Getting on/off a bus; driving about 60 miles (96.5 km), approximately 35 minutes at a time. Walking up to 1/2 mile, approximately 1/2 hour; mostly level terrain, some hilly areas and uneven surfaces. Carrying your own luggage, getting on/off a ferry and an airplane riding about 4.5 nautical miles to Pico Island, approximately 1/2 hour sailing and 45 minutes flight to Ponta Delgada
At the hotel, and checkout of your room.
Check out of hotel and transfer by motor coach to the dockside where you will check your luggage and we board the ferry 30 minutes sailing. On arrival at Madalena(Pico Island, collect our luggage and board our waiting coach for a field trip to Pico Island, named for its dormant volcano. At a height of 7,700 feet (2,350 meters), the volcano is the highest point in Portugal. One of the most beautiful islands in the Azores, Pico is on the UNESCO World Heritage List for the landscape of its vineyard culture: “an outstanding example of the adaptation of farming practices to a remote and challenging environment.” Long stone walls called “currais” running inland around the northern and western edges of the island were built to form and protect thousands of small plots for grape vines and other crops. From the principal town of Madalena, we’ll take a motor coach with our local expert to see several villages along the mountain road en route to Lajes do Pico.
At a local restaurant.
Next, we will take a field trip to the Capelinhos Volcano Interpretation Center. Located underground, it conducts continued research on the volcanic eruption of 1957-58 and monitors activity of the Capelinhos volcano. The center also has interesting exhibits on volcanoes from all the Azorean islands as well as other islands from around the world. This unusual and futuristic looking scientific facility was built beneath the ashes of the eruption, adjoining and incorporating the first two floors of the old lighthouse, still standing above upon the barren landscape. We will then ride to the airport and check in for our short flight to Ponta Delgada. On arrival, we will take a bus to the hotel and check in.
–The flight time schedule will determine where we will have dinner or a packed meal
At leisure.