Ponta Delgada (Itinerary)

Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores, which is a possession of Portugal. We had been slated for 2 stops in the Azores, but the high seas made the second port, Horta on the island of Faial, undoable because it is a tender port. So we spent an extra 24 hours in Ponta Delgada, which we were happy about. It gave us much more flexibility on the first day.

The waves were pounding the seawall and the skies were low over the mountain as we sailed into port.

The main dock here is a 2-tier structure with vehicles on top and pedestrians and shops are below. It was downtown and no port shuttles: we loved that.

 
It had been raining, but the skies were clearing, so that was good. We were prepared for adventure either way.

Another ship, the Regal Princess, followed us into port: it had been diverted from Bermuda because of the weather.

 
We bought our bus tickets in this long building. We were headed out to a caldera at the west end of the island to visit the Seven Cities. We walked through this plaza to the bus stop.

 
And then snapped a few photos of the scenery from the bus.

 
The bus stopped at this crossroads for a few minutes to stay on schedule.

This was our stop: at a pass over the rim of the caldera. There was a rim hiking trail to a noted viewpoint.

After we got off, the bus had to wait for a herd of cows. The farmer led the one bull on a tether and the cows followed.

 
The farmer's wife brought up the rear. They were all headed down the rim trail. What a nice moment. Do you see those sturdy rubber boots? There was good reason: all those cows left a plethora of sloppy cow patties.

 
3 or 4 other people had also disembarked here, but they were not stopping to take photos, so we were mostly alone on the rim trail. The farmers distributed the cows in various fields with an ocean view.

 
Looking inside the caldera, there were views of greener than green fields divided by hedgerows and looking the other way there were fields down to the ocean. It was pretty windy and chilly, but we had dressed in layers and had cream on our faces. Still by the end of the day we were wind burned.

It was too early in the spring for the hydrangea blooms, but they are used in great profusion for hedges in the Azores.

The lonely bull in a field with a view.

As we hiked around the curve of the rim, one of the lakes came into view and the cinder cones within the caldera were more obvious.

 
We were serenaded by the Azores bullfinches. Looking out toward the ocean, a large mound with fields catches the dappled sunlight.

 
An orderly cemetery, which is also seen it in the lower right of the photo above it. We approached the view point where the bus tours come. We thought it was cool that the hotel there had green roofs, but no. It has been abandoned for many years so the green roofs were due to Mother Nature's efforts to engulf it.

The island of Sao Miguel: Ponta Delgata is the city closest to the caldera, marked in red.

Orientation: We got off the bus at A and had walked 5 miles along the rim trail to B, the view point. There were lots of people at the viewpoint who came in tour buses and vans. After we took photos of the Green Lake and the Blue Lake, we hiked down a trail to C, the Lagoon of the Seven Cities.

The lore of the blue lake & the green lake includes a sad tale of separated lovers. One had blue eyes and the other had green eyes. Their tears filled these lakes. Click on the Seven Cities above link for more details.

 
The trail started in the woods, but soon we had a nice view. The trail had been washed out in several places.

    
A seep in the caldera wall supported some interesting plants. Nice.

 
An unknown flower that would be red or dark pink and a white hydrangea was blooming ahead of the others.

 
We asked directions from two guys working on a washed out road for directions to the town.

 
While the vast majority of the houses and churches are black & white or stone, some are not...

Down in the town center, we stopped for a lakeside picnic: this was Blue Lake.

Looking across the lake..

And then looking back over the town.

 
This twisted tree is in front of the church.

 
This house was different than most and included a charming side porch beyond the stone arch.

 
The next public bus wouldn't come through the town until 4:30. While it was a lovely place, we did not want to hang around for more three hours to catch it. It had also started to rain a bit, so we started walking the two kilometers to the next town (Mosteiros) where a bus would come at 3pm. We figured that even with the uphill grade climbing out of the caldera, we'd get there in time.

It had started raining in earnest and we had draped ourselves with our ponchos. A young Dutch couple in a rental car stopped to pick us up. It was a lovely conversation and the sun was out at our bus stop. So we had a little time to explore this village.

 
A picturesque house at the edge of the village and some lizards soaked up the warmth of the cement.

From the bus...

 
We got off at the far edge of Ponta Delgata by a fort and the end of the seawall where the other ship was docked.

 
This monster squid mural adorned the inside of the seawall.

The waves were still pounding...

The buses were waiting to carry passengers down the long seawall to the Regal Princess.

 
We enjoyed a leisurely stroll back to The Amsterdam.

Workers were assembling lights and decorations for the Festival of Jesus Christ of the Miracles, which takes place 5 weeks after Easter.

 
A type of banyan tree with dense mats of air roots.

 
More holiday decorations were being installed over the streets where the big parade was going to take place.