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Azores Islands AçoresPicoUpdated 04.16.2006
Pico, is probably the most impressive of the Azores Islands if you arrive from the sea. It's a 2,351 meters, 7,713 ft volcano arising directly from the ocean. It was an ancient reputed whale fishing station because of the large amount of whales that frequent the deep waters just near the coastline at the south of Pico. At Lajes do Pico, site of an ancient whale factory, there are many traces of this old activity that was finally banned in 1980. Here an intelligent French guy implanted a whale watching station Espaço Talassa utilizing the know-how of the ancient whalers and transforming what was a cruel ritual in one of the most impressive things you can do in Azores, a near contact with the whales. His philosophy is that the old whalers can now protect their ancient prey if this allows them to work and to live, it's really a great idea. All along the coast there are many points of observation "vegia" that were used from the whalers to spot the whales, one of this, "Vegia Queimada", a superb point of view over the sea, has been restored and now serves to guide the Zodiacs of Espaço Talassa that bring you to see the whales. From here the watchers scan the sea searching for whales and dolphins and once spotted signal the zone to the station where you must be ready to board for a raid on the ocean. It's really impressive but the guys are very experienced and know how to bring you safely very close to the whales, it's really a great feeling. I had two whale watching raids and was able to reach about 7 sperm whales and a lot of dolphins. If you want to perform a whale watching cruise I suggest you to book in advance, in fact the seats on the boats are limited. The other thing that you must do in Pico is to climb the mountain. It's not possible all the times because of the frequent cloudy weather on the top of the volcano, that may be cause of danger. I was not able to climb Pico by reason of bad weather but I reached the top of the road with the car (over 1.500 meters), there is a superb view also from here. If you have more time I also suggest you to take a look at the impressive lavic landscape of Cachorro, one more time it will seem to you to walk over the moon. Try the interesting Pico's wine, the best is the white Terra do Lava. A very good restaurant in Pico is "Terra e Mar", Miradouro do Arrife, Lajes do Pico phone 672794, about 25 US$ for a dinner. Useful addresses For an exhaustive list of accommodations take a look at the official site of Azores Tourist Office http://www.drtacores.pt/ingl/pic/pic.htm
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