Castelo S.Jorge Lissabon
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Pico Island’s population (just 15k inhabitants) live scattered along the coastline. In the interior of the island you can’t find a soul. Just happy cows grazing and enjoying an easy life from abundant pasture.
That’s a pity (or a blessing…) because you can find there beautiful spots, with an endless number of volcanoes, craters, lakes (a lot of crater lakes) and views to the sea and nearby islands. And green, a lot of green!
This amazingly beautiful lagoon is such an example. You won’t be able to see any references to it on guides or mentions to its existence on websites. Those are focused almost exclusively on the coastline and its (admittedly) beautiful landscapes/seascapes. If they only knew better…
From the vantage point where this shot was taken you have a magnificent view of the lagoon and its beautiful surroundings but, being so high (at clouds level!), you can see as well in the distance the blue ocean and the nearby S. Jorge Island (another of the nine Azorean islands).
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Pico Island, Azores, Portugal
You will find this one and other photos of mine in my new website:
ruibaptista.smugmug.com/
© All rights reserved Rui Baptista. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
All of the Portuguese Azores archipelago nine islands were created by volcanic action. Of those, Pico Island (“Ilha do Pico”) is the most recent one, being 300 thousand years old. In this image you can see another one of the islands – S. Jorge Inland -, that stands about 18kms north of Pico Island.
Black, green and blue are the ever-present colours you’ll see in Pico, interspersed with colourful hydrangeas. Black from the volcanic rocks bordering the sea, green all over the island and blue on the ocean. And those green and blue tones are just amazing!
The island is sparsely populated (just about 15 thousand inhabitants) and calm and tranquillity reign everywhere.
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Pico Island, Azores, Portugal
© All rights reserved Rui Baptista. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
If you were wondering wether last posted photo was the end of the series, you were right to be suspicious. It wasn't! This one is.
And if you are wondering now what I have done when I reached that wonderful lagoon with its emerald crystaline waters, you are right once again ... I did exactly that!
The place is amazing on its beauty and on its overwhelming scale. Looking at the ant sized house on the lower left you get a sense of how small you feel there, facing those steep, seemingly infinite cliffs, when bathing on the lagoon that seemed to have been reserved just for you (me!).
Hope you have enjoyed the trip that took you here! Have a wonderful Sunday, dear flick friends!
Previous photos in the series can be seen here:
I - www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51312830913/in/dateposted/
II - www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51316831228/in/photostream/
III - www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51326443819/in/photostream/
IV - www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51329832193/in/photostream/
V - www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51331450286/in/dateposted/
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Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo, São Jorge Island, Azores, Portugal
© All rights reserved Rui Baptista. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
This photo, the fifth in the series, was taken at the end of the trail, when reaching the Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo (São Jorge Island, Azores, Portugal), the most beautiful on the island with its amazing waters and charming lagoon.
This fajá is one of the most secluded places on the island of São Jorge and thanks to the swell that exists here and the extraordinary landscape involvement, it is considered a sanctuary for bodyboarding and surfing, being sought after by the best practitioners from all over the world.
The beautiful Santo Cristo Church (seen distant, in the center of the image) whose patron is Senhor Santo Cristo, was inaugurated in 1835 and is shrouded in a curious legend. It is said that a shepherd, after descending the cliffs to the lagoon with his flock, was so exhausted due to his advanced age that he had to rest by the water, noticing then a beautiful carved wooden image floating. Having collected it, he found it to be a beautiful image of Christ and took it to his home. The next morning, the image had disappeared, to be found again a few days later in exactly the same place, at the lagoon. Having taken it again to his home, it disappeared during the night and reappeared in the same place again. This was repeated several times, so the population decided that it was a message that Christ wanted to stay by the lagoon, which led them later to build a beautiful church there.
The 1980 earthquake caused landslides in both accesses to the fajã, destroyed the telephone network and isolated the Caldeira de Santo Cristo from the rest of the world. The inhabitants had to be removed by helicopter and settled elsewhere on the island. In recent years some of the existing fifty old houses have been restored and little by little the activity resumes in the area.
By now you are certainly asking yourselves: What is a fajã? With the help of Wikipedia I can tell you that fajãs are created from collapsing cliffs and/or lava flows and are identifiable along the coast as thin and flat stretches of land on the toe of steep cliffs. Composed of fertile soils, these microclimates allow the cultivation of a variety of staple and exotic plants.
P.S: If you happen to visit, you’ll have to taste the clams that are collected from the lagoon. They are famous for being different (much better and unique) from any others you may have eaten elsewhere!
Previous photos in the series can be seen here:
I - www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51312830913/in/dateposted/
II - www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51316831228/in/photostream/
III - www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51326443819/in/photostream/
IV - www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51329832193/in/photostream/
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Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo, São Jorge Island, Azores, Portugal
© All rights reserved Rui Baptista. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
This is the fourth photo in the series. You can take a look at the previous ones here:
www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51312830913/in/photostream/
here:
www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51316831228/in/photostream/
and here:
www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51326443819/in/dateposted/
This is a photo of the path leading to Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo in São Jorge Island (Azores, Portugal).
