Calheta do Nesquim

It was the 16th century and often the seas of the Azores were crossed by caravels laden with
many riches, coming from Brazil.

One night, a caravel carrying Pau Brazil, a very good and appreciated wood, was ravaged by a
heavy storm, off the Azores, more properly on the south coast of Pico, eventually
shipwrecked.
With the stirring of the sea and the dark of the night the crew quickly disappeared during the
great vacancies and the caravel sank, carrying with them the riches it carried. From the midst
of despair and agony, three men managed to get rid of, swim and keep together, following
the barking of the Nesquim, the faithful Maple dog, whose faro divined land not far away.
They have to swim hard, facing the strength of the sea. At some point, already almost
exhausted, but still with hope, they felt, by the roar of the sea, that they were approaching
land. The night was pitch black, and only very near, they glimpsed a few shades of cliffs from
the coast.

One of the men, regaining courage and joy, exclaimed:

-Jump, Nesquim!

The dog soon climbed onto a rock and the three men followed it.
They saw that they were in a small bay or Calheta, where the sea was hurled against small
and round gutters. From behind there was a hillside, all covered with beeches and Heather.
They then decided to call this land Calheta of the Nesquim in honor of the dog who had so
courageously and intelligently saved them.

One of the men, João Valim, was to settle in the middle stream. The second, John Redondo,
was walking around the island, until it settled in the place that is today the Magdalene. Diogo
Vaz Dorado, the captain of the sailboat, was living in the place that today is called fora, and
from there developed the parish of Calheta do Nesquim.

The dog, after years, died in the place he had discovered and was joined to the Virgin land of
the island, under Beeches and Heather that there, grew freely. But the courage and
intelligence of Nesquim penetrated the earth and the plants and nourished the body and soul
of the inhabitants of this parish who made themselves fearless fishermen and whalers,
renowned throughout the island.