Blogs from Azores, Portugal, Europe - page 7

We had an enjoyable sail, however rainy in the beginning, from Sao Jorge to Terceira in the company of two other boats (Takari and Caitlin of Argyll) that we have gotten to know while in the Azores. This gave us yet another opportunity to have some photo sessions while sailing. The island of Terceira (which means third in Portuguese) was the third Azorean island to be discovered and is the third largest of the archipelago.. After getting settled in to the marina in Agra do Heroismo we walked into town to get oriented to the city. This city is the Atlantic’s first European city founded and developed to open up a new geographical area for the Portuguese explorers. Unesco classified the central part of the city as a world heritage site in 1983. We were looking ... read more

October 2008 We arrived in Ponta Delgada as the last European port on our Mediterranean cruise aboard the Princess ship Emerald Princess. Ponta Delgada is a city on the island of Sao Miguel, an archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. Our destination was Crater Lakes. When we boarded our bus there was heavy fog in the mountains. We made our way out of town toward the western part of the island. The countryside we drove through was primarily pasture land. By the time we reached the mountaintop and got off the bus for our view of Crater Lakes, the fog had lifted. The view was spectacular! Locals had also set up small tables along the side of the road for our shopping benefit. Our drive continued to the small village located on the ... read more

img=https://mymzone.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Portugal-on-a-Shoestring-Global-Travel-experiences-and-guides.png If you’re a real backpacker used to traveling on a tight budget, Portugal is the best destination for you to go in the summer – especially July and August. You’ll be amazed at what this tiny country on the very west corner of Europe has to offer. Portugal has a fascinating historic past, which you see present in every monument, every building, every street corner. Moreover, you can find all sorts of landscapes, from endless vineyards and colourful meadows to amazing wild beaches and welcoming small towns. Portugal is a great country for sports as well, especially water sports like surfing, scuba diving, spearfishing and so on. First of all, there are some facts you should know about Portugal before you go there. It’s a very traditional country extremely faithf... read more

The Azores Archipelago is made up of 9 islands. When we first planned our trip to the Azores we had hoped to visit all of them, but as we took 3 weeks to explore Flores and we have already been in Faial for over a week we are sure we won’t be able to get to them all. They are divided into 3 general areas – the western area consists of Flores and Corvo, the central group is made up of Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Terceira and Graciosa. The eastern most islands are Santa Maria and Sao Miguel. After a 28 hour sail/motor-sail we arrived in Horta on the island of Faial. Fortunately we were able to sail for part of it, but then the wind died and we had to use the iron jenny for ... read more

For any of you that know us, you have heard the story about how Friday the 13th is considered a lucky day for us. For those of you that haven’t heard in 1973 we both felt that July 13th (a Friday) was a lucky day as that was when we got engaged and have always considered any Friday the 13tha good day and even better if it was in July. Well, what about July 13, 2012 (also a Friday)? Today is not so lucky for the handyman, Bob. This AM Bob determined that the head (for those non-sailors - the toilet) wasn’t working properly and needed to be worked on. Of course on a boat there is never much room to move around and even less so in the head. You have to squeeze yourself into ... read more