Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 – Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel, The Azores – Mostly Sunny – 60sF

Land Ahoy after five days across the Atlantic Ocean – still have 1200 nautical miles to go to reach Southampton, England.

Ponta Delgada is the capital of Sao Miguel, the largest island in the nine island Azores archipelago that sits about 900 miles of the coast of Portugal.  Legend has it that the Azores are the remains of Atlantis – at least they are in the Atlantic.  Sao Miguel was settled by Brother Concalo Velho Cabral around 1450.

It is cool but sunny today and perfect for walking the town.

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Ellen in Elevator ready to head out

The ship is docked right next to town and the walk from the ship to the city takes us by several restaurants and shops. 

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Ponta Delgada Harbor – from the Ship

Our first stop is the Solmar Shopping Mall right across the street from the harbor.  The cluster of people - with their computers, tablets, and phones - hanging out on the ground floor indicated the presence of free WiFi.  We logged on and check e-mails – I also downloaded three new audiobooks from the library back home.

The cigarette smoke at the Mall was pervasive so we finished up and took a walk through the town.  The town is very clean and orderly.  Almost everything – buildings and sidewalks – are made from porous volcanic rock; streets are narrow and cobblestoned and lined with shops and cafes.  There are still plenty of cars but the drivers heed the crosswalks.

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Dine Al Fresco – street is made from volcanic rock

The Town Gate is located on a nice city square where people could hop on horse driven carriages (below).

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Town Gate and Carriage Stand

The square also contains St. Sebastian Parish Church – the Main Church of Punta Delgada.

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St. Sebastian Parish Church

We headed back to the ship for lunch and were able to take these shots of the ship and port area.

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Public Waterpark along the Harbor

After lunch, we were back in the city to see the sites.  Unfortunately, it is siesta time and nearly all the shops are closed.

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Left:  Statue of Founder Cabral; Right: Fountain in City Square

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Neighborhood Church

The walls of a restaurant has some interesting artwork – one of a whale and the other a fish fashioned from a hand.

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We watched the sail away from the Blue Moon.

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Sail Away – Azores

To tired to get dressed up for dinner so we ate in the Windjammer Cafe – I made my own pizza again – best food item on the ship in my opinion.  Fresh and made exactly like it like it.

Tonight’s Showtime is the second Production Show - “Can’t Stop the Rock”.  I fully expected this to be a loud rock type show but I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice mix of music combined with excellent dancing and singing.

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“I Will Always Love You”

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“The Rose”

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“MIB – Men in Black”

Tonight is our last clock change.  Seas are a little choppy.

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