The Impossible Civilization of Europe's Cast Away Island.

this woman has spent her entire life on this tiny volcanic rock she has witnessed life here before electricity and running water were accessible me and Amelia have been deeply fascinated with this island ever since we saw a photo five years ago not just the natural beauty but the fact that 450 people live here we want to understand the way of life here with one gas station one restaurant and one well two police cars does everyone here suffer from extreme Island fever we have three days to find out but this is more terrifying than going on the small propeller no no I don't mind the boat so much maybe you're gonna be it's so far out in the Atlantic Ocean that Canada is just as close as Mainland Europe to get there you need to arm yourself with patience and an adventurous mindset first we took a plane from our home Madeira directly to San Miguel which is the main island of the aesource archipelago then we had a 20-hour layover before getting onto this tiny propeller plane to floor this island then another 24 hours before finally getting on this tiny boat which hopefully takes the three of us safely to Cordova Island this is going to be exciting I really have one job and that is not to smash ladder with my buddy weight here you can take the plane to corvo it is worth it because it's one of the shortest flights in the world it's seven minutes See You In Cold War even though the weather was beautiful the sea was insanely rough I did not expect this to be such a bumpy ride the Lara is shaking like a heroin addict for myself I'm feeling horrible for Lada the skipper said it was a 40-minute trip but it was more like an hour it truly fell like it was never going to end hardest thing we've ever done and we're doing this on our way back it's so close oh my God you're so good it was scary I'm gonna see if we can get a plane back to Florida's as soon we were on land we were greeted by colors who gave us some Insider tips then Lorenzo offered us a free lift to our hotel what a warm welcome ciao we're getting a free lift by Lorenzo all right how long have you lived here 12 years 12 years I was born in Florida you like Cordova better than Florida for sure why I have everything I have my house and the rest of the island is like my backyard yeah everybody knows everybody and everyone's friends with everyone yes and I I sleep at night with my door open my door is always open yeah where do you live where do you live oh there's a mini Mercado yeah you should go in and take some photographs and film because it's different from everywhere film this guy he's very ugly you're beautiful see I never I never the foreign nice to meet you we're here Joe and Vera's place I have mykinness Vibes which was another Island that we visited Pharaoh Island it it's so cute so calm p extremely friendly and the place we're staying is beautiful so I'm like check check there are two guest houses on the island Joe and verus and komodoro 42 people can sleep on this island our room was not ready yet but here's an idea of the surrounding neighborhood which also constitutes the island civilization it's hard for me to understand how small it is yet it's quite big because where we are going to watch sunset today you are actually going to take a car to get to the starting point where you can go for a walk yeah because it's eight kilometers from here the number one goal for me is to see the crater because corvo is just one crater but of course it's a lot more so let's dive into the history at the house of time like the rest of the Asos archipelago corvo Island came out of nowhere around 700 000 years ago making it the youngest of the nine islands along with Flores corvo Island was discovered back in 1452 by the captain Diogo de tave however due to the many challenges of cultivating such a Wild Island it wasn't until 5080 that a permanent settlement became viable throughout the following centuries corvo's inhabitants had ambiguous relationships with the many Pirates and privateers who frequently docked the island life has never been easy here with constant isolation from the rest of the world the people of cordovo have always been forced to come up with their own Solutions like this simple yet effective luck keeping looting Pirates out it wasn't until 1942 that cordwood became a little less isolated as the island received its first radio receptor from a group of friends in Porto [Music] you can even color your hair in the island they have the products we're checking out what a little Supermarket looks like and I guess this is it it's almost only processed food yeah but then you also have all the fresh stuff there's a lot as we went for our first walk around the town of villa to corvo we were already in love we found it quite funny that they have signs showing you the way to the church City Center School and doctor's office is this for Portuguese tourist or do some locals get lost from time to time anyway it was time to eat so we went to cordless only Bakery but they were out of fresh goods so we decided to head to corvus only restaurant the restaurant is is quite a bit from here it's on the other side of the airport six minutes walking is that the only gas station on the island yeah yeah here you can fill your car while enjoying the view for most people though that