The Azores

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Yesterday we were in the Azores after almost a week at sea. We've had some pretty rough seas almost every day, with Force 7 - 9 winds, so the ship has been bouncing around quite a bit. Of course, this is to be expected since it is the North Atlantic and March.
Ponta Delgada, Azores, was beautiful. From the moment we looked out the cabin window in the morning, it was obvious we were in a Portugese port. Every building was black and white. We had a tour in the morning which took us to the west end of the island where we saw the two lakes in the volcanic cauldron at Sete Cidades. Although it was a cloudy day, we were lucky that it was clear enough while we were there that we could admire the view. Then we visited a pineapple plantation, something the Azores are famous for. Unlike the rest of the world, they grow their pineapples in greenhouses. They are very expensive. Finally we stopped at the Antonio Borges Botanical Gardens which are right in Ponta Delgada and are really terrific. Because of their location along the sea route between Europe and the US, the Azores have been an important stop for sailors since the time of Columbus. And the climate is cool and moist, so lots of plants thrive in the rich volcanic soil. Trees from all over the world have been planted in these botanical gardens, many of them hundreds of years old, and they are magnificent! I should have mentioned, too, that as we drove around the countryside we saw hundreds of cows, mostly Holsteins. There are no barns; the cows stay out in the pastures all the time and there are mobile milking parlors...we saw one. The Azores are apparently famous for their dairy products. They also grow tea; we bought some.
After lunch we walked around the town. It has black and white patterned stone sidewalks just like we saw in Brazil (and Lisbon.) Here the black, both in the buildings and on the sidewalks, is local volcanic rock. Very interesting to see such porous rock used to decorate the churches and official buildings. Also, after South America and the Caribbean, it was almost shocking to be in such a clean and tidy place! Every building and house seemed to be newly painted and although our tour took us all around, in and out of town, we didn't see any signs of poverty. It certainly is the most prosperous place we visited on this trip.
It was a big day for our waiters, too. They have been playing basketball any time they could find a court while we were in port. Yesterday was the grand championship game. And our guys won! Pictured here are: Alan and Ruel (from the Orchid Room, where we usually have breakfast) and Elmer and Lito (our dinner waiters.) Lito is maybe five feet tall and is the player-coach. He was so happy last night he thinks he only got an hour's sleep. I'm sure winning was the highlight of their year.
We were set to sail at 5:00 PM. But, once again, we had a problem with wind. This time, however, the wind was pushing us up against the pier and it was going to be tricky not only to get away, but also to negotiate the narrow opening to the harbor. Two tugboats pulled (tugged!!) and the ship's thrusters pushed and we slowly headed away from the pier. Then the pilot boat slipped in and helped nudge the ship in the right direction. There were a few times when the ship slipped backwards and we all moaned. (Most of the passengers were out on deck, in the wind and rain, to watch what we knew would be an interesting departure.) With the waves crashing up on the rocky shore, we weren't sure if we would be crashing up next! Finally, the ship started edging toward the opening, but the next problem was getting the pilot off. The pilot boat made three passes on the port side, but it just bobbed around in the big waves; there was no way the pilot was going to jump onto such a moving target, with huge waves splashing all over its deck. So, with the ship turning even more, the pilot boat shot over to starboard (as did all of us) where it was now much calmer. As the boat idled next to the ship, we heard our Captain, who was on the flybridge above us, hollering "Jump! He's got to jump now!" And he did, accompanied by wild cheers from his audience.
It is now after dinner on Sunday. The instructions for disembarkation were delivered to our cabin while we ate. So sad! I am going to miss our little cabin, our new friends and all of the crew who have been so kind to us. Who knows if we will ever be back on Black Watch again? (That's what we thought two years ago...)
We arrive in Southampton early Wednesday morning. Hugh's friends, Jim and Isobel, will be picking us up, having us stay with them overnight, and taking us to Heathrow Thursday morning. If all goes as planned, we should be back in Nisswa Thursday night. Hard to imagine being home again!

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