Cycling from Horta to Capelinhos

Ruth:  Life gets better on a bicycle. Today we cycled from Horta to Capelinhos on the far end of Faial. It was a beautiful ride along a jagged and varied coastline. My fears that this year’s islands would pale in comparison with the ones we explored last year quickly evaporated.

Faial is just slightly smaller than Saltspring with a population about 50% larger. The ride to the far end of the island was under 30 kms so we added a hike at Castelo Branco and lunch at a bakery. 

For the next few nights we are living in an old stone house in Capelo. This was the site of the 1957 to 1958 eruptions that destroyed the town and sent 12,000 emigrants to North America in search of new homes.

We had our first peek at the new Capelinhos peninsula formed during the eruptions, as well as the partially buried lighthouse that marked where the island used to end. 

You can watch original footage of the eruptions here: