Trip to Pico

On the weekend Chrissie and I had spoken about going to Pico on Tuesday,  I told her we would have to wait and see what the weather brings,  - we woke up to a perfect day. By 10 am we were down at the ferry in Horta and ready to enjoy, what felt like a holiday for the day. It was warm, lovely light on the sea and a feeling of excitement. The trip across was inexpensive €3.40 and it took about half an hour.

Knowing it might be a while before we had something to eat again, we first stopped for a coffee and a tosta mista. Not far from the cafe we picked up a taxi  and went up to the botanical gardens. Chrissie really noticed an improvement in the gardens since her last visit, two years ago. The azalea hedges were in bloom and so many other interesting plants we had not seen before.

Returning to the harbour it was all down hill, so we decided to walk and go on a bit of adventure. Trying to cross a field we came upon a bull tethered and a cow that was loose but on a double take noticed the cow had a bucket stuck on her head, the handle had got caught on her horn. There was no helping the poor thing, the moment you walked towards her, she ran away. Getting back to the main path we saw many calves and their mums but one little one was tethered and had the line all wound around its back leg. I was able to jump over the stone wall and untangle him, man he was so cute, he even let me touch him, did not even try run away.
Further down the hill, we got chatting to a lady busy in her garden planting potatoes - gorgeous soil.

Leaving Horta

Tree Fern

Azalias

Tangled calf

Unlucky cow

Gazania - its amazing

By the time we had reached the harbour we had a bag full of plant cuttings, we sat at one of the restaurants and had a bite to eat before catching the ferry back home. A good day was enjoyed by us all. Can not wait to go back in the summer and see more of the island. It really requires hiring a car.

Planting Potatoes

Leaving Madalena  - Pico

Me