only happens once a month as the island has so few roads although we were dying to eat we bumped into one interesting place after the other talk with you no your remarks friends well well he's a follower so this is Diego and we already know him as we talk with him online when preparing our great Cordova Adventure we get asked on Instagram if anyone was from corbo Island and this beautiful online human told us to send Diogo a message Diego was happy to answer all our questions including whether or not Island fever is a big problem turns out yoga wasn't even familiar with this term and for good reason since it's never been an issue although he does travel quite a bit so uh what what's going on here this was the boats that we used in the Azores for hunting whales back in the day so the boat would take seven people yeah the captain and six rowers and the front rower was also the harpooner and when it came time to Harpoon the whale he would throw the Harpoon against the head of the whale cartoon and leg would many people think was not to kill the whale it was only for the whale to be attached it has a little hole right here that would take a little toothpick after it hit the whale the toothpick would break and as a harpoon tried to come out it would lock with the whale food pack then was set essential to survival no they did not eat the whale really yeah yeah why after the Harpoon oil the whale would dive to get away because that was their main Instinct and they can stay underwater for around 30 to 45 minutes and after it came back up to brief is when they would use a spear and this is the one they actually used to coat it with and uh unlike the Harpoon they would keep it and they would keep stabbing in the area of the lungs and heart for the world to bleed out after they were back on Shore they would use this paid again to a car blocks of fat or blubber that would then be processed and melted down into a whale oil whale oil yes for the cars I'm kidding it was used as fuel for lamps and lighthouses and lights there was a time where uh the city of London was actually eliminated just by whale oil from floors really what they eventually stopped whale hunting in the 1980s oh hi anyway we were excited to dine and cordless only restaurant Caldera while airplanes budding unfortunately we were not allowed to dive into this Buffet because of our dog ladder on the upside we could enjoy drinks outside including this liquor that the waiter insisted we try one literally looks like dishwashing soap all this like dishwasher liquid this is something that's dangerous I would like sip on this all day and then I couldn't walk home kind of hungry but kind of hydrated it was plain spotting time [Applause] this is the same tiny airplane we flew to Florida's island with and it's the only one that is able to land here as the airstrip is simply too short for the other ones that was a smooth Landing on a daily basis one or two planes land and departure here and usually the planes take off immediately with just 20 to 25 minutes on ground talk about a dream job for the lazy air traffic controller I know it goes it's a brilliant dog mother that I am I'm gonna see if there's a flight that I can take later with on Saturday do you have any airplanes to Flores on Saturday no no I do like to see uh souvenir from Korea the guys are girls you have to see uh his wife is making these little magnets I mean how can you not support this man hello house tour time this is where we're staying it's cute hey very nice and that's the bed you're not even welcome here but she's very nice Vera she was very nice to make an exception very sweet Santa Maria San Miguel okay [Music] hey guys before we delve into the beauty and Mysteries of cordovo we want to thank our sponsors of this video myheritage have you ever been curious about your lineage with my Heritage DNA you can dive deep into your ancestral past and find answers to those questions it's a simple it's at home test it is a simple at home test that reveals your it's a simple at home test that reveals you're a ethnicity well and more interesting it actually can connect you with long-lost family members that you didn't even know existed that's pretty cool I think so have you found anything yes I found one unfortunately it was not a rich jungle but it's okay she's very nice I love that we made a script to sell this product we made a whole video about my Heritage because we love it so much you're 2.8 percent we have to go to Nigeria now to meet my family anyway I found I found hahaha I found out that Jonas Jewish 4.3 Ashkenazi Jewish that explains the nose guys we've linked it down below and if you use our link you'll get free shipping it can be a really fun gift to give to a family member unless the results revealed that your mother was cheating you never know that is that is a possibility okay back to courtroom and when you go up yeah try to keep her on your lap yeah because of the cows they don't like dogs because they are the some are pregnant and some they have their little cats shopping for dinner they have a great environment of our cake sprinkles than they do in our store in Madeira I'm quite surprised how everything is is packaged and processed I actually thought that it would be more self-sustainable here where people were growing most of the things they're