Horta Azores tourist information.
The capital of the Azorean island of Faial, the Port of Horta, a fashionable marina for yachts is a single municipality and city in the western part of the Archipelago of the Azores, encompassing the island of Faial.
The Azores are actually the tops of some of the tallest mountains on the planet, as measured from their base at the bottom of the ocean. The islands are home to a rich maritime fauna, being like a swimming pool on the middle of the ocean, on which also grow exotic species such as the black coral. Sealife includes jamantas, sharks, sea turtles and thousands of other different creatures.
Horta, the fortified main town of Faial, lies facing the imposing cone of Pico in a wide bay on the southeast coast of the island, with a beach of black volcanic sand. The town is attractively situated on gently rising ground, surrounded by handsome villas and beautiful gardens. The inhabitants, many of them of Flemish descent, live by trade and the sale of fine embroidery and basketwork.
Marina of Horta
Marina of Horta is the main recreational harbour of the Azores, this marina is one of the most busy and famous in the world. It is a linking point for international regattas, and superstition tells sailors to paint a mural on the breakwater in order to attain divine protection during the rest of their trip. The walls and walkways of the marina are covered with paintings made by visitors memorializing their vessels, crews and the year they visited.
The marina is a primary stop for yachts crossing the Atlantic, and its walls, and walkways are covered in paintings created by visitors who noted the names of their vessels, crews, and the years they visited. Peter’s Cafe Sport, which is located across from the marina and houses the island’s scrimshaw museum, a collection artifacts carved from whale tooth and jawbone, is a point of reference for trans-Atlantic yachtsmen and sailors.
Horta Museum
The city contains the Horta Regional Museum which has a permanent exhibit, Exhibition of Capelinhos Volcano, that details in photographs the recent (1957) volcanic eruption in the Azores. The museum also contains a large collection of scale models of buildings, ships, and people carved from fig kernels carved by Euclides Rosa.
Whale Spotting
One of the most gratifying and exhilarating experiences you can ever have in the Azores is to go out whale spotting in the summer months when islands like Faial and Pico attract an abundance of these large marine mammals including huge cachalots, pilot whales, numerous species of dolphin and giant marine turtles. Excursions are organized by the Talassa Company from their offices adjoining Peter’s Café.
The waters of the Azores archipelago churn with sea life, so whale-watching trips can pretty much guarantee a sighting of these magnificent creatures. You’re most likely to see beaked whales, pilot whales and sei whales, along with the native sperm whale.
Capelinhos Volcano
This active volcano on the western extremity of the island last erupted in the 1950s destroying a lighthouse which can still be seen embedded in the lava flow. The surrounding landscape still has a lunar quality about it and now and then is used in filmmaking.