Touted as the best hike in the Azores (which is definitely saying a lot), we drove to the trailhead parking lot that we had visited yesterday. We had asked Nuno II about it, and he agreed it was one of his favorites. He had said that we would probably have to leave our car at the end and take a taxi to the trailhead for the 10km linear hike. When we studied the map yesterday, we decided that we would only go to the little village of Santo Cristo and come back to the parking lot.
We got to the parking lot and started our hike to Santo Cristo. It had to be one of the prettiest hikes we have ever done. It descends all the way down to Santo Cristo, with beautiful flora and views of the coastline all the way. Somewhere in the middle there is a waterfall which offered shade. We kept walking over cow dung and finally came to a herd of cows on the trail. When we got close to Santo Cristo, we could see the perfect crater, at sea level, the chapel and tiny village — completely idyllic. It was quite a shock to see the crater at sea level when we expected it on a mountain top.
Santo Cristo is a place from another time. It is said that only seven permanent residents live there. It can only be reached by foot or quad bike. It was destroyed by an earthquake and most never returned. There is a restaurant there where we had three desserts and coffee. There is part-time generator for power. We also visited the chapel by the sea. There were a couple of surf houses and the famous island clams are found in the mixed salt/freshwater lagoon in front of the houses. We witnessed men building a lava wall around one of the properties.
We climbed back out of the village and ascended up to the waterfall. We were all amazed that we had missed the sign for the waterfall on the way down, but easily saw it on our return. The steep return was tough and was primarily in the sun. We were sweaty and tired when we got back, but all felt the hike was worth it.
Although it was already after 3:00, we decided to head toward Topo to see if we could participate in the festival. When we arrived, the street was blocked off and a band marched past.
We parked the car and walked toward the church. Hundreds of people filled the street and another marching band came through. Most people were in their Sunday best and some were carrying bags of bread. There seemed to be a logjam of people entering a building. While we were milling around, a woman named Filomena walked toward us and invited us to go inside with the others for a meal. She explained that all were welcome to take part in the Espíritu Santo Festival which takes place each Sunday for seven consecutive weeks after Easter. People from the community take turns in hosting the event. Today was special because the President of the region (there are two for Sao Jorge) and his wife were there greeting every at the door. Filomena did not enter with us but put us in line and told us she had lived in California and asked where we were going tomorrow. By coincidence, she was going to Faja dos Vimes for lunch tomorrow and we were going there for a hike and coffee tasting.
We shook hands with the President at the door and entered the Community Center for the festival.
The VIPs were downstairs and we went upstairs where 3/4 of the room was already seated. We found four places and, luckily, we were seated next to a woman who spoke very good English, Paula. We found out she owned a coffee plantation and shop in Faja dos Vimes also. Her Grandmother had owned it and she continued the tradition. She also talked about the festival traditions and explained everything as they unfolded.
The room was full of probably 300 people and this was the second floor and not the first seating. We believe that 600-800 people enjoyed the meal. We were served soup with bread soaking in it. This was the base for very tender beef, some type of greens, cabbage, yams and potatoes. All of this was served family style. Big plates of bread, pitchers of local wine and soft drinks were scattered around the table. Dessert was individual rice pudding with a Holy Spirit (dove) stencil of cinnamon on the top. Everything was delicious.
While walking to the car we were invited again to partake in the meal by someone else!
Another activity we had hoped to do that Sunday afternoon was a soccer game between Sao Jorge Island v.
Terceira Island. We missed it because of the festival, but the visiting team, Terceira, had won and were staying at our hotel. We watched Brennan’s baseball game on Game Changer on the patio next to the pool. The soccer players were celebrating their win and entertaining the spectators with their antics. They were flipping, flopping into the pool with boisterous enthusiasm. The hotel desk clerk came out and quieted them down.
Brennan’s team won their semi-final game so we decided we might need a little something to eat because we would be up late watching the championship game.
We walked to the City Center and decided to have pizza at Palpite Frequente. It was a small diner-type place with only a few customers. We ordered a large pizza with meat and mushrooms. It took awhile, but was very good albeit very different from ordinary US pizza. The crust was thicker and Bisquick-like. We could not eat all of it so we asked for a box (paid 30 cents for a plastic container). They are very serious about recycling.
We went back to the hotel and sat on our balcony while watching Brennan’s team win the tournament. It was late now so we were off to bed.
2025-02-12