Portugal
Madalena

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    • Dag 8

      Old Vineyards and Wine

      16 maart, Portugal ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

      What we first noticed when we arrived on Pico and drove to a lunch cafe, were numerous walls of black basalt stones placed close to each other and seemingly helter skelter in the fields. We asked the waitress in the restaurant why they were there and she looked puzzled. She answered, “You mean the vineyards?” They sure didn’t look like vineyards to us.

      But yes, we were looking at the imperfect squares of Pico’s vineyards, built by hand to protect the grapes from the fury of the elements. You really have to see them to understand what they look like. We wondered how many years and man hours did it take to build them.

      The cultivation of grape vines on Pico began in the late 15th century, when the island was first settled. A couple of factors provided exceptional conditions for ripening grapes:
      The volcanic soil rich in nutrients.
      The dry, warm microclimate of the slopes protected from the wind and salt spray
      by walls of rough, dark stone, heated by the sun,

      The most famous wine from Pico is the Verdelho variety. This wine was exported to many countries in Europe and America, and even arrived at the table of the Russian Court. The vineyards that dot the landscape of the island, still produce a crisp, fruity, dry and mild wine that is ideal for a pairing with seafood or fish. They also have another wine called vinho de cheiro (a fragrant wine) that is popular during feast days.

      In 2004, UNESCO recognized Pico’s unique viticulture system as a World Heritage Site, “Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture”. The man-made grid of walls is called Criação Velha or ”old creation” and cover more than 2000 acres on the island’s west coast. They are supposed to be the best remaining example of what was once a more widespread method of grape growing.

      As these vineyards became more successful, manor houses, wine-cellars, distilleries, warehouses and ports in tiny hamlets sprang up around them. It is amazing but this culture has survived and thrives to this day.
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    • Dag 7

      Gruta das Torres Lava Tube

      15 maart, Portugal ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

      The wind roared all night. You just can’t predict the weather on this island. One minute the sun is shining, a few minutes later the fog rolls in, then it rains, then it is cold, then hot. What a place! The weather changes very quickly and it’s good to be prepared for anything.

      We were somewhat worried about our ferry ride back to Horta to catch our plane on Monday afternoon. With the unpredictable weather, we were afraid that the ferry would be cancelled and we may miss our plane. Remember there is a ferry workers strike so the ferry only runs twice a day. We were also concerned about room the ferry for the car. Only 10 cars have spots. We decided to take the ferry back on Sunday morning after consulting with several people in the know and spend the night in a hotel in Horta. We bought our tickets immediately. Whew, there was still room for the car.

      Now that that was taken care of, we could enjoy ourselves with a tour of another long lava tube.

      The Gruta das Torres Visitors Centre is a 10 minute drive from Joe’s Place and luckily for us an English tour explaining the formation and characteristics of a lava tube was going to start at 11 a.m.

      The Gruta das Torres is the largest lava tube in Portugal, with a length of 5150 metres, and it is part of a bigger complex. It is estimated that it was formed about 1500 years ago during an eruption of the volcano in Cabeço Bravo.

      We were given helmets and flashlights and watched a short film showing how the Azores Islands formed before heading down into the tube.

      Our visit took about 1 1/2 hours and cost five euros each. The guide did a great job of explaining all that we saw and suggesting easy ways to negotiate getting around the slippery rubble and giant lava rocks, without getting hurt. There are no artificial lights down there, just our flashlights. The cave walk was about 450 metres long.

      At one point we all turned off our flashlights and stood silently in a cave. We couldn’t see a thing as there wasn’t any light at all and we couldn’t hear anything either. (maybe some ringing in our ears) but the dripping water from the top of the cave falling on us became quite noticeable.

      The guide did an excellent job and we had fun.

      Joe, our BnB host told us that in Pico you have to ‘Chase the Sun’ as you travel so that’s what we did. Stay one step in front of the dark fog clouds. Good advice!

      From the caves, we took a lava road through the island to the coast. We saw lots of twisty trees and volcanic rocks as well as cattle and goats. We looked for houses but didn’t see any. The land is way too rugged.

      Our goal was to have a late lunch at a recommended restaurant called Fonte in Lajes so we went down this coast admiring the huge waves as they crashed on the giant lava rocks. We could sit and do this for hours!