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Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo, is a truly amazing place, as you will see as the series unfolds.
It is kind of a mythical place. There are no roads whatsoever to take you there, just a narrow and bumpy 5km path and you have to walk…
The whole area was abandoned in 1980 following a strong earthquake that destroyed part of the path and broke the wells of potable water. Population had to be relocated and never returned there. Nowadays you start seeing some signs of life and some houses being built (just a few), mostly by foreigners attracted by the idea of living a spartan life, in close contact with nature.
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Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo, S. Jorge Island, Azores, Portugal
© All rights reserved Rui Baptista. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
This is the third photo the series. You can look at the previous ones here:
www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51312830913/in/photostream/
and here:
www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51316831228/in/photostream/
This is a photo of the path leading to Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo in São Jorge Island (Azores, Portugal).
*****
Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo, is a truly amazing place, as you will see as the series unfolds.
It is kind of a mythical place. There are no roads whatsoever to take you there, just a narrow and bumpy 5km path and you have to walk…
The whole area was abandoned in 1980 following a strong earthquake that destroyed part of the path and broke the wells of potable water. Population had to be relocated and never returned there. Nowadays you start seeing some signs of life and some houses being built (just a few), mostly by foreigners attracted by the idea of living a spartan life, in close contact with nature.
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Fajã dos Cubres, S. Jorge Island, Azores, Portugal
© All rights reserved Rui Baptista. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
Looking at my previous photo - the first in this series (here: www.flickr.com/photos/rbaptista/51312830913/in/dateposted/), - you would say that a path couldn't exist on that green steep cliff. Right? Well, ..., wrong!
It does, and along its 5km you can enjoy wonderful vistas over the various fajã on the way to your final destination: Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo.
*****
Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo, is a truly amazing place, as you will see as the series unfolds.
It is kind of a mythical place. There are no roads whatsoever to take you there, just a narrow and bumpy 5km path and you have to walk…
The whole area was abandoned in 1980 following a strong earthquake that destroyed part of the path and broke the wells of potable water. Population had to be relocated and never returned there. Nowadays you start seeing some signs of life and some houses being built (just a few), mostly by foreigners attracted by the idea of living a spartan life, in close contact with nature.
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Fajã dos Cubres, S. Jorge Island, Azores, Portugal
© All rights reserved Rui Baptista. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
With this shot I’m starting a series of photos taken in S. Jorge (Azores, Portugal) one of the 9 islands of the archipelago. We were based for this trip on Pico Island and took one day to visit S. Jorge (1 hour crossing, by ferry).
This series is specifically focused on the trekking that took us from Fajã dos Cubres to Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo, a truly amazing place, as you will see as the series unfolds.
Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo (our final destination) is kind of a mythical place. There are no roads whatsoever to take you there, just a narrow and bumpy 5km path and you have to walk…
The whole area was abandoned in 1980 following a strong earthquake that destroyed part of the path and broke the wells of potable water. Population had to be relocated and never returned there. Nowadays you start seeing some signs of life and some houses being built (just a few), mostly by foreigners attracted by the idea of living a spartan life, in close contact with nature.
But, looking at the image you may ask: where’s the path? There’s nothing! Impossible! Well… there is, you just can’t see it, being so narrow and closely following the cliff at some altitude. Contrary to what it may seem, it’s not dangerous but it’s exhausting. I grant you. But what a prize to be found in the end… And amazing breathtaking views to be enjoyed all along the route!
The wild Nature image you see here is what is locally known as a fajã (this one is named Fajã dos Cubres). Fajãs are thin stretches of land at the shore, facing steep cliffs.
So beautiful that I could spend here the day in contemplation! But a bigger prize was awaiting us at the end of the path…
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Fajã dos Cubres, S. Jorge Island, Azores, Portugal
© All rights reserved Rui Baptista. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
A grassland in the western tip of the Island of S. Jorge, in the Azores. On both side of the field, nearly 200 m heigh and unstable cliffs lead to the sea. Ponta dos Rosais, Velas, ilha de S. Jorge.
Acess to both the lighouse and to the small port and pools at Ponta do Topo.
Ponta dos Topo, Calheta, ilha de S. Jorge.
Ponta do Topo, Calheta, ilha de S. Jorge.
Vista sobre o mar através de um vale na face sul da ilha de S. Jorge, à beira da N2 junto a Santo Antão, Topo. Ao fundo, vislumbra-se a ponta da ilha do Pico.
Poça junto ao porto de pesca da Fajã do Ouvidor, Norte Grande, Velas, ilha de São Jorge.
Vista a partir da Fajã dos Vimes, com um muro de basalto a rodear uma plantação de inhame em primeiro plano.
