Calheta de Nesquim
Calheta de Nesquim is a civil parish, along the southern coast of the municipality of Lajes do Pico, in the Portuguese Azores. The population in 2011 was 343, in an area of 13.81 km2. History In the 16th century, during a tempestuous and dark night, a ship returning from Brazil, loaded with wood, shipwrecked along the southern coast of Pico. Three survived the shipwreck (João Redondo or Rodolfo; João Valim; and the ship's captain, Diogo Vaz Dourado), and were guided to safety by the ship's dog, to a small bay. The dog was named "Nesquim", and the small bay became known as the "Calheta de Nesquim" (small bay of Nesquim). As the story goes, Nesquim had originally survived the tempest by jumping to safety onto a natural dyke along the coast, called Morricão. It was this legendary story that inspired the heraldry of the parish, which includes a dog to represent Nesquim, the "discoverer" of the small bay. By 1680, a religious parish of São Sebastião da Calheta had already existed for some time (although the date of the community's settlement remains unclear). The construction of the parochial church began on 8 July 1851, and concluded with its consecration on