Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Twelve Mile Circle

  • Ponta Delgada Scenes

    São Miguel, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Ponta Delgada is the capital of the Azores and its most populous city. It hugs São Miguel’s southwestern coast (map). These old “City Gates” or Portas da Cidade probably personifies Ponta Delgada more than any other image. They dated back to the 18th Century. Back then the…

  • Whaling Industry Museum

    Pico, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) The last whaling factory in the Azores operated at São Roque do Pico, from the cais (dock) along the waterfront. Whalers killed and harvested their prey in local waters. Then they delivered carcasses to the dock, where workers extracted oil and processed flesh and teeth. During its heyday,…

  • São Roque do Pico

    Pico, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) São Roque do Pico (map) appeared in the distance from the cross-island road. This photograph gives a good perspective of the steep descent from the interior. Then, down below, towns could be observed on the relatively flat coastal plain. Of course, this placement also offered excellent oceanfront access.…

  • Porto do Cachorro

    Pico, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Porto do Cachorro meets the sea on Pico’s northwestern coast (map). It is an old, traditional town with narrow streets along a rugged coastline of rapidly cooled lava flows. When people settle the island they naturally used locally available building materials. For Pico that meant charcoal-black volcanic rocks.…

  • Madalena

    Pico, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Madalena, on Pico’s western coast, is the principal town on the island (map). It is also a vital transportation link to the island of Faial via ferry from the nearby municipal dock [see my Pico – Faial Ferry page]. The most impressive building in Madalena is undoubtedly the…

  • Horta Street Scenes

    Faial, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Faial played an important historical role as a stopping point between Europe and the New World. Whaling ships paused for resupply and took men along with them when they departed, building immigrant communities in North America. Steamships rested here to take on new supplies and provide a respite…

  • Horta Waterfront

    Faial, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Wealthy transatlantic yachters adopted Horta as a convenient stopping point between Europe and North America in recent decades (map). Their graceful sailboats line the town’s marina. While there, their crews also leave colorful graffiti on the harbor barriers to commemorate their oceanic voyages. The mosaic of color on…

  • Along A Canal In Amsterdam

    The Netherlands (September 1998) My wife and I rode a train from Brussels to Amsterdam for a day-trip. Obviously a single day is not enough time to do the city any justice. Even so, it was long enough to get a flavor. We walked through many of the neighborhoods and across and along the picturesque…

  • Vianden Castle

    Luxembourg (August 1999) A twisted route led through hills and valleys in northern Luxembourg, the last Grand Duchy. We drove through Clervaux and Vianden, and thick stands of forest. It was a fun drive with plenty of scenery. We shared the road with mobs of motorcyclists and bicyclists that were also out to enjoy the…

  • Icelandic Adventures

    Iceland (September 1999) For a country as small as Iceland, the capital city of Reykjavík and its suburbs felt much larger than one would expect. Hallgrímskirkja, a tall church sitting atop a hill, dominated the otherwise low-slung skyline. Corrugated iron protected historic homes near the harbor from cold rain and steady wind. Tjörnin (literally “the…

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