eating we could be the case but Diego who you met already he said that mostly people they buy their stuff in the grocery shop oh they also have noodles in a cup that's more interesting he's almost 20 years old huh this island has more dogs than humans while taking a short afternoon nap before heading to the volcanic crater we were woken up by these pills [Music] this is the church the bell boys just bored as [ __ ] the time has come guys a five year long dream is being realized right now we are going to the crater how's the weather looking foggy it looks like it's be up there today but I feel like we need to go and check it out and if it's not good we'll come back tomorrow I mean this is why we went to Cordova although it wasn't looking good we asked Lorenzo if there was any hope left I learned if you want just try to guess the weather and sure enough the weather got worse and worse wow this looks amazing yeah yeah beautiful you see the Lakes I think maybe if you go down maybe you you can see some like this whole trip is based on The View you get here so it will be such a great disappointment if we don't get to see it well I can see cows I don't know why but it's kind of terrifying to pass cows us humans don't really have any connection with cows other than plates we don't even know can they be aggressive can they hurt you yes in the end we were just chasing of you and we have already been spoiled with great experiences on this island but damn we really need to see that view with our own eyes to continue with this track he said everything is going to look the same so chances are you will get lost [Music] look so you can imagine when you stand here and then you look at this huge Critter we're not giving up but now we walk asphalt downhill [Music] [Applause] the cows on a sword is are the heaviest cows in the world and I feel like I'm in a paradise too even though the weather is foggy it's just so tranquil here it feels so funny oh my God it's literally like a memory foam oh it's like a dough yeah [Music] [Applause] [Music] okay [Music] although corvo Island does seem like a paradise it also has traces of distraught you can almost smell The Untold Stories of the past centuries walking the main road of corbo the island felt big but once we reached the village we remember that this is the only town here is [Music] thank you [Music] beautiful walk and from here it's 15 minutes and we rode to Lorenzo if he because we know that everyone knows everyone if he could talk with the owner of the restaurant and see if we can get in and have Lara stay in our airport approved back but they do not allow dogs and it's not possible so we were like okay bummer we have our cup noodles in a cup at home we can cook but then he was like no guys we have we're gonna have lasagna tonight if you want to come by you can have some white wine and a lasagna this is all we can bring foreign that's uh this is a very nice house very nice I filled it with my own hands really yeah two years I think at night my dog sleep here okay wow they're like my my children very cool amazing do you have an outdoor area here yeah we go just outside and so you barbecue oh yeah you go up here you were born in Florida yes so you do boats and you mainly boat tours boat tours and the minivan Lorenzo was such a big help for us during our stay so if you're coming to Cordova make sure to hire him do you have any competition on this island yeah I have one guy that showed up after I showed up so are you good friends yeah what is the worst thing about living here in Cordova for Middle is it there's nothing no that's amazing I love to be here how do you deal with the triviality of every day that everything is so small you know everyone here like doesn't it never gets like ah I can't stand looking at that person or yeah sometimes and sometimes I feel the need to go away for a week or two but ah a week or two it's more than enough I'm already exactly is that in another island of the a store so do you go like is it like a medication last year I've been in Canada and last year I've been in Toronto in Canada okay I thought that you would be more self-sustainable in terms of you know growing stuff and then why are you not growing you have such big green fields it's the opposite but you have a little window of time to grow some crops on the island ah so it can the weather in the in the winter forget about it yeah nothing grows on the island really not even potatoes only now because it's too cold or the gold to win a lot of salt in the air thank you so much thank you a delicious alternative to Dairy we have another day with a tiny Cloud over tiny Cordova I got actually burned yesterday so in a way it is a blessing but it also makes me wonder will we get to see the beauty of portable yeah it looks like it this is no okay it tastes like sugar as we had barely finished our delicious oat coffee out of nowhere it suddenly cleared up so we immediately wrote Lorenzo to double check it's looking good yeah everything let's go okay [Music] it is looking sunny and clear Amelia oh my God I am so excited right now we've come a long long way together through the hard times [Music] [Music] [Music] I'm the king of the world this is the most beautiful site I have ever seen with my own eyes although yava what we went was also incredibly beautiful but it's