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Collections - J.P Oliveira
Specialized in collection Seashells the World and Fossils of Portugal
Azores - Terceira, São Jorge and Pico Islands - 1999
Travel Diarie - J.P. Oliveira
The Azores Islands and Madeira Island are two magnificent archipelagos embedded in the abyssal depths of the Atlantic Ocean, which are part of the only two Autonomous Regions of Portugal. With almost six centuries of continuous human presence, the Azores are an integral part of Portuguese history...
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Azores - Terceira, São Jorge and Pico Islands - 1999
My first trip...
In 1999, I did my baptism of flight. Although the flight was not as far I wanted in my dreams, it was the initial ignition for new and longer flights. I was flying for the first time on the Atlantic Ocean, towards its most beautiful "Pearls" anchored by geological moorings in abyssal depths to the effervescence of life on its surface.
To glimpse for the first time in the distance these dark dots as ghosts lost in infinite oceanic blue, is something that touches us in the soul...
View of Pico from the island of São Jorge. 1999
A small introduction:
Time doesn't stop, and since the 90s, until today, a lot has changed in the world. Unfortunately, the Azores were also not immune to the irritating schizophrenia of the globalization of mass tourism. I returned to the Azores several times, but not to Terceira Island or to São Jorge Island. In particular, São Jorge Island was a paradise of tranquility and pure beauty. Where you hardly saw a foreign tourist...
On Terceira Island, I only stayed a few hours, enough time to make the stopover to São Jorge Island, in a small twin-engine plane. That little plane trip would forever remain in my memory as a frightening event...
From what little I saw of Terceira Island, I was quite enchanted, the simply beautiful city of Angra do Heroísmo. It's certainly worth spending a few days on this wonderful island...
Terceira Island » with the beautiful city of Angra do Heroísmo (UNESCO - World Heritage since 1983), leaves us marvelling at the great architectural beauty. The dark volcanic stone of the sidewalks, contrasts unequally with the immaculate white of the house, everything is majestically beautiful and harmonious...
Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira Island - Azores, 1999
São Jorge Island » magnificent and beautiful island of the Archipelago the Azores. The Fajãs look like tongues of earth wedged between the cliffs and the Atlantic Ocean, which stubbornly resist the fury of the sea and give shelter to people molded to bitterness of time, they are a wonderful sight for the eyes. Across the channel, Pico Island, provides a charmingly fantastic landscape, resembling a floating platform with a pinnacle in the middle, wrapped in circles of persistent clouds. Formations of dark stone Basaltic spiked on all sides, leaves us bowed before the great demonstration of the geological force of nature.
Village of Velas, São Jorge Island - Azores, 1999
Pico Island » Of all the trips I made to the Azores at that time, I kept the spectacular crossing of the channel between São Jorge and Pico. I did not have the pleasure of seeing bouncy dolphins, or the snows at the top of the pico volcano cone, but it was still less spectacular...
We made the crossing in a small boat, the water was within reach of a hand. The splashing of the keel when tearing the water along with the curling caused by the movement of the boat in successive swoops against the waves filled our lips with a deliciously salty taste. Like children. I, and my wife, in endless ripped laughs, delighted in a fantastic moment...
Got to know shortly. Wanting to see more. The will, one day there to return with more time... to return, to the Azores.
Madalena, Pico Island - Azores, 1999
My general opinion about the trip...
It is not possible to get around the time that separates me between the trip that I did (1999) and the present day (2024). Incredibly, 25 years have passed, the emotions are no longer the same, but even so, they remain alive in my memory...
I spent little time on the Terceira and Pico Island's, my main destination of the trip was São Jorge Island. I stayed in the beautiful Velas Village, which is ingrown between the sea and the foot of the cliff escarpments. As I didn't rent a car at the time I was there (a big mistake...), walking from Vila de Velas, to anywhere, was a strenuous walk. Always climbing and depending on the time of day and year, it's not easy...
I have excellent memories of São Jorge Island and particularly the Azoreans. The boat crossing between São Jorge and Pico Island was simply wonderful. The walk along the trail from the top of the cliff to Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo is something you never forget. The landscape is absolutely magnificent. It takes a while to get to Lagoa da Caldeira de Santo Cristo by the sea, but it's worth every pain in your legs... I highly recommend visiting São Jorge Island.
Visiting the Azores, depending on the calendar of the year we are in, is always a great pleasure. Any island in the Azores deserves to be seen and reviewed with attention. Spend some time rediscovering corners that are more inaccessible and discreet to most tourists, but always with some care. Because very quickly we can go from a good situation to a bad situation... For those who like to take good walks in nature, the Azores islands in general have excellent routes for this practice. There are walking trails for all tastes and with varying degrees of difficulty. Many of these routes are not suitable for everyone to venture on, because some have a very high degree of difficulty or can even be very dangerous. Personally, as I'm accustomed to this type of route, this is generally where I go most often...
Azores - Terceira, S. Jorge, and Pico Islands - 1999
Gallery » 36 Images
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Author note:
The imagens about this post unfortunately, are few and of poor quality. In 1999, it was still the beginning of digital photography... Nikon, launched that same year, first digital (DSRL) camera to D1 with a 2,7 megapixel sensor. I unfortunately still had no money for such a toy and I was content with my Nikon analogue reflex... lenses without VR system and ISO 200 or 400 rolls, which I had to save on the shots...
Fossils and Shells Topics - Seashells
"In Other Topics, will approach the various questions related to Conchology. The Topic is divided into two parts. As a collectors, I think it is important to share my knowledge with other collectors , or with other people who are simply interested in learning some techniques on the subject of shell collecting and preparation..."
NEWSLETTER: The 23th of July 2024, Portugal
Dear friends, collectors, or simply visitors. Once again I'm remodeling my website, in a final and possible format... When everything is totally remodeled, it will have an aspect much more pleasant and easier to navigate through the pages. Many and new content are being added. New pages. New photos with quality. The description of new Fossils and Shells. In the end it will almost be a new website...
My collection, my history...
"My fascination with shells was born more than 30 years ago, transforming me since then into a specialized collector, in inexhaustible hours of pleasure in the preparation and conservation of the shells, or simply in their cataloguing..."
My collection, my projects...
In this my project come with me to discover a fantastic world about Malacology, Paleontology and the pleasure of traveling around the World. Here you can find some interesting information on these three themes, that connect perfectly with each other. Photos, articles and much more...
During more than 30 years I have collected and cataloged many marine shells and fossils. Particularly specimens from Portugal. Along all these years, has been a hard work, but full of pleasure. The preparation of vertebrate fossils from the Upper Jurassic, particularly of Dinosaurs has been another great personal challenge, difficult, but extraordinary...
