South of Madalena the road is lined with small fields, each surrounded by waist-high black stone walls, laboriously created and maintained by the islanders to protect their precious vines, tomatoes and other crops. The soil may be fertile, but the cultivation is penal. Less than a mile from Malalena a right turn leads down to the village of Areia Larga, with a swimming pool among the rocks and a good view of the two islets that lie off Madalena – Ilhéu Deitado and Ilhéu Em Pé (Sleeping Isle and Standing Isle).
The main road follows the coast south-east through Candelária, with a handsome early 19th-century church, whose two towers are topped by curious little domes, containing a beautiful gilded wood retable. By now you’re growing accustomed to the nature of Pico’s landscape, which seems to consist of black walls hiding the vegetation. Suddenly, however the scenery begins to change. The lower mountain slopes around São Caetano are densely wooded, and up among the forests there are some beautiful shady trails for picnickers and ramblers to pursue. Several small villages lie amid this lush green landscape where wild hibiscus, lilies, nasturtiums and periwinkles vie with small plots of potatoes, figs, even bananas.
At Silveira, where the houses tend not to be whitewashed (unusual in the Azores) a road to the left climbs across the central ridge which tails south-east from Pico. In clear weather this road, the Estrada Transversal, is a splendid route with some of the best views in the island, especially descending to the north coast around São Roque. Meanwhile, still continuing south-east, you finally reach Pico’s main town, Lajes do Pico, or Lajes for short. Dominated by a tall brick chimney (part of the whaling factory) Lajes is not really much larger than Madalena although it has some of Pico’s most imposing buildings. The Igreja Mairiz dates from 1895, and is nowhere near as interesting as the ex-Franciscan convent church, Igreja Nossa Senjora da Conceicdo, which stands beside the main road into town (17th-century, with later alterations). There are also two or three very good restaurants and cafes in Lajes, one with 1950s-style interior complete with jukebox playing hits from that period.
Beyond Lajes it’s worth leaving the main road for some delightful detours down through several coastal villages such as Ribeiras with a small harbour and richly cultivated hill-slopes, and Caiheta, on a narrow shelf of land among banana trees. Round the easternmost tip of the island particularly there are dozens of sleepy little hamlets amid flowers and fields of cereals and vines. Pico’s verdelho wine, said to be the best in the Azores, owes its distinctive flavour to the fertile volcanic soil which feeds the grapes.
The north coast is no less beautiful than the south coast. Cliffs and steep hillsides covered in wild flowers, hydrangea bushes and ferns descend to fajãs, cultivated ledges of land beside the sea. But the north coast is principally noted for its bizarre natural formations – mistérios, as the people here call them, twisted jagged black lava rocks forming arches, caves, even shapes like human or animal figures. Some of the most impressive are at Cachorro, a few miles from Madalena. São Roque is the main town along this coast, with several noteworthy buildings amid beautiful scenery, among them the 18th-century Igreja de São Pedro de Alcantara, beside a Franciscan ex-convent.
From São Roque the Estrada Transversal crosses the mountains to Silveira on the south coast, with marvellous views down over the verdant hillsides and across to São Jorge, 11 miles away. At the summit of the ridge there are several rough cinder tracks off the road leading to two or three small lakes nestling high in the hills amid velvety green peaks and spectacular panoramic views, such as the Lagoa da Capitão.
Between the transverse route and Madalena there’s a road following the northern flanks of Pico Mountain. Although the road starts out well at either end, in between it becomes almost impassable. From here it’s possible to make brief sorties up the hillsides, but for an attempt on Pico’s summit you really must have a guide (ask at the Tourist Office in Horta). The slithery ash trails and deep potholes left by collapsed fumaroles are just a few of the dangers that threaten the unwary.
If you’re lucky, if the weather is good and you’ve found a guide, reaching the summit of Pico is an unforgettable, humbling experience. Rising to a majestic height of 7,713 feet, Monte Pico is the highest mountain in Portugal, never mind the Azores. The perfectly formed symmetrical crater at the top, its walls some one hundred feet or more above the crater floor, surrounds a mini-cone Piquinho that looks down on everything in the archipelago.
