Arriving at the Azores

(Excerpts from the Ship's Librarian, Wednesday, May 27)
We were able, even with some engine problems, to make up for some of the time lost at Montauk. We reached the Azores, a volcanic archipelago in the east Atlantic, on Tuesday night rather than the morning as scheduled. Unable to dock in the dark, we anchored then docked Wednesday morning at 10:00am.

I sailed around the Azores on my last cruise in 2002, but we didn’t land then. I am looking foreword to actually going ashore this time. I want to go swimming in the beautiful azure (thus Azores) water and soak up the rays on a sandy black beach. Yes, the beaches are BLACK because these beautiful islands are really volcanoes, dormant ones. Maybe I’ll also get some hiking in up the flower lined trails of the volcanoes.

The island we have come to is called Sao Miguel. The Azores is a Portuguese owned group of islands located approx. 2400 miles east of NY and 950 miles west of Lisbon, Portugal. We docked at Ponta Delgada, the largest town with a population of about 45,000 people. These islands are actually the tops of volcanoes jutting up from the ocean floor. They were uninhabited until discovered and subsequently colonized by the Portuguese in 1427. Fantastic natural beauty.