Tuesday, February 06, 2024

Quarto Dia nos Açores – Faial


Relying on the Weather App to plan our days is risky; in many places, the information is just not reliable. So far, the trip is going well, but today's forecast is changing by the hour. We believe it'll be a better day than yesterday, so today is our 'road trip' of Faial, and we start by driving west.

Our first stop is the Morro de Castelo Branco, a nature reserve with an unusual rock formation near the airport (we saw it from the plane); it's a fragment of some old volcanic event. Access is from a very bumpy farm road, and the thickening fog does not give us hope that we'll be able to see much. When we park and walk down the coastal path to the miradouro, we can just make out the top of the formation.

Though not branco today, the layering in the exposed geology is fascinating.

 

Next is the western-most point of Faial, the Vulcão dos Capelinhos. This is the site of a volcanic eruption from 1957 and includes a derelict farol (lighthouse), the fragments of several volcanic cones, and a field of volcanic dust – this is all a museum now.

When we arrive, the fog seems to be lifting. A walkway of concrete pavers across the shadowy sands connects the parking lot with the Farol da Ponta dos Capelinhos, which is crossed by a long, cobbled ramp down to the Centro do Interpretação do Vulcão dos Capelinhos. In fact, walking to the Farol, the walkway ends at the circular edge of the underground Centro's roof. To the north, an enormous mound of black power rises, and sweeps into the curvilinear structures suspended in the mist and spray. 

The Centro is well-presented; it explains the volcanic system and the eruption that occurred, the cultural impact, and displays a fascinating collection of rocks and minerals. At the end of the cabinets full of the volcanic samples, there is a movie with a series of interviews that tells the story of the Azorean Refugee Act in which a significant percentage of the population of Capelo (pop 528 in 2021) relocated to the US (also the site of the eruption in 1672; we saw the memorial yesterday).
Ilha nova née du feu et de l'océan.
[New island born of fire and the ocean.]
 

 

 

 

 

 

The tour ends in the ruined Farol. We explore the hollow base structure, everything still covered in crusty ash, and then ascend to the top. The scene is apocalyptic and compelling, with an intense wind and lots of atmospheric fog.

Pulling away, we stare at the nearly life-less beach, after more than sixty-five years – as if we are departing Mars.

 

 

 

 


Despite the fog, of maybe in defiance of it, we make the drive up Cabeço Gordo and the Miradouro da Caldeira. Our research tells is that there is a small parking area and a tunnel into the caldeira, fog or no fog, it's worth a shot.

However, the the fog is now impenetrable, and we see nothing. Walking through the tunnel, the stiff, misty wind coats us with damp and chases us back to the car.

 

We return to Horta (pop 14,331 in 2021) for lunch and enjoy a breezy walk on the Praia do Porto Pim, along with the small shore birds. There is little sunshine, but the hills sparkle with moss and the shore's edge gleams with foam.

Still carrying the scene at Capelinhos, this is the result of centuries of human effort and natural healing. 

 

 

With the persistent grey day, we decide to try the Igreja Matriz again. We see the same sign we saw yesterday, but the door is open. We hear cheerful conversations from the church workers and enter – if this is 'community prayer' time, we won't disturb anything by looking around.

The interior of the Igreja Matriz do Santíssimo Salvador (seventeenth century) is clean and open, with deep, arched capelas laterais. There are lots of familiar figures: Nossa Senhora de Fátima (with shepherd children), Nossa Senhora de Lourdes ("Je suis l'Immaculee Conception"), Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte (with the Assumption scene), Sagrado Coroção de Jesus with Maria do Divino Coração, and Santa Cecília (with harp) with Santa Teresa de Lisieux (with roses and crucifix).

 

 

  

 

Closer to the altar, there are partial painéis de azulejos that seem to illustrate stories of financial and natural disasters, well-suited to these islands – of treasure being taking and children crying, and of people being lost at sea while other struggle to build a fire.

There are transepts with larger capelas: to the south is an elaborate capela for São Pedro (keys), and to the north is the Capela do Santíssimo Sacramento with its gated entrance.

Facing the nave are two capelas laterais on either side of the altar: to the south is a saint contemplating a skull (São Francisco?), and to the north is the Madonna and Child.

 

 

 

Inside the chancel, the painéis de azulejos show scenes of the lives of Santo Inácio de Loyola and São Francisco de Borja (eighteenth century).

The capela-mor is wonderfully theatrical and layered. The central figure is Christ as a small child. Beside the altar table is the Crucifixion. Above the altar vault, ascending and crowned, is the Virgin, with a porthole to provide the proper glow.

So, we have: youth, death, and the ever-after. As our Açores adventure winds down, we consider the people of Pico and Faial. The islands are staggeringly beautiful, but uncooperative to say the least. Whether dealing with fiery eruptions or crushing oceans, the people endure. Each museum, miradouro, or church adds a chapter to this history of faith and persistence.

 

 

Monday, February 05, 2024

Terceiro Dia nos Açores – Horta


The weather has turned and it's going to be a rainy day. So, we use this day to check out the little museums and churches in Horta (14,331 in 2021), and there are quite a few. We want to focus on the unusual, local sites.

The Fábrica da Baleia de Porto Pim is a whaling museum set in an old 'factory' (processing plant, twentieth century). Despite the rain, the folks running the museum are outside; evidently the door is sticking because of the humid air (a common problem?).

