Conquering Mount Pico

Friday, May 17, 2019
Mount Pico, Azores, Portugal
We had made arrangements with Nuno, our B&B host, to have breakfast at 7:00 because we were getting picked up for our hike at 7:30. 
He had a very nice, fresh breakfast laid out and we were offered eggs made to order. We had great muesli with yogurt and lots of toppings, bread with meat and cheese and homemade jam.
Nuno made some inquiries about Trump and Karl said he was hoping for six more years. Later, Dave told Nuno that we were friends, but we did not share similar politics! Nuno’s true beliefs about Trump were soon expressed — dangerous to the world, maniac, idiot (to name a few)! 
At 7:30, we were picked up by Nuno II of AtiPICO Guides in a van. Already in the van were Piet from the Netherlands and Renee, also from Holland but living in Italy. This would be our group to climb Mount Pico.
We drove up to Casa da Montanha where we would register to ascend Mount Pico, the highest mountain in Portugal. Mount Pico has been towering over us since arriving in the Azores. Now we were about to summit it, a daunting challenge.
Nuno dropped us at the Mountain House and he parked. He then registered us and we were each issued a compulsory GPS so they could track us. The four of us purchased Pico buffs and we were off on a gorgeous bluebird day. We were told that this was the first such day in over two weeks, how lucky!!!
We followed Nuno’s every step as the terrain was uneven, steep and the loose lava stones were difficult to navigate. We learned that the hard lava flow was the best footing. Nuno would say, “Go with the flow.” The round trip was about 9km, but ascended over 3,600 feet. 
The views were absolutely amazing as we climbed. We could see Sao Jorge and Faial Islands for most of the ascent. The first section had small trees and a lot of thyme and heath. In another month the thyme would be in full bloom making the mountain a gorgeous pink. There are 47 markers interspersed at various distances. The first one seemed to take forever to get to, but then you would get a couple close together. Our first stop was at a large cave which we all dropped into. Nuno said we should take a look on the way up because none of us would have the energy or desire on the way down. 
It is possible to leave at 2:00am and summit the mountain to witness the sunrise. You can also spend the night and see both sunrise and sunset. In the past, it would be typical to spend the night in the caldera (crater) in one of the caves, but now everyone uses a tent. We did meet a group coming down who went up for sunrise. We had to be careful with every step, none of us could imagine making this trek in the dark, using headlamps.  
There was a group of two young guys and a girl without a guide who were obnoxious and littered. Dave picked up one of their disposable plastic water bottles they dropped and carried it up to them. When he gave it to them saying, “you dropped something”, they responded sarcastically, “thank you so much” plus a few more classic remarks! You get jerks everywhere.
When we finally reached the caldera, we were treated to a spectacular view which included a view of Terceira Island. It was Nuno’s 200th time climbing Mount Pico and he said he had only seen Terceira 22 times. We all felt so lucky. 
Nuno took a victory-posed picture of the group. Now was the time to make a crucial decision. There is another peak within the caldera called “Little Pico” that adds another 328 feet and is a rock scramble. Looking up at it and watching the climbers up on it is frightening. Nuno said if any of us did not want to go up, everyone would leave their packs with that person(s) and we would have lunch in the caldera once the others came down. Sue expressed an interest in staying (though we know others, Dave included), but Nuno said she could follow closely behind him and he would show her exactly where to place her feet and hands. We all went up!
We ditched our trekking poles about 1/2 way up Little Pico and used our hands to navigate to the top. It was not that hard and we are so glad we did it. Being on the top of Pico in the middle of the Atlantic is an experience we will never forget. We took in spectacular views. We took lots of victory poses, ate some lunch, had instant coffee prepared by Nuno and headed back down.
Going down was the part none of us were looking forward to, and for good reason. Renee got leg cramps and was really hurting. Nuno was concerned and we took several breaks, but he was not allowed to give anyone any medication. We gave him some ibuprofen and he was back to normal within about a half hour. The loose rocks were a nightmare and no matter how careful we were, Dave & Sue both slipped and fell three times. We were scraped up, but nothing was broken.  Nuno said that 99% of injuries happen on the descent. It sounds like there are lots of broken bones and twisted ankles going down. The descent seemed to take much longer than the ascent.
We have never hiked for 7-1/2 hours where you had to have pure concentration the entire time. It was exhausting. We each received a certificate of accomplishment! We celebrated with mini Super Bocks (.2 liter). Everyone in the Mountain House had one.
We got back in the van and were driven back to our B&B. 
While Sue was showering, Dave went up to the kitchen and talked to the other guests. A really friendly German woman had been whale watching and saw two whales and some dolphins. A young Canadian guy had climbed Mount Pico the day before and was told it was the best visibility in several weeks. He was not able to see Terceira and the top was in and out of clouds all day. He was jealous of our gorgeous day. He, too, said he had hiked many  trails and none were as mentally challenging as Pico.
Once we were all cleaned up and ready to go, we had to decide on a restaurant. We had “saved” the picturesque, waterfront restaurant, Ancoradouro, for tonight to celebrate our achievement, but no one wanted to walk that far or get in a car. We decided on one of the close restaurants, Tasca O Petisca. We enjoyed our seafood dinner and tried the local lapas (clams). The owner/manager who spoke perfect English and had some relatives in the States told us to wait after we paid our bill so that he could give us a cordial. Then he got busy and as we were about to leave he remembered and asked our server to give us the drinks. The Cava Queira Mel, a local liqueur was very good.
We returned to the Calma do Mar and had some of the fortified wine purchased by Karl & Carol in the living room. We were chatting with the German woman when the Canadian man came out and told us to “shoosh” because he had an early flight the next morning. The German woman commented, “he can’t sleep on the plane?!!” We honestly couldn’t believe he told us to be quiet because it wasn’t even 10:00. 
Guess it was time to go to bed!

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