      The lunch special was delicious and inexpensive - soup to start, and then a plate with fish, boiled potatoes and a green salad followed by a chocolate mousse with peanuts on top. A very full glass of Azorean wine and a beer were included, all for about $15 Cdn each. What a deal. We have not been in restaurant that serves vegetables. Who knows why as they grow all sorts of vegetables here. It’s always meat or fish, French fries and a salad -the closest thing to a vegetable serving. Not sure what vegetarians eat here…

      Heading back to Joe’s, we took the road that passed by the volcano with hopes of seeing it without the clouds. Not the greatest luck, but Chris did manage to get a photo in the 2 seconds that the clouds separated a bit. He was lucky,

      The day started out very windy, rainy and foggy and ended up being a glorious sunny day. Another great day in Pico. One more to go.
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    • Dag 9

      Ein weiterer Tag auf Pico

      7 mei, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Erfreut sahen wir heute Morgen beim Fenster rausschauen und die Sonne scheinen 🌞 zur Vorsicht haben wir aber die Regenkluft mit ins Auto genommen🤪 1. Stopp war das Weinmuseum in Madalena, konnte heute ausnahmsweise kostenlos besichtigt werden, da das Eintrittssystem nicht funktionierte😅
      Danach gings der Südküste entlang nach Lajes da Pico, um einen Whalewatching-Ausflug zu buchen. Ja ja, hätten wir auch online buchen können😉
      Unterwegs bis dorthin, gab es einige Stopps Cacherhalber🤭 und einen Fahrerwechsel, da wie weibliche Person sehr zögerlich die unbefestigten Wege befuhr🙈😅
      In Lajes do Pico haben wir den Ausflug gebucht, Lunch gegessen und auf dem Rückweg haben wir ein Walfangmuseum besichtigt, glücklickerweise ein Museum, welches nicht erweitert werden kann, doch es gehört zur Geschichte der Insel.... über die Inselmitte (im dichten Nebel und einem Temperaturunterschied von 13 Grad) sind wir nach Madalena zurückgekehrt. Zum Apèro sind wir in die Cella Bar eingekehrt, bevor wir in unser Häuschen zurückkehrten.
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    • Dag 11

      Whale watchig day

      9 mei, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Einmal mehr hat es in der Nacht geregnet, doch am Morgen strahlte die Sonne und der Pico zeigte sich wieder ganz 😊
      Mit einem Pack Tabletten gegen Übelkeit machten wir uns nach dem Frühstück auf den Weg nach Lajes de Pico, wo am Nachmittag die gebuchte Whale watching tour auf dem Programm stand. Vorher jedoch gab es noch zwei-drei grüne Punkte, welche möglichst in ein 😊 umgewandelt werden sollten. Dadurch gelangten wir wie schon so oft an wunderbare Orte, welche wir sonst gar nie gesehen hätten🤩
      Vor der Whale watching tour gab es ein Briefing, welches wirklich interessant war. Danach hiess es die Regenkleider und die Schwimmweste anziehen und rein in den Zodiac. Es gab vorgängig noch den Hinweis, dass es heute ziemlichen Wellengang hat und das Boot hart aufschlagen wird.....
      Los gings und die Wellen waren nicht ohne 🤪
      Nach rund 30 Minuten Fahrt, machten wir erstmals halt, da ein Späher vom Festland aus was gesichtet hatte und wir schauten alle angestrengt, ob man was im Wasser oder an der Oberfläche entdeckt. Doch da war nichts zu sehen und weiter gings. Nach 2-3 maligem Halt (JP sagte, es ist so, wie wenn man sich in den Wald stellt und hofft ein Reh zu sehen😅) sahen wir zwei Pottwale 🐳 🐳 und auf der Rückfahrt noch einige Rundkopfdelfine 🐬🐬🐬🐬. Als Beweis gab es einen Sichtausweis des Tourguides😂. Durchgeschüttelt sind wir nach knapp 4 Stunden wieder an Land gegangen und zurück gings ins Häuschen für die letzte Nacht auf Pico, einer sehr schönen Insel🤩😎
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    • Dag 9

      Monumento Natural da Gruta das Torres

      23 februari 2023, Portugal ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

      Gar nicht lange aufhalten im Hotel...gleich wieder los und ein bisschen Action haben. Rauf zur Gruta das Torres.
      1990 entdeckt und mit 5150 m der bisher längste bekannte Vulkantunnel der Azoren.
      Rein geht's durch ein Einsturzloch in der Höhlendecke. Totale Dunkelheit, nur Taschenlampen retten uns. Begehbar waren nur ca 500 m, was aber echt reicht😅. Am Eingang zur Höhle wird ein Wein aus Pico gelagert zum reifen. Leider durften wir nicht probieren 🍷
      Meer informatie