The history of whaling in Horta begins in America, with the industry established in Nantucket and New Bedford, Massachusetts, in the seventeenth century. At the end of the eighteenth century, the whalers show up in the Açores and the archipelago becomes a waypoint for their boats. Eventually, the locals learn this trade, baleação, and their own industry begins to flourish. A key figure in this history is John Bass Dabney, the US Consul to the Açores; he imports the boats, establishes the commercial port, and even finances the laying of telegraph line to the island.

Initially, the whaling is centered on óleo de espermacete (spermaceti), the oily wax found in the head cavities of the cachalote (sperm whale), which has several commercial applications. In the early twentieth century, the industrial processes of the Fábrica (est 1942) allow the whalers to harvest other products, such as blubber and bone meal for soaps, fragrances, livestock feed, and lamp oil. The Fábrica ceases activity in 1974, though whaling in the Açores continues until it is outlawed in 1987.

Nowadays, the Fábrica is also headquarters to the Observatório do Mar dos Açores, and Faial is the center of a thriving cetacean research and tourism community – the museum is a result of this effort. Fantastically restored, and well explained, the museum shows the factory floor, including the large wooden secadores (meat dryers).

 

 

 

In the back there is a small theater underneath a life-size model of a cachalote; it shows gruesome movies of the hunt (like this from YouTube: Barbed Water (1968, 53:54 – graphic), but that also show the communal aspect of this endeavor – when give the opportunity making money on tourism, the whalers pitch-in on that, too. We can forgive the people, then, who want nothing more than to take care of each other.

In its loft, over the autoclaves do toucinho (blubber cookers), the museum features the esqueleto of a small (10.5 meters) female, recovered at sea in 2010. The panel behind the esqueleto explains the biology in extreme detail.

 


We pause for lunch on the other side of the Praia do Porto Pim. This feels like the 'local neighborhood' of Horta, away from the Marina and with a much more intimate scale. There is a old defensive structure, the Portão do Porto Pim (seventeenth century), made from that ubiquitous volcanic stone, which allows access to the beach from the west.

 

 

 


After lunch, we return to the whaling theme and visit the Scrimshaw Museum, located above the popular Peter's Café Sport. Amazing and unexpected, this collection must include several thousand objects; the size of the teeth is similarly surprising (the teeth of the esqueleto at the Fábrica were much smaller). The images include scenes of the Discoveries, of whales and whaling, of famous ships, and local characters. There are of course, portraits of celebrities, but the images of the townsfolk who suffered local disasters is so moving (zoom the photo and look at the craftsmanship).

The docent gives a quick, scripted tour, and points to the far side of the room where we find the older (nineteenth century) pieces. We are curious that that some of the earliest ones at 'stippled', and ask about the artists and designs, but she does not have that information (the web site has names of some of the artists).

 

 

 


 

 

 

Further along the seawall, all around the Forte de Santa Cruz (sixteenth century), we find the insignia painted by the sailors who have passed through Horta. Each square(ish) area of the mural tells the story of a voyage: places of origin, destinations, and the people who made the journeys. It's a true testament to the unique part this town plays in the Atlantic's maritime culture.

 

 

 

 

 


From the Porto da Horta, we can see three church fronts, and we go in search of them. The first, the most southerly, is the Igreja de São Francisco (late seventeenth century), currently closed and in a partial state of disrepair; even the small garden just below the entrance seems to be abandoned (currently hidden behind the colorful masks).

Just a few blocks to the north is the Igreja Matriz do Santíssimo Salvador (seventeenth century), which is attached to both the Museu da Horta and the Câmara Municipal. Unfortunately, a sign informs us that this is a time of community prayer, so we move on.

Continuing north, and up a steep ramp is the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo (late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries); this is part of the Museu de Arte Sacra. Having made the climb, the panorama from the top of the ramp and the plaza are tremendous.

 

 

 

Because the capelas are now exhibit spaces of the Museu, much of the religious storytelling is veiled. Perhaps most interesting, the stair to the crypt, just in front of the altar, is still exposed – peering into the dim stairwell, we can only make out an empty shelf (?).

The capela for Nossa Senhora is also closed for restoration (marked by the three-star crest of the Ordem do Carmo). However, her figure can still be seen in the altar, holding the escapulário.
Oração …
Santíssima Virgem Maria,
Esplendor e Glória do Carmelo,
vós olhais com especial ternura
os que se revestem com
o vosso Santo Escapulário.
Cobri-me com o manto da vossa
maternal protecção, pois a Vós
me consagro hoje e para sempre.
Fortalecei a minha fraqueza com o
vosso poder …
Amen.

[Prayer …
Blessed Virgin Mary,
Splendor and Glory of Carmel,
you look with special tenderness
those who are covered with
your Holy Scapular.
Cover me with the mantle of yours
maternal protection, because to You
I consecrate myself today and forever.
Strengthen my weakness with
your power …
Amen.]
In the north transept, the Capela do Santíssimo Sacramento is in a graceful state of decay, with a patchwork of azulejos. In the corner is São Pedro acorrentado (in chains), surrounded by the nearly bare walls.

 

 

 

 

 

Making our way back down the hill, we pass the Sociedade de Amor da Pátria (Masonic lodge and event space, twentieth century, by architect Manuel Joaquim Norte Júnior – who we've met before), an Art Deco-ish building with panels of blue hydrangea under its eaves. At the corner is the Memoria do Vulcão da Praia de Norte, to the victims of the 1672 eruption.

The Jardim da Praça da República incorporates the local volcanic rock. From here, we climb again to the Torre do Relógio (eighteenth century), then to the neighboring Jardim Florêncio Terra with its excellent miradouro, and before we descend to the Marina. The Torre is all that remains of the old Igreja Matriz, which burned in 1597, along with several other of Horta's churches, set alight by the English.