Happy Cinco de Mayo!
The ship arrived at about 7am to the port of Praia di Vitoria, the capital city of Terceira, Azores. Once again, there were early morning showers blanketing the hillsides, coming down to the water's edge where we were docked. At one point, we even saw a rainbow. Thinking that today was going to be a repeat of yesterday, we were pleasantly surprised when the clouds broke up and the sun came out. The breeze was warm and welcoming. We guessed the temperature was in the high 60's.
We cannot recall being here before, but there is no guarantee that we haven't. Usually when in a new port, we always took a tour. So it is possible that we went up high, and missed seeing the city. When we get home, we can dig in the archives to see if we have stopped here on past cruises.
Since the Zuiderdam was docked in a container port, a free shuttle was provided for a 20 minute ride to the old town. Getting off by 11am, we boarded the shuttle which filled with mostly crew members by this time. The tour groups had left much earlier. There were six excursions in total beginning with Terceira Island & City of the Lords for $110 and 7 hours. Terceira Island highlights with a lunch was 6 ¾ hours for $120, while a 4 x 4 ride over the island was $120 for 3 ¾ hours. Island highlights was $90 for 4 ½ hours and panoramic Praia was $70 for 3 hours. There was a tour called Terceira audio-guided siteseeing for $500 for 5 ½ hours, but we think that price must have been a mistake.
We had done a little research before leaving, but only got a few facts. The city was built in the mid 15th century and there were two main churches. The population in 2011 was 21,035 people and many summertime travelers come here to surf. It was also recommended to drink only bottled water. And that is the extent of all we know.
The bus followed the rural coastline passing numerous fields with cows in them. The grassy weeds were so plush, the cattle were being used as lawn mowers. Closer to town, the bus began going uphill towards the higher end of town. Not familiar with the area, and not having any luck finding a map, we began our walk downhill, but towards the hillsides on the left. This led us past some schools and a gentle walk down towards the water. We passed by an iconic building that we had seen on the TV port talk. Not sure what it represented , we took photos in hopes that we could put a name to it later on if we found a map. Never did find one by the way.
Further down the street, we came across a wetlands park full of ducks and other water birds. Blue flowers dotted the banks of the fresh waterway, and at a closer look, we discovered they were deep violet/blue morning glories. We can grow these at home during the summer if we can keep the plants away from the grazing deer. Following this park until it ended, we came upon a carved-out hillside where a huge monument sat on top of the bluff. Running into some ladies from the ship, we were told that the statue was of Santa Maria or Mother Mary. One of the ladies said someone they knew tried to hike up the switch-back trail, but came back within minutes saying that the steps were uneven and steep. And with the lack of a hand railing, he decided not to try it. There was a road that went up there, so they took that instead. We had no desire to climb to the top and were perfectly happy to take pictures from down below. And besides, the all aboard time was 4:30pm today, so time was limited.
This area happened to be the start of the marina where many sailboats were moored. An additional area had been created with sand to make some beachfront. It was lined with a spacious plaza that would fill up with folks in the summertime we suspect. Along this waterfront were several cafes and restaurants. In hindsight, we should have looked at the menus and stayed down here, because there were no crowds of people. Most of the passengers would not walk down this far.
The church steeples were in view from here, so we began going uphill to see them. Another friendly couple suggested we see the one painted white with blue trim, since a service was in progress there. We did go inside this one to discover two separate altars, but the service was completed. At least this church was opened to the public unlike many other we have recently seen from the outside only. Close by was the second church, but it was closed.
We had located a pizza restaurant online somewhere in this vicinity, but failed to write down the street name. We happened upon the main pedestrian cobbled street where many small shops and cafes were opened for all of the cruise ship people. Looking up and down every narrow side street, we never did find the restaurant or anything suitable for lunch. Heading back up this main street, we ended up close to the bus drop-off. Running into Bob and Martha, we pointed out the direction they needed to go to see most of the sights. Actually the better part of the walk was where we had begun at the wetlands.
The bus was ready to leave, so we jumped on and went back to the ship by 2pm. It was room service lunch for us, which was good as always. Perfect time to work on photos, we took a break when the sun came around to our side of the ship. It was nice to be able to get warmed up on the veranda again.
The ship left the port around 5pm and headed out to sea and on the way back towards the good old USA. We were so involved with looking for birds and possibly dolphins that we missed the sail away wine and cheese party in the Lido poolside. Knowing it would be really crowded with the "free" wine offered, we were happy not to attend. We saw birds, probably shearwaters, by the thousands flying low over the water. This usually means there are small fish on the surface, and larger things feeding on the fish deeper under the water. And that's when we saw them…..dolphins. They were swimming towards the ship and diving under it. They were fast as could be, but we did manage to snap some shots of them jumping. As quickly as they appeared, they were gone just as fast. Having patience paid off this time.
Dinner for us was in the Canaletto, which we have been meaning to do for months now. The menu was not so appealing to us in the dining room, so early in the day, we booked reservations in the Italian restaurant. We began with the Canaletto salads, along with a shared bowl of delicious veal meatballs in a very hot tomato sauce. Our mains were the lamb chops cooked to perfection. They came on a bed of fried cornmeal polenta and went well with the reduction of lamb gravy. Saving a little bit of room for dessert, we had the Nutella tarts with a chocolate mousse on the top. For a change, it was a nice treat. And the restaurant was not crowded at all.
The best gift was putting the clocks back one hour tonight. We will have three more time changes before we arrive to Ft. Lauderdale. Then three more when we fly to California. Not looking forward to that.
Tomorrow will begin the six day journey across "The Pond" as it is often called.
Bill & Mary Ann
