Artfully Ann's Adventures

Travel - May 9 – Thursday – Ponta Delgada, Portugal   

             and May 10th at Sea

Ponta Delgada (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpõtɐ ˌðɛɫˈɣaðɐ]) is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal about 900 miles west of mainland Iberia out in the Atlantic. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro, São Sebastião, São José.

 Our visit started in the cold and fog; I thought we were back in Seattle.  We waited for a while to get off the ship, hoping the fog would break.  Around 10 o’ clock in the morning, we started to see a sun and ventured out.  We did not arrange for a tour, so were on our own to explore Ponta Delgada. 

 

The primary ship harbor is beautiful.  It is very apparent that the government has put a lot of money in this area to attract the cruise ships.  Tourism is not their main source of income; hot house pineapple production and dairy products are, but when the ship arrives the town is definitely prepared for the tourists.

 We walked along the water front, and John spied an open air double decker bus. We hopped on the bus and toured around the town and countryside for about an hour.  That is always a great way to get to know a new city or town.  We then walked around the shops in the main part of the older town near the ship.  We stumbled across a great store with all kinds of yarn and unusual buttons.  You know I didn’t leave empty handed!    Some of their popular souvenirs here are embroidery and lace. 

Lace, Yarn and Button Shop

John and I love to wander the less traveled streets that no tourists walk.  We walked out back of the old fort and military museum.  We were also near the working, industrial part of the port.  Oh, what fun!  We always get to see the real deal when we get closer to any working port.

Ponta Delgada City Gate view to Ocean

 
There was the smell of food.  And tents were set up down the block. We knew we were getting close to something good!  We were the only tourists around. 

Soon we found ourselves within a large group of people and among many stands and lots of food and local beer.  In fact, it actually looked like a private but very large party.  But, given our love of exploring and adventure, we decided to take our chances and crash it.  We were in luck.  We found an empty table; I sat down, and John went to find beer.  Next thing I know there was a gentleman apologizing as he moved the other end of my bench.  He of course realized I was not from Ponta Delgada.  In perfect English he explained that he was from Rhode Island, but was born in Ponta Delgada.  He was visiting with his former boyhood friends on the island to celebrate the religious festival - the party we were crashing.  He and his friends ate at our table.  We had a delightful time enjoying Portuguese chicken, French fries and local beer.  They tried to teach us a little Portuguese, but I’m not sure that is going to stick.  We did remember how to say thank you as we left.  A quick walk back to the ship and we were ready for the next adventure. 

Here is a little more information about Ponta Delgada.  The municipality of Ponta Delgada is one of the larger administrative divisions in the archipelago, extending from the center of the island to the western coast. Ponta Delgada is bordered on the northeast by the municipality of Riberia Grande, and southeast by relatively new municipality of Lagoa. 

Much like other communities in the archipelago of the Azores, the municipality is shaped by its geography.  Most homes are clustered along the regional road network that circles the island, with many ancillary or agricultural access roads bisecting the central portion of the island (primarily in the Picos Region) along a north-south axis 

The municipality's climate, much like the rest of the Azores, is shaped by the Gulf Stream, allowing a small variation in temperatures, with annual temperatures oscillating between 15 °C and 25 °C, typical to a Mediterranean or humid subtropical climate. The Gulf Stream also contributes to unstable weather that varies greatly during the autumn and spring, making weather forecasting on a daily basis difficult. Levels of humidity are significant enough (usually 90-100%) that temperatures fluctuations feel comparable to those experienced in locations on similar latitudes.

SSSSSSSSSS.....Good night for now!!!  We are at sea 

again tomorrow...and then it's Spain.

The adventures continue....