Flores
After a night of boisterous seas there was more than the usual complement of early risers on the bridge to greet the dawn. Some thought they had risen even earlier than intended, for, in place of the gilded dawn that had heralded the previous day, the sky was ominously black and the rain torrential. To add to our expedition leader's problems, the pilot informed him that the Endeavour was unable to come alongside as planned. A gale – the aftermath of the most recent hurricane – had toppled a crane and damaged the quayside. There was convincing evidence of the strength of the storm inside the harbor: a yacht – the Away! (registered in the British Virgin Islands) – had been blown into the harbor, its mast and rudder broken, with no sign of crew. The Azorean authorities were in contact with their Caribbean counterparts to try to solve the mystery. Altogether, not the most promising start to the day.
Fortunately the rain eased off for the quickly organized Zodiac landing, and the busses arrived promptly. Within an hour of crossing the mist-enshrouded island of Flores, there was blue sky and watery sunshine at Faja Grande, where the group divided for the various optional interpretive walks. On offer was a gentle stroll to a spectacular waterfall, a more challenging walk along the under-cliff to the village church, and a more strenuous walk along the coast in the direction of the neighboring village of Quada. This latter walk undertook a detour to climb a peak, on the summit of which the villagers had built a vigia, one of the lookouts from which they once spied for whales. Some 25 different species of whale, nearly a third of the total number, frequent these Atlantic waters. There has been a zero quota on whaling since the 1982 International Whaling Commission, so hopefully numbers are on the increase. The skills of the whalers are now being transferred, in part, to the service industry of ecotourism. The vigia is now derelict and the path to reach it used more by tourists than by villagers. From it, the view down onto Faja Grande (photo) was spectacular. From the vigia, we could see a small outlying stand of rock: the most westerly point of the European Union. Unmistakable signs of change are thus to be detected below the surface in this apparently timeless landscape. Enjoy it while it lasts!
After a night of boisterous seas there was more than the usual complement of early risers on the bridge to greet the dawn. Some thought they had risen even earlier than intended, for, in place of the gilded dawn that had heralded the previous day, the sky was ominously black and the rain torrential. To add to our expedition leader's problems, the pilot informed him that the Endeavour was unable to come alongside as planned. A gale – the aftermath of the most recent hurricane – had toppled a crane and damaged the quayside. There was convincing evidence of the strength of the storm inside the harbor: a yacht – the Away! (registered in the British Virgin Islands) – had been blown into the harbor, its mast and rudder broken, with no sign of crew. The Azorean authorities were in contact with their Caribbean counterparts to try to solve the mystery. Altogether, not the most promising start to the day.
Fortunately the rain eased off for the quickly organized Zodiac landing, and the busses arrived promptly. Within an hour of crossing the mist-enshrouded island of Flores, there was blue sky and watery sunshine at Faja Grande, where the group divided for the various optional interpretive walks. On offer was a gentle stroll to a spectacular waterfall, a more challenging walk along the under-cliff to the village church, and a more strenuous walk along the coast in the direction of the neighboring village of Quada. This latter walk undertook a detour to climb a peak, on the summit of which the villagers had built a vigia, one of the lookouts from which they once spied for whales. Some 25 different species of whale, nearly a third of the total number, frequent these Atlantic waters. There has been a zero quota on whaling since the 1982 International Whaling Commission, so hopefully numbers are on the increase. The skills of the whalers are now being transferred, in part, to the service industry of ecotourism. The vigia is now derelict and the path to reach it used more by tourists than by villagers. From it, the view down onto Faja Grande (photo) was spectacular. From the vigia, we could see a small outlying stand of rock: the most westerly point of the European Union. Unmistakable signs of change are thus to be detected below the surface in this apparently timeless landscape. Enjoy it while it lasts!
