Volcanic Landscape in the Middle of the Atlantic

Day 121, Grand World Voyage

Thursday, May 4, 2023; Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal.

This morning it seemed rain had finally caught up with us, after essentially 120 days and no rainy ports. Sure, there was a brief downpour in Sydney, but we were out of the city in the Blue Mountains. And we skirted Cyclone Freddy for a week or two. But although I frequently carried my umbrella, I never needed it.

As we pulled into Ponta Delgada, Azores, after two days sailing from Ireland, the sky was heavy with clouds and the rain began to fall as we boarded the bus for our all-day tour. But not 30 minutes later, the rain stopped and didn’t return (other than a few spits) all day. In fact, there were long periods of more-than partly sunny skies.

Today’s tour would take us to the Furnas Valley in the east of Sao Miguel, one of the main islands of the Azores archipelago, about 930 miles west of Portugal. The islands are part of Portugal, just as Madeira is southwest of here. I’ve been to Madeira at least seven times, but never to the Azores, so this was a treat for me.

The valley is the crater of a volcano and is one of several calderas on the island. We traveled through farmland, once full of orange trees but today with dairy cattle. In fact, the Azores supplies about 30 percent of the milk and 50 percent of the cheese for Portugal.

Tea also is a boutique crop here, and we stopped at the oldest tea garden in Europe to see the harvesting process and sample the tea.

We stopped in the small town of Ribeira Grande to admire the views of the coast and its cathedral. In the aftermath of the earlier rain shower, a rainbow appeared over the town. A bit later a more stunning rainbow seemed to fill an entire valley spilling into the sea.

Everywhere were examples of the basalt and limestone sidewalks that are so common to Portugal, with designs dependent on the locality.

By now the rain was behind us and the sun was out – perfect for our stop in the Terra Nostra Gardens, the largest botanical garden in the Azores. A few of the group chose to swim in the thermal waters, colored brown by oxidation.

Most of us joined the guided tour of the gardens. I had decided that was more walking than I wanted to attempt, so waited on a quiet bench. My patience paid off, as I was joined not just by the “garden cat,” but also a small bird that landed on my shoe.

We enjoyed a typical Azorean lunch called a cozido, which features meats, sausage and root vegetables cooked by thermal vents underground. Dessert was a thick slice of fresh pineapple grown on the island, and later we toured the greenhouses where they are grown just as they were in the 19^th century.

Given the volcanic nature of the island, we couldn’t end our tour without stopping at the caldeiras where steam vents and hot springs are believed to soothe a number of ailments. You could sample water from various sources, each to address a different health issue.

I have vowed to quit taking all-day tours and limit myself to about four hours, but this day seemed to pass quickly as we admired the mountainous terrain, the rolling fields, the small villages with whitewashed buildings and the lush vegetation.

The Zuiderdam was in port until late in the evening, but we passed on an evening walk into the city center. I will be back here in about 16 days so may check out the capital city then. For now, it was early to bed, as tomorrow’s (half-day) tour starts at — gasp — 7:30 a.m. We will be on the island of Terceira in the Azores for the last port of this incredible voyage. Then it is just six days crossing the Atlantic and back to where we started on Jan. 3 — Fort Lauderdale, Fla.