Friday, May 18, 2012
After maneuvering with two tugs for a while, we finally docked at the marina in Ponta Delgada shortly before noon. We were greeted not only by the friendly local police, but also by an impressive statue of Gonçalo Velho Cabral, who “discovered” the Azores for the Portuguese in the mid-15th century (these islands already appeared in the Medici Atlas of 1351). Behind Cabral is a three-arch City Gate, which appears even more majestic at night when lit by purple lights. The City Gate leads to a grand plaza and the imposing Igreja Matriz de São Sebastião with a clock tower that can be seen from anywhere in the city. Many cadets could be seen attending mass here on Thursday (Ascension Day) and on Sunday. Cadets also explored the city in many ways: some reveled at the Festival of Saint Christopher, some looked for souvenirs in local shops, many discovered the nearest pay phone and called home, and many more simply lingered in sidewalk cafés enjoying the sun and a rare day off.
For those of you, dear readers, interested in libraries, I spent some time in the Biblioteca Publica. It is a 4-story stone building with an interior courtyard. The library's café leads to outdoor seating amongst centuries-old stone walls and a roof deck overlooking the harbor; the inside is completely outfit with modern technologies and amenities, except, as part of the library's exhibit, several openings that reveal the original stonework and woodwork. The young adult, children, and adult rooms are on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors, respectively. The reading rooms have large windows that let in lots of natural light. It was mid-afternoon just after school, and I saw librarians reading to children, and, even though it was a Friday, serious high school students studying and doing homework in the extremely quiet reading rooms. The friendly library staff gave directions to a group of cadets, and very kindly allowed me, without a library card, to use one of the public terminals for internet access.
After leaving the library, I walked away from the harbor towards the hills. Vegetation is lush here and a pleasant scent of flowers shrouds the hills (azaleas are in full bloom). On the way down, I strolled by a local market where farmers sold local meat and produce, and the town's theater where a gymnastics competition was taking place. In fact, not a few minutes later, groups of gymnasts from Russia, Finland, and Germany emerged with a large group of cadets in the main shopping center in town. For all of us tourists, today shopping was the universal sport!
After maneuvering with two tugs for a while, we finally docked at the marina in Ponta Delgada shortly before noon. We were greeted not only by the friendly local police, but also by an impressive statue of Gonçalo Velho Cabral, who “discovered” the Azores for the Portuguese in the mid-15th century (these islands already appeared in the Medici Atlas of 1351). Behind Cabral is a three-arch City Gate, which appears even more majestic at night when lit by purple lights. The City Gate leads to a grand plaza and the imposing Igreja Matriz de São Sebastião with a clock tower that can be seen from anywhere in the city. Many cadets could be seen attending mass here on Thursday (Ascension Day) and on Sunday. Cadets also explored the city in many ways: some reveled at the Festival of Saint Christopher, some looked for souvenirs in local shops, many discovered the nearest pay phone and called home, and many more simply lingered in sidewalk cafés enjoying the sun and a rare day off.
For those of you, dear readers, interested in libraries, I spent some time in the Biblioteca Publica. It is a 4-story stone building with an interior courtyard. The library's café leads to outdoor seating amongst centuries-old stone walls and a roof deck overlooking the harbor; the inside is completely outfit with modern technologies and amenities, except, as part of the library's exhibit, several openings that reveal the original stonework and woodwork. The young adult, children, and adult rooms are on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors, respectively. The reading rooms have large windows that let in lots of natural light. It was mid-afternoon just after school, and I saw librarians reading to children, and, even though it was a Friday, serious high school students studying and doing homework in the extremely quiet reading rooms. The friendly library staff gave directions to a group of cadets, and very kindly allowed me, without a library card, to use one of the public terminals for internet access.
After leaving the library, I walked away from the harbor towards the hills. Vegetation is lush here and a pleasant scent of flowers shrouds the hills (azaleas are in full bloom). On the way down, I strolled by a local market where farmers sold local meat and produce, and the town's theater where a gymnastics competition was taking place. In fact, not a few minutes later, groups of gymnasts from Russia, Finland, and Germany emerged with a large group of cadets in the main shopping center in town. For all of us tourists, today shopping was the universal sport!
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