As the sun rose on our last day in the Azores, National Geographic Explorer was approaching Vila do Porto on the southwestern corner of Santa Maria Island. This island is a small island, with a tiny population of only about 5,000 residents. It was discovered in the early 1400s, and settled in 1439. Christopher Columbus stopped here in 1493, on the return of his first voyage, and we visited the village where he came ashore. After spending a few days exploring the purely volcanic other islands in the Azores, it was nice to see an area that was quite different. The western end of Santa Maria is composed of sedimentary rock that used to be ancient sea floor, and is relatively flat in places. Also, the architecture on this island is quite different, with most villages having different color schemes and most houses having very distinctive chimneys.

After breakfast, we set off to explore the island and were instantly aware that this island is drier than the others we have visited. Prickly pear cactus and various agaves lined the way, and dairy cattle were replaced by beef cattle. After passing the airport, which has been important since World War II, we made our way to the quaint seaside village of Anjos, where a statue of Christopher Columbus honors him and his return to this spot. From there, we made our way up into the higher parts of the island, to a gorgeous village named Santa Barbara. Here, the traditional architecture is accented with the color blue. It was an incredibly picturesque spot set amongst the green fields.

Our final main stop of the day was an overlook of the gorgeous seaside village of São Loureņco. The green cliffs lined with vineyards plunge straight down hundreds of feet to the deep blue sea. Lining the shoreline are dozens of brilliant white houses all with orange tiled roofs. Many of us were ready to stay for a few days or even weeks. It was that gorgeous.

After lunch, we set sail, leaving the Azores behind. The ocean quickly dropped to thousands of meters deep, and it was time to move on. We say goodbye to the Azores, and look forward to Madeira.