On the island of Flores one is able to hike along the edge of Europe. Flores is one of nine islands that makes up the Azorean archipelago. This group of islands are located in the Atlantic ocean west of Portugal. Together with Corvo, these two are the most remote in the archipelago. They are also the only two islands that lie on the American tectonic plate. Together with friends I spend time on a walking holiday on four of the islands. Every day we did hikes. They were all different when it comes to length, terrain and degree of difficulty. The hike that made the biggest impression on me, is without any doubt the walk along the west coast of Flores. The silence, the beautiful landscape and spectacular views cannot be described in words. The island must be experienced.
Food for sale along the trail
This west coast trail on Flores, is one of the official trails of the island and runs almost along the intire west coast. That makes it the most western hike on the European continent. It runs from Lajedo in the south to Ponta Delgada in the north with a total length is approximately 26 kilometers. It's a linear route, which meant we had to organize transport to the starting point, or pick up at the ending point, depending on where we started. Our hotel was located in Fajã Grande. Our plan was to do the west coast hike in its entirety, but split it up over two days. Fajã Grande would the be suitable because its halfway from either starting point. Due to a lot of rain and fog, it was only possible to walk the southern part from Lajedo to Fajã Grande. This part also proved to be the most sensible, as the northern route has sections with high, steep cliffs. It is rated as "hard" and because of the fog it can be dangerous.
We arranged transport to Lajedo and the starting point of the approx.13 kilometer hike that took us through a varied landscape of hills, pastures and small villages. From Lajedo its uphill, but easy and pleasant walking.
The village of Mosteiros
The landscape is lush and very green. There are no cafes or eateries until we get to Fajãzinha. But someone has set out food and a bowl that we could put money in case we took a bananer or two. In several places we saw the sign telling how far it is to a food truck. But it is only open on weekends. But luckily we brought lunch and plenty of water with us.
Even though it wasn't raining, we ended up in areas with fog. The trail also follows a section of the country road before it descends again. It wasn't cold and the fog didn't last for long.
When out of the fog we noticed a group of stone houses. Then we realized the the trail runs straight through Caldeiro do Mosteiro, an abandoned village left to itself. A sign at the entrance provides information in several languages and at the same time warns about the danger if entering the buildings.
The village was abandoned in 1992, when the last inhabitant left the place. One of the reasons why it was abandoned was that the village was not connected to the any source of electricity. Some inhabitants moved to other villages. Others immigrated to the USA and Canada.
We took our time to walk around among the buildings. There are remains of both residential houses and barns. All are built in stone, a building style that seems to be typical for the island, as we have already seen several of the same type at other places on the island. The houses are probably standing just as they were abandoned. The only ones who contributed to give some life to the place, are the grazing calves, goats and chickens. A cute young cat ran around after us, wanted company very much.
Shortly before the village of Fajazinha, we took a small detour to the viewpoint Miradouro do Portal. The view is amazing! We could see not only the village of Fajazinha, but also the tip of Fajã Grande. The last stretch to reach til village, was really a challenge. It is downhill, but the terrain is steep, rocky, wet and slippery. Several times we had to grab hold of bushes to keep from falling. It took time to reach the village. Now we only had a few kilometers up and over a hill to get back to our lodging. On our way we noticed a small restaurant, called Pôr-do-Sol. We decided to made a stop to have a beer. At that point we really needed a break.
Looking back to Miradouro do Portal
I have to admit that it took some effort to get up and keep going. It was far too comfortable to sit in the sun with a beer. But we only had a few kilometers to Fajã Grande and the sun was still shining.
The last few kilometers was easy going. The trail took us along old stone walls seperating the pastures. This part was very enjoyable. We met som locals who came to attend to their cows and the sun was still shining. We ended up on the eastern end of Fajã Grande and continued to our lodging on the paved road. We had completed the hike on our last day on Flores. Though we didn't do the intire west coast hike, we have walked along the western edge of Europe.
Sources : Wikipedia and at Caldeira do Mosteiro
Link to trails : https://trails.visitazores.com/en/find-a-trail?field_island_term_tid=37&field_difficulty_value=All&field_extension_value=All&field_category_value=All
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