also the fact that we are at one of the most remotest islands in the world and like this island is six times four kilometers it is tiny tiny and we gotta walk along the ridge all the way and then down into the to the crater if if we think that it's okay because he said it's very steep so we have to consider if we think it's okay but I think we do and your hiking shoes are not waterproof Guru means oh you're beautiful wow getting to finally hike here with this view was truly an experience except the five locals we had this crater entirely to ourselves what an experience so this hike here is not the ordinary hike for tourists most tourists they do the the hike we did yesterday just down to the crater watch look admire and then back up are we gonna do this yes how beautiful is this it's interesting how suddenly it starts to be foggy yeah and I think that's one of the things you should really think about if you get really foggy all of a sudden you're kind of [ __ ] [Music] are your shoes wet soaked [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] and [Applause] [Music] everything [Music] we did it Amelia this is the highest point on this side it's so tranquil here I mean you don't get this Earth more to yourself than when you make the effort to hike here I mean there is no one coming here and even when you take the tourist path it's like a handful of people who go because 42 people can sleep here so most people you see here are the day trip guests there are people coming with the morning boat and then they go back at 2 30 so they have like three hours here which is just pointless it's people who are staying at Flores and then they are like it's a part of the experience on Flores that you take a day trip oh they don't see it as its own Island like I like corvo more than I like Flores because this is just unlike anything I've ever seen look at this you oh my God there's a plane coming oh you can see it so we found a way it's down here but it's so texting on the the feet and angles and knees so far down we literally walked that's what she said okay Lara she just fell down through a little hole oh yeah [Applause] [Music] [Applause] although it's a small crater it's huge from a human's perspective we didn't feel unsafe hiking off the beaten path but it's definitely a test for the feet and angles oh your legs a knees an angles fine I'm fine I'm tired now yeah but it's so rewarding yeah and hungry we don't have any food or water with us luckily we only have to climb back up 200 meters I see the path from yesterday you have no idea how good that feels and then oh [ __ ] high five good girl back on the tub we hadn't even walked 10 000 steps but it felt like thirty thousand so we had our savior Lorenzo pick us up and we weren't even done with the crater so here at the only bar at corvo they actually also make food and they have outdoor seating so we can eat here with Lara we um read their reviews here and people there is ecstatic about the franciscania the franciscans find in the city Kansas City and Porto is like not having spaghetti in Rome that's why finding a good fancy senior here of all places was quite interesting sauce is delicious yeah I am forever fascinated about people who can actually finish a fancy senior I've burned a lot of calories today Amelia since it was our last evening on Cordova Island we had no choice but to go see the sunset by the Crater when you have that opportunity you grab it and we were not disappointed we couldn't get over the fact that this marvelous place even exists the Atlantic Ocean is such a vast place with almost no Islands yet this tiny volcano found its way through the surface of the water I had already made my mind that we were not going to be this lucky and yet here we are so apparently May is the foggy month so so it's not uncommon to have a week where it's foggy every day so after yesterday we were like um chances are slim that we will have this set up here this moment right here is why we we planned this whole trip to to corvo and Flores getting to see this is is truly a bucket list experience and I'm so happy that we we got to you know sit here and enjoy the sunset what do you got there I Pro I brought pre-dinner pre-dinner a delicious dinner waiting at the hotel [Music] they say cheese it's more addictive than cocaine I believe it the answer is picking us up again and honestly yeah he has been our hero on this trip because he's been taking us everywhere he's been helping us out us out with everything and now he's here again if you go to the to see the fishing and the fish being self I'll be there okay so we'll see you okay perfect if we can get up I think [Music] somebody so how many kilos did you uh catch in total maybe 90 90 80 90 kilos and that's like eight hours on the sea yeah more but he said with the fishing rod or net no fishing rod really high line wow three four hooks yeah it's time no it's sustainable fishing I think you learn a lot from the people on this island because here people still works you know people are still doing the actual work they're taking all these fish in by line 90 kilos just on Lorenzo's boat of fishing fishing okay we're gonna go get our morning coffee yeah Amigos just talking about what is the incentive to have a nice new car like that show in the behind us it is 40 000 Euros and it's like you