November 6, 2026
Today is our last port before crossing the Atlantic. The Queen Anne is docked across from us.
We took a private tour through Shore Excursions to tour the west and middle part of the island, Ponta Delgada, in the Azores. There were only four people plus the driver on our tour which was nice.
The islands formed through centuries of volcanic eruptions so it is volcanic rock. We saw some gray sand beaches and black lava rocks in the ocean.
Our tour guide took us to a city in a dormant crater, Sete Cidades which means Seven Cities. We first saw it from on top after driving from sea level, up a mountain with beautiful views. It was nice and chilly!
There are a lot of cows including dairy cows. The farmers divide their fields by hydrangea bush hedges. Cows don’t like hydrangeas so it keeps them in their own pastures.
We drove down from the volcanic rim, into the town where we went into a Roman Catholic Church and had “coffee” at a coffee shop. This is still Portugal so we actually had espresso. I had a latte.
Carlos drove us around through lush, scenic areas, then back down to the sea. We walked around THE COOLEST municipal swimming area. It has pools but also places to swim in the ocean water. There are platforms (for lack of better term) you can be on as the waves roll up onto them. There are places to jump into deep water. It is hard to describe.
It is off-season so we could walk around it for free. We saw three people in the water and a handful of men who had gotten out already. Lest you worry, there was a lifeguard on duty.
The weather was warm by the ocean.
We ate at a restaurant nearby. I had grilled pork and Gregg had chicken. We were able to try two local cheeses.
From there, we drove back up a different volcano to see The Lake of Fire. It was cold, raining, and cloudy so it was a quick stop with not very clear photos.
We drove back to the ship where it was raining.
When we leave here, soon, our next stop on land should be Norwegian’s private island in the Bahamas next Friday.
They are calling for twenty-foot swells tonight. Will be interesting. We are on the 4th deck close to the front. Someone informed me we went through a thunderstorm when we left Morocco. We were clueless.
We both will be ready to play Mahjongg – who is interested? Southern Sparrow has a good Mahj 101 course on YouTube. That is where Gregg learned the basics.
