Ponta Delgado, Azores...

Thursday, May 4. Docked in Ponta Delgado. Cloudy, some drizzle and fog with sun. 18 C.   8 days to home. 

We walked down with Jim and Gail for the last, for us, to a Shore Excursion this morning at 8:00. It was a very long tour, scheduled for seven hours but seemed longer. We started off in teeming rain but that went away and then we had dense mist for a while, finally giving way to bright sun. We had a very talkative, knowledgeable and humorous guide to keep us entertained the whole day.

The tour had basically several distinct parts to it: a drive to the other side of the island; a visit to a Tea factory, amongst the oldest in Europe, we were told; a visit to a very interesting Botanical Garden; and a three course luncheon that included food cooked by thermal hot water vents.

It was a fun-filled day, we arrived back onboard just in time to go down and have a light supper with our Sister Friends. Jim and Gail had other plans for the night that involved some shopping and also, another Shore Excursion tomorrow. Too much for us. Sleep in tomorrow!

A Good Day….

On the other side of the Island.

Looks like Europe, which it is in reality.

A river runs through town. The climate is weird, just right for cattle and dairy products though.

Spring is in the offing.

Surf in the background. 

So are storm clouds...

Explaining the very labourious production of Island Tea. 

Trimming the tea plants.

Bird of Paradise Plants, as in Hawaii.

The Botanical Garden seemed like in a different world.

A Magical Place.

A bit heavy on the food, for us.

Happy as Clams.

A budding Pineapple, grown the hard way.