don't really need a car here like the only thing you need a car for is to go to the volcano I would just have like a small Range Rover or something I'm kidding [Music] when walking around these narrow threes we actually realize how many abandoned buildings there are here and it's because there used to be almost 900 people living here and almost none of the houses that people are living in are new building a new house here it's very difficult because you have to ship everything can you imagine the prices I don't even know how it works if it's also government funded but nonetheless interesting and an indication of why there are no new houses hey how are you today I'm going you're good yeah a little bit of myself at the end of 2005 I went to the internet that was the first ones to get internet in corvo then wasting Hotmail Messenger and as all the the the profiles the profiles of the of the the ladies in the internet in that sends a request of email and he answered we start to talk six months later he was she was coming here you convinced her to come together so yeah 2007 she comes to me we are five years here went to Brazil eight years there we have a daughter 15 years old welcome to my humble home thank you thank you [Music] honey yes I try this this is from corvo the pharmacy although they were living three people in a tiny house with one bedroom upstairs they were radiating more joy and happiness than most people living in mansions they mainly earn an income by selling all these souvenirs that Manuel's wife makes herself whether it's magnets dolls paintings pillows and even these art pieces that are made up of thousands of tiny dots this one has 15 400 and 301. from here makes a delicious liquor you try it that tastes really good it's like candy it's time to wrap up corvo yeah and how do we wrap up this I wanted to go here to see that view that was really what I wanted to come to Caldwell for but the closer we got to corvo the more I realized that hey wait a minute people are living on this island what is the life of these people and I think that is truly the the most fascinating thing about this island you have 450 people living here and they see each other every single day several times it's just such a contrast to the life that that most of us are used to and I think that that that's what makes this place so unique I've been so impressed about the ability of the people here like they know how to do everything they know how to build a house they know how to do the electricity they know how to make clothes out of wool there's no bobber here there's no um mechanic there's not even a hospital it kind of made me reflect a little bit on how I don't know to survive like if something happened tomorrow and we didn't have the internet I would probably die nothing is ordinary here you know I asked about what about the schools here they have one two three four five seven eight ninth grade they have two grades where there's one and two people and the fun fact is that anyone born after 1990 they're actually born in fayal and not here on the island although the parents are from the island that's because they don't have a hospital to give birth to children to babies here so the women they have to go in the middle of their pregnancy to another Island and spend two months there before they can even give birth because you're not allowed to travel when you were pregnant hey Manuel we're leaving now I will waiting for you next time through hiking okay hiking together yeah anyone coming here to corvo Manuel he's the guy to take you on a hike you need we'll put his uh his WhatsApp in the description yeah so we were actually supposed to go on the trip with atlantico at five o'clock but then Carlos the guy we met right upon arrival here we were like hey uh we have the next two days at Flores could you maybe take us on one of these cave tours because that's what he does and he's like come here three o'clock we're setting to Flores and we're gonna show you that we're getting earlier back to Florida's which means that we get more time at our hotel because today we're staying at a pretty special place and although Flores is wonderful nothing will be as special as Cuervo island not only did Corbin meet our expectations it exceeded them as the people here are just as beautiful as a view we came for could we live here probably not but the idea of having a little getaway home here is an appealing thought in other words we would definitely come back and stay for a week or even longer this is the place to clear your head and fall in love with the natural world once again 45 minutes thank you [Music] if you're going to listen you should check out our Lisbon guide we've spent so much time crafting this and adding all the things we loved so much in Lisbon whether it's restaurants things to do activities in general places to stay it's in the guide

Channel: STAY CLASSY VLOG

Views: 411,042

Keywords: most isolated island in the world, most remote island, isolated places, smallest island, corvo island azores, flores island azores, tiny volcano island, most remote places to live, remote island, volcano, remote locations, most isolated places on earth, azores archipelago, fascinating places in the world

Id: NrHFscCgpUk

Length: 38min 7sec (2287 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 29 2023