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# Leaving Pico
- URL: https://tombrewer.co.uk/leaving-pico/
- Published: 2025-09-05T10:54:18.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-21T09:33:07.000Z
- Author: Tom Brewer
- Tags: Newsletter, #Migrated-1789982889005, #Import 2026-09-21 09:29

Our final morning on Pico began in the sea. At 8.30am we joined the fantastic team at CW Azores once more, this time for a snorkelling trip. We boarded the dive boat Mermaid and set out towards Ilhéu Deitado, a low-lying islet off the coast. But the current was too strong; a mix of wind and tide that would have swept us quickly away from the rocks and the life that gathers around them. Instead, our skipper steered us along the south-west coast to a spot he and Emer our guide knew well.

![](https://tombrewer.co.uk/content/images/2026/09/de475c6f-d3ad-4aea-88bf-2b94dc71048d_9372x5272-jpeg-1.jpg)

The water here was a little murky at first, but once our eyes adjusted, the seabed began to reveal itself. Small fish darted in and out of the rocks, catching the light in flashes of silver, their movements quick and playful against the volcanic landscape below.

![](https://tombrewer.co.uk/content/images/2026/09/652014e4-e7e6-4ccf-a3f0-050c271af318_9375x5273-jpeg.jpg)

Still feeling we hadn’t quite had our fill of snorkelling, we returned later to our favourite spot at Criação Velha. It felt like the island wanted to give us one last gift: the swell had eased, the water was crystal clear, and huge schools of fish moved in synchrony around us. It was the perfect way to close our time in the water on Pico.

![](https://tombrewer.co.uk/content/images/2026/09/ae43a88a-b9ea-4a76-bb52-68c27e9810e4_9504x5346-jpeg.jpg)

By late afternoon it was time to head for the airport. Even here, the warmth of the locals shone through, the car rental staff paused their work to share photos of their spearfishing trips, proud snapshots of a lifetime spent in and around these waters.

Even simply taking off from Pico is something else. From the air you can truly grasp the scale and drama of the island, a vast volcanic cone rising from the Atlantic. Looking out of the window, it was easy to feel the primeval nature of this rock in the middle of the ocean with a population of less than 15,000 people.

![](https://tombrewer.co.uk/content/images/2026/09/b8005739-e762-4798-bd6b-fd61b944e2c2_9430x5304-jpeg.jpg)