Congratulations to the Monte da Guia Complex!

June 20, 2022

This complex, which today celebrates nine years of existence, is located on Faial in the Monte da Guia Protected Landscape Area. Two Environmental Centres are part of this complex, the Dabney's House and the Live Fish Station // Porto Pim Aquarium.

The summer house of the Dabney family was bought in 1854 by Charles William Dabney. Built in the unique landscape of Monte da Guia, this structure included a residential complex consisting of a house with a cistern, a pier and shelter for two boats, a viewpoint and a small area of vineyards along the hillside towards the bay of Porto Pim. It also had a winery, where an exhibition depicting the family's journey is currently on display.

The Live Fish Station // Porto Pim Aquarium is located in a building that was built in 1836 by the Companhia das Pescarias Lisbonense with the purpose of drying cod caught in the New Land. However, the humidity of the Azores did not allow the original plan to come to fruition. After decades of neglect, the Regional Government of the Azores restored this impressive structure and transformed it into an Environmental Centre. This unit includes an aquarium with some of the most common coastal species in the Azores, a live fish transfer station, an exhibition about the Azores Marine Park and a film about the deep sea of the continental platform contiguous to the Archipelago. At the moment, it is temporarily closed.