JillMelancon Travel

Got up early and went for breakfast…then to the theatre for my first excursion.  I liked meeting in the theatre first rather than on the dock…much more organized, even if some of the bozos there kept complaining that it wasn’t.

North Atlantic Ocean—-Azores, Portugal (an archipelago)—San Miguel (the largest island)—Ponta Delgada (capital)—Ribeira Grande (named for the stream through the center)

First, the bus headed for Ribeira Grande—a small town in Ponta Delgada.  Walked around the square—some beautiful gardens next to it that surrounded the stream they are named after.  Hit the ATM to get euros and bought water.  Back on the bus, we headed to the top of a mountain to get to a good viewpoint with amazing views of Fire Lake.  The whole island is the result of volcanic eruptions (as are the other 8 islands in the Azores archipelago), and San Miguel is the largest.

One of the passengers decided to waste over 20 minutes by getting back late. We drove the rest of the way up, but it was too cloudy too see anything, but learned about all the “happy cows” here on the island—no barns!  They even bring the milking machine to them!  Japanese cedar trees are everywhere.

Back down the mountain we drove to a pineapple plantation where we learned what makes theirs different from tropical pineapples—smaller, rounder, sweeter—and how they grow them in greenhouses due to their mild climate.  We got to try some jam (good) and liquor (not so good).  Saw a smart kitty who was prowling the area where people eat :-)…then back to the ship.

I headed downtown on food…beautiful, but most stuff closed for Sunday.  Got a magnet and headed back to the ship for lunch, then out to the Waterfront after learning the wifi servers onboard have been out for THREE days (but will we get money back?  Of course not). 

Dinner at Teppanyaki—a hibachi style place.  It was okay, not great—meat dry.  Guy I was sitting next to just wanted to brag about everything—his jobs, house, etc. etc.  Very annoying.  Couple seated on the other side were from Newcastle and very nice.