Azores Shore Leave - Day 8

Faial to Sao Jorges
Date: Saturday 06/14/2008
Weather: Mostly sunny

Saturday dawned bright and sunny. Our outside neighbors Marcel and Martine left before we were up. The other 3 boats, rafted on our inside, told us the night before that they wanted to leave at 9am. Since we were on the outside and would have to move, it seemed like a good time for us to leave also.

One problem, where was Kelly? His bunk had not been slept in last night. A mystery, but we had to move at 9, so we moved the boat over to the fuel dock. Again we found ourselves rafted up to a number of other boats who were taking advantage of the break in the weather to head to their next destination.

As we were refueling and topping off the water tank, Kelly appeared, walking down the promenade with an attractive dark haired young woman. Mystery solved. Kelly informed us that he wanted to stay in Horta a little longer so we made plans to meet him in Sao Miguel on Friday – when Robyn and I would be leaving to go home.

As Kelly grabbed up some of his stuff, I handed him the bag of paint and said since he was staying, he could finish our mural. He grinned and said of course, that was his whole reason for staying. He wouldn’t leave without finishing the mural.

Our next destination was Velas on the island of Sao Jorges. It was a lovely 6 hour sail past the island of Pico.

Pico is a large island just a few miles off from Faial. It is the main source of the wine that is made in the Azores. It also has a volcano in the center that is the highest point in the Azores.


We arrived in Velas mid-afternoon after a very pleasant sail. It was the most picturesque of all the villages we saw – and that is saying a lot in this most picturesque of countries.

They had a brand new marina that had just opened May 30th. It was lovely, bordered by a cliff that went straight up and out of sight. Because word had not got out about it, it was also uncrowded and we were able to get a prime slip.

Notice how the cliff goes straight up.

This is a view of the coastline from our slip in the marina. The color of the water is true. It is the most amazing shade of saphire.

Eric and Robyn left to find a swimming beach.

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Scott and I set out to find an internet connection. This turned out to be the quest for the holy grail. The marina was supposed to have WiFi from the Naval Club. The Naval Club had it but it wasn't working, the guy was supposed to be here today to fix it but he didn't come. Try the library.

The library had it but someone turned off the computer and no one knew what the password was. Try the building with the blue trim, they had it.

The building with the blue trim had a sign (in Portuguese) that seemed to indicate it was a government sponsered something technology. What do I know? It was closed, but a couple of teenage boys in swimsuits went in to get some CD's and told us it would be open at 6pm. OK.

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The yellow building is the community center with the library, an auditorium, and government offices. The building with the blue trim is the "technology center". (Which, by the way, did not open at 6pm!).

We had a beer at the community center and then left to do some exploring. Right next door to the community center was the public beach. I am sorry I did not get a better picture of it. it was amazing. The pool was a rock lined with little waterfalls and places for children to jump. It was beautiful. We went down to see if we could find Eric & Robyn.

They were not there so we continued our tour. We started up the coast from the swimming area and headed towards a lookout. Halfway up to the lookout we stopped and looked over the edge - and this is what we saw. Unbelievable!! When we did get up to the lookout, the view was nothing compared to the view on the way up! So much natural beauty!

We wound our way around town - it did not take long. It is a small village. We ended up in the middle of town where we met up with Eric & Robyn and started looking for a place for dinner.