A beautiful dawn greeted us on our last morning on Madeira. Following a ride to the airport through rush hour, we grabbed a quick breakfast, the ever present coffee and headed to our gate for the noon SATA flight to Ponta Delgada.
We landed on time and grabbed a cab to our hotel which is about a block from the harbour in the middle of town. I am fighting a cold and after dealing with the banking system here (makes our system look like express banking) , plus some doors that didn’t want to open (another story for another time) I headed back to our hotel for a nap. Mary decided to go walkabout and explore a little. The write up and photos from the city are hers today.
Interesting discovery that hundreds of yachts stop by the Azores every year, and one of their privileges is the opportunity to leave their mark or painted symbol on the waterfront. Here in Ponta Delgado, it’s proudly displayed along the port breakwater. Apparently, the display in Horta is much more dramatic – we’ll see that in a few more days.
The downtown streets are looking slightly worn and tired – Even in Azores there is a homeless problem that is centred on Ponta Delgada and the waterfront. It’s considered safe to walk about but they can be relentless.
Not much going on out there this afternoon but the familiar patterned sidewalks and roads mean you know you’re in Portugal.
We meet our group tonight and head out on our first hike tomorrow. Weather looks promising – fingers crossed!
Post script – lovely group, well travelled and interesting mix of ladies and gentlemen from all over the world. Nice first dinner together, week will be fun! The grilled tuna was outstanding – will sign off with a photo of an empty plate 🙂 and our walk home.
