Year 3 -3rd October 2026 – Faial -Azores – the most Western Point of Europe

We woke early as Paul was getting a taxi to the airport at 8.30am as he was flying home. We had some granola for breakfast and said our goodbyes and Paul left in the taxi. We wish him a good journey home.

What a difference a day makes as the sun came out and began to dry everything out as everything was sodden after so much rain. It lifts your spirits and I felt a bit like a lizard needing to warm up in the sun which thankfully lasted all day.

Mark and I waited for the electrician to come as we think there may be a glitch in the VHF Radio as sometimes when we use it and no-one answers and then when we switch it off and back on again it works. However, it could be that people just are not listening. I think we need to get it checked. The man arrived about 10.00am and we explained the problem. He did not have all his tools he needed so it was agreed he would return on Monday. He was a big fan of Hallberg Rassy’s.  

As it was such a nice day Mark and I decided to go for a walk and look found what they call Monte da Guia and Monte Queimado.   

Monte da Guia is a volcanic cone-shaped mountain, a geological structure formed around a volcanic crater. Monte da Guia is a volcanic formation originating from the sea, standing at an altitude of 145 meters and composed of two overlapping craters open to the sea, called Caldeira do Inferno or Caldeirinhas. These craters are about 500 meters long and 250 meters wide.

We walked up some stairs formed in wood up the Monte Da Guia which took a while. However, it was worth it as it looks down and has a beautiful view of Porto Pim Bay and beach and the whole city of Horta. Monte da Guia, Monte Queimado, and other nearby areas have been classified as Protected Landscapes of Portugal and also by the Natura 2000 Network due to their high scenic value and rich fauna and flora.

It also looks across and at the top of the hill stands the Hermitage of Nossa Senhora da Guia (a church), located near the volcanic crater. The name of the hill was given in honour of the image of Our Lady of Guia, who is the patron saint of fishermen. Due to its altitude, the Hermitage is visible from almost the entire city of Horta.

The views were so good you could practically see over the whole island and the main caldera was visible high up. Mark and I having taken in the views walked down into the back of Horta where we found a nice fish restaurant called Genuino and so we booked a table for the evening. Next to it was a simple bar/café so we had a rewarding beer as we were thirsty after our walk. This overlooked a lovely bay and the Porto Pim beach where a number were swimming. Opposite us was the church on the hill and in the left-hand corner was the old whaling factory and then some small houses with a boat house and a circular building built into the hill which I think was the Aquarium. 

We wondered into a fort sort of area where people were swimming and got an ice cream. Mark went back to the boat and I decided to carry on and walked along the Porto Pim beach which was pleasant and I had a paddle. It was not too cold but not tropical warm. At the end I walked along passed the houses and toward the Aquarium which was closed but open at 2.00pm. I therefore took a path and climbed up to the Hermitage which was also closed but there were great views looking back at Horta and the island. You could also see the sea on the other side and a nice horseshoe bay which would be nice to anchor in except that it is not allowed due to cables in the bay. As I had time I walked down the road and back to the beach and I could see some quite large fish swimming in the shallows. The Whale Museum was closed. I then walked past the small houses with a boat house which were now open and was a museum. This was the Summer House of the Dabney family who were American and who came to live and do business in Faial at the end of the 19th century. John Dabney became the First Consul General of the US to the Azores. He had 4 children and this family had a major influence in Faial in terms of commercial, economic and social relations. They used whaling as a commodity and bought and exported wine from Pico.

I walked on and came to the Aquarium – well it is actually a base for a company called Flying Fish. They export fish from the Azores to Aquariums around the world. A man took me on a tour and explained about what they do. They also had 3 turtles which had been found in the UK and taken to Faial to recover and then they will be released. He explained that due to global warming turtles are now getting the UK and Northern Europe which is too cold for them and they will die if they stay there. It was a very interesting short tour.

Once done I walked back to Stormbird having had a lovely walk and tour of the immediate area where the scenery is stunning. Mark was reading and we had some tea and a pastel de nata- the delicious Portuguese custard tarts.

We agreed to meet at Stormbird at 6.00pm. John had hired an E bike and had ridden up to see the main Caldera.  Dave had been shopping and he had his hair cut and the guy had cut the name Stormbird on the back of his head. However, due to lack of hair I could only read Storm!.

I should have said that on our day tour and I also saw them today there are a lot of pink flowers out which look like lilies. They are called Bella Donna – or go back to school flowers as they come out before the Autumn terms starts. Mark pointed out that they are Deadly Nightshade and very poisonous.

John and Dave joined us about 6.00pm and we had a quick drink and then walked to the bar that Mark and I had been to this morning for a pre-dinner drink which was nice overlooking the bay and beach. We then went for supper in Genuino, which we discovered was named after a man called Genuino Madruga who had circumnavigated the world twice on his boat called Hemmingway. We had a great meal trying dishes like fried banana with tuna pate -which went extremely well and their Morro cheese and prawns. I had a lovely piece of tuna but the quantities were so huge. When we went to pay we met Genuino and we had a good chat with him. The boat Hemmingway is in the harbour near us.  

John want to have another drink so we went to Oceanic which had a rock band who were actually very good so we stayed a bit and then headed back.

It had been a great day bolstered by the lovely sunny warm weather we had had.

The picture of the day is a great view from Monte de Guia.

 Need/Opportunity Year Three

I am now at the Azores and hope to head back to the UK on about 9 October 2026. At present I am full for the final passage back to the UK with some old veterans returning David Mark, Keith Watson (Watty) and of course Keith Winstanley -the Commodore.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com