Well, we happen to be back in Portuguese territory with our visit to Ponta Delgada, Azores. Located on the 40 mile long and 9 mile wide island of Sao Miguel, Ponta Delgada is the capital of this autonomous region of Portugal. According to a 2014 census, there are about 246,772 people that speak Portuguese as well as some English. What you will find in this part of the world are islands that have granite peaks, lush valleys, old wine estates, and gorgeous blue and green lakes created by the calderas of ancient volcanoes. Dormant, we hope. Located 1000 miles off of the coast of Portugal, these islands have endured earthquakes and volcanic eruptions over the centuries. Originally built on the fishing industry, these days you can find exports of oranges, tea, wine, cereals, veggies and dairy products. Pineapples, also called ananas here, are a major export. In addition, there are the sugar refineries as well as liquor distilling. And during a certain time of the year, it is a great place for whale-watching.
The ship's tours included the best of the Azores – valleys and hot springs for $190 for 8 hours. Two excursions that were 3 ¾ hours in duration were Lire Lake and Ribiera Grande for $70, and a taste of the Azores was $90. Two other tours that were 3 ½ hours were off the beaten track for $120 and Sete Cidades Crater Lake for $70. We have been to this island more than a few times, but it has been many years ago. We did take this crater lake tour and it was most impressive. We got lucky and the fog and rain stopped long enough to see the deep color of the water.
This is probably a good time to mention the weather which was not the best today. We docked by 8am with passing showers, and they continued through most of the day. It was one of those days that the umbrellas went up and down, but we were glad that we had them. It was not cold with temperatures in the 60's. And for the first time in weeks, it was slightly humid.
Just as we were tied up, the Seadream II docked right next to us. Size-wise, she is a baby compared to us. Part of the Seadream Yacht Club, this vessel is 4333 gross tons and used to be the Seabourn Goddess II and also the Sea Goddess II. It was bought by Seadream in 2002. She holds up to 112 passengers with a crew of 95. We did notice there were no balcony cabins, but have no doubt, their product is luxury experience.
We went off of the ship by 11am, and headed through the terminal building. That brought us out into the Portas do Mar along the waterfront marina with shopping, restaurants, bars, sea activities, and entertainment. Turning left, we followed the marina until we were able to walk up a series of stairs to the main street locating the Information Center. Although we had gotten a couple of small city maps in the terminal, we were handed a much nicer one here in the main office.
We passed by the Square of Vasco da Gama just as we heard horse hooves hitting the cobblestone streets as they were pulling a fancy carriage with tourists. Didn't expect to see that, although we recall seeing a tourist train in this area. We headed towards Fort Sao Bras, which is a military museum these days. The better photos were outside with the cannons and steep fort walls. Across the street, we saw St. Joseph's Church as well as hearing the noon church bells ringing. The churches were all locked up today. Passing a big square called S. Francisco, we spotted the Convent and Church of Our Lady of Hope. A narrow shopping and dining street began here so we continued walking it….carefully as cars were also using this tight street.
Turning uphill, we headed towards a small but pretty park (jardins) recently planted with summer-blooming flowers. Across from this garden was the Colegio Church and museum as well as the library and archives. There seemed to be a group of students milling around here too. We sort of remembered that the Palace and gardens was up here, so we tried to find the correct streets to access it. The street names seemed to change with every block, so it was difficult to get our bearings. By chance we ran into Parque Atlantico, a major and modern shopping mall with three levels of shopping and a food court. We had been here before and actually had pizza in a Pizza Hut in this same food court. Back then, it was a full service restaurant, not just take away. Now there is every recognizable fast food restaurant we have at home in the USA.
It had begun to drizzle outside again, so we wandered into the mall, and walked each level. We read somewhere that this is the largest and perhaps the only mall in all of the Azore Islands. From here we did find the Palace Sant'Ana and Jardins Jose do Canto but they were closed. Just as well, it would be a long walk back downhill. We have to mention that the pavement and the sidewalks are all created with either cobblestones and small rocks placed on edge. They create designs with dark and white stones which are really pretty to see. No two streets are alike, even the narrowest of the side streets have these designs. The large squares are stunning with these designs.
Back down at the main square and St. Sebastian Parish Church, we walked the car-free area taking in the Town Gates and the statue of Velho Cabral. Aiming for the tall baby blue and white high- rise building, we knew we would locate the Italian restaurant we had "googled" before we left the room. It was close to 2pm and many of the cafes along the way were over-flowing with diners. We considered sitting outside in the covered patio, but changed our minds when we saw another series of showers headed this way. We got a table for two, which our waiter combined with another small table to make more room for us. Ordering two large Sagres draft beers , we ordered a medium pizza with the base of red sauce and cheese. We had the option of adding five toppings from a list of 12 items. That would be pepperoni, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and extra cheese. Glad we stuck to the medium size this time, because the pizza was heaping with the toppings. And so good. We had to chuckle when the outside diners either came inside or sat against the outside front windows to stay dry. In the meantime, we shared a slice of pineapple cake, the closest we have come to having upside down pineapple cake, a real old- fashioned dessert we may add. Next to this restaurant was a mini-mall where we used the small amount of euros we had left to buy some little biscotti-like cookies.
The showers let up long enough for us to get back to the ship without getting wet. It had been a fun day of hiking the hills and we were happy to get back to our room by 3:30pm. Originally, our time to leave here was after 5pm, but that was changed yesterday to 9:30pm. Dinner had only four us there, as the guys went to the Canaletto with another couple. We kept dinner light with pea soup, which had sausage and ham diced up in it. Sure was good, especially on a cool rainy day. One of us had a Caesar salad with sliced chicken and the other had the pot roast. We were happy to see rocky road ice cream on the menu, and ordered it. However when it arrived it looked more like marble fudge. Still good, it had been mis-marked.
The ship pulled away from the dock by 10pm, leaving behind a very pretty city all lit up in the dark. And still in the rain.
Tomorrow will be our final port for the entire world cruise…..Praia Di Vitoria, Terceira Island, Azores. Not sure if we have been there before…..
Bill & Mary Ann
