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Saturday, 2 May (a.m.). At 10:30 a.m. the ship arrived at the
Azores, a group of nine volcanic islands that are part of Portugal. We docked at
Punta Delgada on the south coast of Sao Miguel, the largest island, . After all
that beautiful weather while we were at sea, this morning was mostly overcast. But later
it cleared somewhat and the day's high temperature was in the upper 60s. As soon
as I could, at Jane's insistence, I went ashore and walked into town to get some
euros from an ATM. She was afraid (needlessly as it turned out) that we might
need euros before we came across an ATM on our 12:30 tour. (The exchange rate on
the ship was several percent higher.)
As long as I was in Ponta Delgada, I did a little sightseeing, walking along the water front to the city gates, Matriz Square, inland a couple blocks, then back to Sao Sebastiano church (1547). The predominant building material was a dark gray volcanic stone, usually stuccoed over on the flat surfaces, but left natural on edges and building supports The narrow one way streets were picturesque but choked with traffic. Then I headed back to the ship.
In the meantime, Jane had come ashore soon after me. She visited the old church of Sao Pedro (reconstructed 1742), near the waterfront not far from the ship. Inside the church, unfortunately, she didn't see a small step and fell on her face. Luckily she didn't suffer any serious injuries.
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