San Miguel Island, Azores
Having departed from Boston in the late evening some of the group arrived in Ponta Delgada early in the morning local time due to the shifting of time zones. There was also a small contingent of guests who were staying on from the previous voyage around the Azores and they rested comfortably in bed on the Endeavour as the new group arrived. Because of different excursions around the island, these two groups did not meet until everyone gathered on the ship in the late afternoon.
To allow for some recovery from the travels of getting to the Azores the new group went to a local hotel for breakfast and time to rest in a room for a few hours. Then just after mid-day transportation arrived and we started boarding for an afternoon excursion to the western end of Sao Miguel. Our destination was the countryside around the lovely lakes near Sete Cidades. These large lakes sit in the bottom of an old caldera, which was quite obvious when we stopped at the viewpoint situated on the rim of the extinct volcano. From the rim, the road drops down to the crater bottom where we made a stop within the small community of Sete Cidades to see the beautiful small church with its walkway lined with “Naked Lady” pink lilies.
From the church we took the buses a short distance to the trailhead for a path that meandered along the lakeshore. It was a very comfortable afternoon walk and an excellent way to see the green countryside at the bottom of what once was bubbling with lava. Hard to believe since today the landscape is draped with lush green vegetation and dotted around the lake were farmlands, some dotted with black and white dairy cows. At the end of the walk there was a grove of trees next to the lake where a small picnic had been arranged with a couple of the ship’s dining room waiters and of course Anders, the ship’s attentive Bartender.
After relaxing and enjoying a light lunch we again boarded the transportation for a return ride to Ponta Delgada but via a different route so we could enjoy more of the countryside of this picturesque island. By late afternoon we arrived at the dock and the Endeavour. A warm welcome aboard awaited us and we settled in for the evening and dreams of what adventures might be ahead on this voyage down the Atlantic to the New World.
Having departed from Boston in the late evening some of the group arrived in Ponta Delgada early in the morning local time due to the shifting of time zones. There was also a small contingent of guests who were staying on from the previous voyage around the Azores and they rested comfortably in bed on the Endeavour as the new group arrived. Because of different excursions around the island, these two groups did not meet until everyone gathered on the ship in the late afternoon.
To allow for some recovery from the travels of getting to the Azores the new group went to a local hotel for breakfast and time to rest in a room for a few hours. Then just after mid-day transportation arrived and we started boarding for an afternoon excursion to the western end of Sao Miguel. Our destination was the countryside around the lovely lakes near Sete Cidades. These large lakes sit in the bottom of an old caldera, which was quite obvious when we stopped at the viewpoint situated on the rim of the extinct volcano. From the rim, the road drops down to the crater bottom where we made a stop within the small community of Sete Cidades to see the beautiful small church with its walkway lined with “Naked Lady” pink lilies.
From the church we took the buses a short distance to the trailhead for a path that meandered along the lakeshore. It was a very comfortable afternoon walk and an excellent way to see the green countryside at the bottom of what once was bubbling with lava. Hard to believe since today the landscape is draped with lush green vegetation and dotted around the lake were farmlands, some dotted with black and white dairy cows. At the end of the walk there was a grove of trees next to the lake where a small picnic had been arranged with a couple of the ship’s dining room waiters and of course Anders, the ship’s attentive Bartender.
After relaxing and enjoying a light lunch we again boarded the transportation for a return ride to Ponta Delgada but via a different route so we could enjoy more of the countryside of this picturesque island. By late afternoon we arrived at the dock and the Endeavour. A warm welcome aboard awaited us and we settled in for the evening and dreams of what adventures might be ahead on this voyage down the Atlantic to the New World.
