Today is cool and partly cloudy….but we saw land!!! Docked at Ponta Delgada, Portugal promptly
at 8 a.m. While waiting for the tours
to leave the ship, we dressed, ate breakfast (Ronnie went up to get us a big
cup of coffee early), watched the people get off, then we ventured out. Princess offered a shuttle into town so we
opted for that.
The Azores are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, halfway
between Euroope and America with just about
nothing between for a thousand miles.
Ponta Delgada is the largest City of Sao Miquel and all of the Azores’
nine volcanic islands. It’s an old
Portuguese settlement, with modern conveniences and noted as the front door to
the Azores.
Theories and stories abound about the ancient days. Suspected to be the tip of the submerged and
lost City of Atlantis, it is said that the Vikings, Irish and Arabs landed here
centuries before the Portuguese settled here in 1450. The people are noted for their intestinal fortitude for enduring
the volcanic eruptions, pirates and fierce winter storms which have wiped the
local population off the archipelago.
Most of the cuisine on the islands consists of good, simple
dishes including grilled fish and steaks and is most noted for its
unique-tasting Azorean pineapple which takes two years to mature.
For centuries, Ponta Delgada was a safe haven, the halfway
point in nothing less than a life-threatening journey for sea faring vessels
crossing the Atlantic (that’s us—lol)
Today, it’s a small and delightful cosmopolitan city offering all the
creature comforts. It’s also the
gateway to the Azores, home of snow-capped volcanoes and hot mineral baths. “It also
is the future memory that one was stranded, for a pleasing while, in the
absolute middle of nowhere.”
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| Universal language: BUFFET |
We’ve walked the streets…it’s interesting to see all the
modern stores in these little quaint buildings….Singer sewing machines, Xerox…all
located in these quaint shops. We found
a bank with an ATM and got more euros….that was interesting. Ronnie understands just enough Spanish to
get by; I understand just enough French to get by….everything here is in
Portuguese….but they do know how to appeal to the Americans. LOL.
Found the WiFi place and got blogs posted….lots of people
here “connecting”…
The city is bigger than I expected….not real touristy….just
a busy commercial city with stores and banks…saw a Ford place….don’t know where
the cars were…
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| Regal Princess |
Just walked around and then went back to ship. The Holland American Amsterdam (not the
Nieuw Amsterdam) is also in port with us.
We had to load up into motorcoaches for a shuttle into town….words
cannot express how I hate those things.
But it was not walkable. Sun was shining when we got off ship, but then a little rain shower came up....sun is out again and it's in the 70's.
My pictures say 4/21/15, but today is 4/22….will fix
that.
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| Entrance to old fort |
I would be that one person getting off the ship and kissing the ground. It would be so hard to be at sea that long for me. Enjoying the blog!
ReplyDeleteDoes the ship have a library? That may be a quiet, comfortable place to read your book. I remember enjoying the ship's library when I went with my dad.
ReplyDeleteYou and Ronnie are visiting some lovely, lovely places. It's much better to travel to far away places via ship and shuttles rather than "bag drag" through airports. Take it all in, enjoy being served your meals, and get immersed in the sounds, culture, entertainment, and smell in that wonderful sea air. What a trip of a lifetime! Many would die at the chance to see and learn about different cultures! Much love, Lesslie