The ship docked in Ponta Delgada just before 10 am and we met our guide, Paolo, right outside of the terminal. We had booked a car and guide for a 5-hour tour of the largest island, Sao Miguel. Wow - if this is not the most beautiful place on earth, it is certainly very near to the top. Although the day was overcast, with a low and heavy cloud cover, the island was impressive. 3,000 foot volcanic "hills" make up the center of the island (which is about 30 km long and about 15 km wide), sloping down in lush green fields towards the ocean. We were quite surprised to see hundreds of cows dotting the pastures. Paolo told us that dairy production is one of the leading industries on this island, and that it is especially known for cheese.
The other thing this island is famous for is geothermal activity. One of our first stops was an area that had several little springs boiling away. It is tempting to put your hand in, so Paolo was quick to remind us that the bubbles meant that the water was, in fact, boiling!
We then drove up to the top of the volcano where there is a lake nestled in to the crater. It's aptly named Fire Lake. Note how low the clouds are!
Just before lunch Paolo took us to the Furnas area, where the ground is warm enough to cook a regional specialty - cozida. Families or restaurants put a variety of meats (beef, pork and chicken), sausage (blood sausage and chorizo), and vegetables (greens, carrots, potatoes, turnips, squash) in to a large covered pot and sink it in to concrete pits early in the morning. They then cover the hole with a wooden cover, and then rake the sand over that. The pot then simmers away for about 6 hours, when it's unearthed and eaten for lunch. Here you see one of the pots being removed from the ground.
We then went to a local restaurant that served us cozida - delicious! Sadly, we had to leave a lot of it there. The portions were huge! We were also served three different types of the locally-made cheeses at lunch.
There was a couple at the table next to us during lunch that we chatted with a bit. The woman said that they now lived in Toronto, but that she was born and had spent most of her life on Sao Miguel. They were back for an extended visit. The woman was very friendly and told us a lot about the cozida, and also gave us some helpful information on tipping (basically, don't worry about leaving much). When we were leaving we told the couple that we would see them the next time we came back to the Azores! Imagine our shock when we returned to the harbor about 4 hours later (and about 25 km away from the restaurant) and saw the same couple sitting on a bench in the marina area watching the boats and swimmers! We all laughed and said how we couldn't believe we had run each other again. The woman and I posed for a picture and I told her that I was now sure we would see each other again one day!
In our 5 and 1/2 hours with Paolo we were able to see most of the island. Each area was more beautiful than the rest! We visited a tea plantation, more geothermal springs, the rocky coastline, and many amazing scenic views. I especially loved the hydrangeas that lined the sides of the road. Paolo told me that they can get out of control here, and are often treated as weeds. I wish I had weeds like that in my yard! Andrew got to feed some ducks - definitely a highlight for him! We will definitely come back here!!
Now we have 6 days at sea crossing the Atlantic. Keep your fingers crossed that something interesting enough to post on happens!
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