Mount Pico

The local guide said we had the weather window so we ascended Mount Pico starting at midnight to watch the sunrise, a full moon helped light the rocky trail. We were able to summit Pico while it was still dark so we ate and slept, wisely our guide Renato lended us sleeping bags. I still woke up shivering cold but a sunrise unlike any I have seen before occupied my mind, almost a mile and a half above sea level we could see five of the nine islands that make up the Açores. Once an active volcano Pico still puts off steam from its highest peak and the lava flow is very visible. That same afternoon after the climb, I found myself 40ft below the ocean testing my scuba equipment because we had a 100 mile round trip with a 140ft dive planned the following day. The next sunrise from the ocean didn’t disappoint and neither did the scuba or freediving. I’ll be dropping my new video from my Azores trip soon so stay tuned!