São Jorge, Azores
For much of the night we spent quietly tied to the small pier at Horta. Just as breakfast began we started transiting the waters between the island of Faial and São Jorge. Our intentions for the morning were to stop just off a small bay along the south side of São Jorge toward the western end of the island. Unfortunately the wind steadily increased as we leisurely ate breakfast. Instead of a Zodiac cruise along the rugged shoreline we altered plans and went to the small pier at the village of Velhas nearby. This gave us an opportunity to walk around in the bright sunlight and warm temperatures to see this well kept small village. With the clear skies the highest point in the Azores was an obvious feature of the scenery no matter where you were on this side of São Jorge. Once on the pier many people watched as a small fishing boat was offloading basket after basket of a small species of tuna. The people of the village were all quite busy moving around on foot or by their small cars and even a few by horseback and cart. It was a wonderfully relaxing morning acquiring the atmosphere of another lovely Azorean village.
During lunch we progressed slowly into the stiff breeze and low swell around the westernmost point of the island. This western point of land called Ponta dos Rosais is quite dramatic even from a distance as it is carved from the volcanic landscape by the wind and waves of the open ocean. However, once we cleared the corner of the island we turned very smoothly and had the seas directly behind the ship gently pushing us along. As we progressed eastward along this north side we could see only a few very small communities “stuck” precipitously along the shore between the ocean waves breaking on the rocks and the very steep slopes surrounding the island. As we moved along, many people watched not only at the rugged coastline but also over the ocean surface for any sign of marine life. A large flock of Cory’s Shearwaters floated along as we passed. Then some thing else was seen in the distance—a splash of water. Watching intently it was not a splash but a blow, a low blow. Then a couple of other blows were seen in various directions. Soon the bridge moved the ship and turned so we were again treated to the sighting of Sperm Whales. It was very difficult to determine the number of animals in the area as they were scattered from near the ship to some distance away. But we were able to see the animals a number of times as they surfaced for air before diving to the depths in search of food. It was a wonderful way to end the day and to spend the last afternoon onboard the Endeavour in the Azores.
For much of the night we spent quietly tied to the small pier at Horta. Just as breakfast began we started transiting the waters between the island of Faial and São Jorge. Our intentions for the morning were to stop just off a small bay along the south side of São Jorge toward the western end of the island. Unfortunately the wind steadily increased as we leisurely ate breakfast. Instead of a Zodiac cruise along the rugged shoreline we altered plans and went to the small pier at the village of Velhas nearby. This gave us an opportunity to walk around in the bright sunlight and warm temperatures to see this well kept small village. With the clear skies the highest point in the Azores was an obvious feature of the scenery no matter where you were on this side of São Jorge. Once on the pier many people watched as a small fishing boat was offloading basket after basket of a small species of tuna. The people of the village were all quite busy moving around on foot or by their small cars and even a few by horseback and cart. It was a wonderfully relaxing morning acquiring the atmosphere of another lovely Azorean village.
During lunch we progressed slowly into the stiff breeze and low swell around the westernmost point of the island. This western point of land called Ponta dos Rosais is quite dramatic even from a distance as it is carved from the volcanic landscape by the wind and waves of the open ocean. However, once we cleared the corner of the island we turned very smoothly and had the seas directly behind the ship gently pushing us along. As we progressed eastward along this north side we could see only a few very small communities “stuck” precipitously along the shore between the ocean waves breaking on the rocks and the very steep slopes surrounding the island. As we moved along, many people watched not only at the rugged coastline but also over the ocean surface for any sign of marine life. A large flock of Cory’s Shearwaters floated along as we passed. Then some thing else was seen in the distance—a splash of water. Watching intently it was not a splash but a blow, a low blow. Then a couple of other blows were seen in various directions. Soon the bridge moved the ship and turned so we were again treated to the sighting of Sperm Whales. It was very difficult to determine the number of animals in the area as they were scattered from near the ship to some distance away. But we were able to see the animals a number of times as they surfaced for air before diving to the depths in search of food. It was a wonderful way to end the day and to spend the last afternoon onboard the Endeavour in the Azores.
