After five straight sea days that were thankfully calm, it was nice to see land again. We arrived at 8am and was pleased not to hear the bow thrusters revving up like on our last ship. Michael and I had breakfast together for the first time on the cruise! We didn't have escort duty today, but we did purchase an afternoon tour. Here is a picture of the new marina and a view of the city taken from the ship.
This morning we decided to do a walk-about in town to see what there was to see. The day started overcast and cool, but it was humid. It didn't take me long to start perspiring as everything is always uphill from the water. As is typical of old European cities, the old town of Ponta Delgada is a maze of narrow and crooked streets going every-which way. What looks like an alley is really a street. Prices for clothing and shoes were quite reasonable. We walked along the waterfront, saw the Gateway Arch, saw several churches and generally just walked up one street and down another. The streets and sidewalks were made of black, gray and white volcanic stones that formed intricate patterns. One must carefully watch where one puts a foot; these streets are ankle twisters.
After about an hour, I gave up. I am concerned about my knees lasting for the entire trip. I had injections in both knees before we left, but the muscles and connective tissues around the knees is what is causing most of the pain. Therefore, I plan on "husbanding" my resources. I miss my massage therapist!
We returned to the ship for lunch and to pick up the tour. Once on the bus, our guide told us all about life on the island. There are nine islands in the archipelago. The smallest is eight square miles and Sao Miguel, the one we were on, is about 35 miles long by 7 miles wide. Founded in 1427 by the Portuguese, adventurers soon followed from the mainland and began to cultivate the islands. As trade between the American colonies and Europe grew in importance, the archipelago became a popular stopover for ships making the long and arduous Atlantic crossing. The archipelago was strategically located and hosted allied air bases and was a resupply harbor for the navy during WWII.
The island is often compared to Ireland, known for its green and lush flora. There isn't much fauna here as there are no natural predators. Rabbits are considered the local wildlife. There are many national parks and geo-tourism and outdoor recreation is abundant. According to our guide, the island is pretty self-sufficient except for the need to import fuel. They are farmers, and grow lots of potatoes, garlic and sugar beets. Fishing is the number two industry. Cattle raising is the number one industry. We saw cows laying about everywhere. There was so much natural pasture land and here these cows were just laying down on the job. I thought cows ate all the time. These cows looked fat and happy. Apparently, the cow is the national symbol as every gift shop sold T-shirts, mugs, aprons, etc. with cows on them.
We saw rock walls everywhere. No need to build fences when you can just pick up the volcanic rock and pile it as high as you want. And it's free! It is everywhere!
Our tour took us up a narrow but well maintained curvy road to the rim of a dormant volcano to view Sete Cidades, home of the spectacular crater lakes. The higher we climbed, the more forested the land became. When we arrived at the top, it was foggy, but we could still see what we came to see (the pictures aren't the greatest). We saw three craters within a larger crater! The lakes were in one crater, a village was in another, and pastoral land was in the third. Awesome! According to legend, the twin lakes were given their distinct color when a princess and her lover had to say farewell. The copious tears they shed gave one lake its blue color and the other lake its green color. In reality, it is one lake; the green color is caused by the reflection of the surrounding green trees and the blue color comes from the reflection from the sky. Sometimes fairy tales are more satisfying.
Earlier I alluded to the comparison of the Azores to Ireland when it comes to green. Yes, this place has plenty of green. Bright green, dark green, in between green. The climate is humid and it rains regularly so every hill and empty patch of land is lush and green. The azaleas were in bloom, the pink breaking up the green. I did not see any trash or graffiti anywhere; this is a very clean island, and is worth taking more time to explore.
I never thought the Azores were so populated. I like the mosaic streets. Janet
ReplyDelete