Azores Island Closes the Book on 56 World Voyage Ports

Day 122, Grand World Voyage

Friday, May 5, 2023; Praia di Vitoria, Terceira, Azores, Portugal

Today was bittersweet for a couple of reasons. It is the final of our 56 ports on this around-the-world voyage. And it is just a week from now that we will dock in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and end the 2023 Grand World Voyage.

I remind myself that most people who cruise are only on a ship for seven days. As we feel our time is slipping away, they are just embarking on their adventures. So I refuse to lament the sands through the hourglass and will focus on one day at a time (to poorly use two old television cliches in one sentence).

Once again, rain threatened but did not deliver. Our track record has been amazing. The skies were a bit threatening early, but they cleared up.

By noon the sun was shining through large gaps in the clouds. Today’s Holland America excursion was a highlights tour, and I was glad I never got off the waitlist for the same tour that included lunch. Four-and-a-half hours was the perfect length.

We covered a good bit of the island of Terceira in the Azores, driving through villages and a city or two, down cobblestone roads and along a new divided highway, through rock gates mere inches wider than our bus and to the tops of mountains.

Our guide was one of the best of this trip, describing much about life in the Azores and especially on Terceira. Because the United States had a strong military presence on the island, locals are fluent in English – and American English at that.

Just like Sao Miguel where we visited yesterday, Terceira is volcanic, and we passed through the largest single-volcano caldera in the Azores. It contains farms and lakes instead of lava these days.

In fact, much of the island is agricultural, with a heavy reliance on dairy cattle. They have the right of way on the roads, it seems.

The fields are full of small plots separated by walls built of volcanic rock. Dairy farmers need at least six plots in order to rotate the cows between them to allow grass and hay to replenish.

From Serra do Cume – a tall mountain overlooking the port of Praia di Vitória, we looked at a patchwork of small farms and stone walls. We also braced ourselves against the strong winds, and some dared to walk out on a cliff-hanging overlook.

In the village of São Sebastião, we toured the church where workers are removing layers that covered the original drawings. And I found a nearby building with lovely painted flower designs.

We also saw the first of several Holy Ghost Chapels, which are the center of charity events that feed entire villages on several Sundays this time of year.

As we drove through the countryside, we learned of the island’s love of the running of the bulls, which sounds somewhat tamer than the more famous event in Pamplona, Spain. Our guide said in all the “runnings” he has attended over the years he has seldom even seen the bulls because many just enjoy the day in the local bar. But before social media, it was a matchmaking tool as young men tried to impress young women. The bulls are prized and are not harmed or killed, he said.

Our bus driver impressed us all with his ability to thread the bus through the stone gates of the military compound on Monte Brasil. It is a peninsula blocking the wind from Angra do Heraísmo – the City of Lords, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest city on the island. There are still remnants of its military past, as well as the cross atop a monument.

We stopped in the city for coffee and a bit of shopping. My takeaway was photographs of the black and white cobblestone designs – both traditional and modern — and the men repairing them stone by stone.

Elaine got a picture of me wearing my brace, which continues to slide down my leg and thus limit my range of motion. The straps are simply too long, but I’m getting by fine until I can stop wearing it.

Our day ended with a lively sail-away party around the Lido pool, with waiters and officers generously pouring wine and serving cheeses and other European deli treats.

I will post at least once more during our six days crossing the Atlantic. The calendar is filling with final dinners with friends and other events. And after the cruise, I’ll post an overall review of the world cruise.

If there are aspects of the trip or cruising that you want me to write about, please post in the comments. I’ll try to get to as many as possible.