale-boat-rudders
Whale Boat Rudders After harpooning a whale the line was run through a slot in the bow and then tied around that post on the stern. The rudders are in the boat transport position. - visiting-with-vasco-da-gama
Visiting With Vasco da Gama Angra was presented with this statue of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in 2016. It was commissioned and gifted by Vitor Baptista, a Portuguese immigrant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who was born in Terceira. - this-doesnt-look-good
This Doesn't Look Good Yeah, dropped some euros here! I knew it was a mistake to let her enter, but I didn't want to cause a scene. - taking-a-break
Taking a break We strolled about Angra and had a break at this fresh-air restaurant. - street-sweeping-with-unique-broom
Street Sweeping With Unique Broom Living on an island necessitates the occasional creative solution. This one works. - One of many vineyards
One of Many Vineyards Pico's main industries over the years have been wine and whaling and now of course tourism. Because the island is essentially a pile of basalt (lava rock) growing anything was a real task. They used the basalt stones to create barriers to protect the growing plants from the wind as seen here and these walls go on for miles. Some of the walls are hundreds of years old. The plants are a low growing vine. Verdelho, one of three traditional plants grown there and the most famous was wiped out by powdery mildew around 1850. It was replaced with resistant hybrids from America but other plant diseases in the late 1800s nearly wiped out the industry. Today Pico makes some of the best Portuguese wine Verdelho is making a comeback. - one-of-many-churches
One of Many Churches We stopped at the Bandeiras church in Madalena and the inside is quite spectacular. - local-swimming-pool
Local Swimming Pool This is a "beach" and swimming pool when the weather is warmer. - Grape Plant Walls
Grape Plant Walls This vineyard was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004. - Grape crop
Grape Crop The walls were dry constructed and the tallest would be about 5 feet. - floral-arrangement
Floral Arrangement These flowers are real. - floral-arrangement (2)
Floral Arrangement These flowers are real. - fish-for-lunch
Fish For Lunch Being islanders, fish makes a large portion of their diet. However, I'm not an islander. - fat-rendering-fireplace
Fat Rendering Fireplace The fireplace was fitted with 2 pots for rendering the fat of sperm whales, the only whales they hunted. - Boat trip to pico
Boat Trip to Pico We took a ferry from Faial to Pico for a day trip. These outcroppings dotted the shoreline. - beef-and-pork
Beef and Pork I ate from this this platter. - basalt-bridge
Basalt Bridge I have read that the main difference between basalt and lava rock is that basalt is finer grained and less porous as a result of cooling quickly. - alter2
Alter Closer view of the alter. - alter
Alter - a-little-ornate
A Little Ornate One might feel a little overwhelmed here. - 7-passenger-whaling-boat
7-Passenger Whaling Boat Whaling in the Azores was officially banned in the 1980s and the last kill was in 1987. Click Here to watch a 20 minute documentary on Pico whaling from 1969. Click Here to see a 1968 documentary narrated by Orson Welles. - Vineyard Windmill
Windmill In Vineyard Our first stop on the island was at a vineyard and this windmill was there. It was one of the few functional ones left on the island having been rebuilt in the early 2000s. Many of the other windmills have fallen into disrepair due to age and lack of maintenance. - whaling-museum
Whaling Museum A tourist in the obligatory pose with the harpooner. - whale-butchery
Whale Butchery They would drag whales up this ramp to butcher them. - the-beach
The Beach - shore-walk
Shore Walk - pool-ladder
Pool Ladder