    • Dag 12

      Wandern auf der Insel Pico

      27 juli 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

      Mit einem Wanderkollegen der Gruppe wollten ich auf den mit 2350m höchsten Berg Portugals wandern. Regen, Nebel und Winde haben den Aufstieg verhindert 😵 trotzdem ein schöner Tag auf der Insel Pico👌

    • Dag 12

      Die Geschichte vom Wein und dem Hund…

      22 september 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      Heute habe ich eine kleine Runde auf der Rota do Vinho gedreht. Die ist zum Glück gut ausgeschildert und man muss nur den rot bemalten Weinfässern hinterherfahren. Sehr clever gemacht - muss man also schon sagen 🤓 Die „Rebberge“ sind hier mit Trockensteinmauern umzogen. Die schützen die Weinstöcke vor den Winden und der salzigen Meeresgischt und sorgen für gleichbleibende Temperaturen im Boden, da sie die Sonnenwärme für die Nacht speichern. Diese Agrar-Architektur gilt als Kunstwerk und wurde von der UNESCO sogar in die Liste des Welterbes aufgenommen. Kannste mal sehen 👀
      Anschliessend gings dann an der Nordküste weiter und ich bin durch ein paar schöne Weinorte gekommen. Am Porto Cachorro gabs dann noch ein Labyrinth aus bizarren Basaltformationen zu bestaunen. „Cachorro“ heisst übersetzt Hund 🐕 und ein solcher wacht als erstarrte Lavaskulptur über den Hafen. Erkenntnis Nr. 9: nicht alle betroffenen Hunde bellen 😉
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    • Dag 8

      Pico’s Windmills

      16 maart, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

      We have seen several windmills and remains of windmills on the island.

      Windmills began to be built in the 16th century and were important to the development of the islands’ economy. Grinding grains was a necessity in food production. Historically, windmills are remnants of the island’s colonisation by both Flemish and Portuguese settlers.

      One of the windmills that we saw is called the Moinho do Frade. This mill is surrounded by acres of vineyards. Tourists started coming to see it and the community got the money to fully restore the mill in 2003/4. The mill apparently is in working order, driven by its 4 bladed propeller.

      Another restored windmill is called Moinho do Monte. The door was open so we could go up the steps and look inside to see how the mill’s mechanism would ground wheat for flour.

      In many places, we just saw the round stone bottoms of ruined mills in lot with overgrown vegetation.
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    • Dag 11

      Pico Island

      1 augustus 2022, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      Wir haben uns5zu Fuss auf den Weg ins nächste Dorf zu einem Mittagessen gemacht. Anschliessend haben wir uns eine kurze Abkühlung im Meer gegönnt und den Heimweh wieder zu Fuss angetreten mit Zwischenstop bei einem Wine Tasting.Meer informatie

    • Dag 6

      Furna de Frei Matias

      14 maart, Portugal ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

      The sun was shining so after getting ourselves set up in Joe’s Place, we went for a drive to a nearby cave in the country. The owner gave us a headlamp and told us about the unusual gold and silver colours in the cave that we were going to see.

      I think that most people would zoom by the entrance to these caves and never even notice them. But for the curious, there's 45 minutes of discovery to be had in these hidden caves.

      We drove and parked the car at a cattle gate and saw in the near distance three unassuming hills. We walked gingerly through mud, deep cow prints and cow patties to one of the hills and hidden at the back of the hill was a big hole in the ground leading to a cave. It was pretty wet but we scrambled down the rocks and entered a fantasy world. Fun stuff!

      Our BnB host was right. The inside of the cave glowed especially when we shone the light on the ceiling of it. I have been calling the area a cave but it is actually a lava tunnel.

      This cave is named after a hermit, Frei Mathias (Brother Mathias), who lived in this cave in fear of pirates. We read that the cave is 1,000 m long, but most of the cave is difficult to explore as you have to crawl on your stomach. Caving equipment and experience is necessary, so we didn’t go in too deep. What we saw though was very neat and we loved exploring the area that we could get into.

      From the cave we went on a road trip through the centre of the island past the volcano but the clouds hid her! The winds were pretty ferocious so we were afraid to open the car doors when we got out to take some photos of the interior landscape.

      Heading north, we visited the quaint town of Sao Roque (1,500 people) that was full of beautiful spots - a lovely municipal garden, rock pools in the ocean, a windmill and another whale industry museum. We chose to sit in the sun on the lava seawall and watch the waves before heading back to Madalena.
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    U kunt deze plaats misschien wel onder de volgende namen::

    Madalena, Madalena Municipality

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