Yesterday we finally made landfall! I don’t know when we first were able to see land, and I was undoubtedly either eating or sleeping when we could, but it was exciting to see the island looming quite large as we approached. We pulled into Ponta Delgada at noon and were soon off the ship to explore the town. It is full of cobbled streets and sidewalk cafes, and lots and lots of cruisers. At least it was yesterday!

We also saw a number of dolphins from the ship as we approached the island, leaping in the swells. They were quite small and dark, but undoubtedly dolphins, unlike my presumed whale of the day before.

We explored the town on foot and started with a lunch at a sidewalk café that included some local specialties, grilled limpets and octopus in paprika. They were both yummy, but very rich and intense. They also made for a gorgeous food shot—this picture has the limpets and some local cheese, along with some Portuguese wine. Not a bad way to spend some time!

We also indulged in one of our favorite pastimes when traveling, which is to check out the local grocery store. Mike was drooling over the multiple selections of chorizo and we were sorry we could not load up on the local wines. Some were extremely cheap.

The town is surrounded by beautiful green terraced hills and is clearly a fishing town.

Before boarding the ship, we found an internet café to check email for free and enjoy a beer. We managed to check just one email account and send a couple of quick emails before we lost the connection. They seemed to have a limit—darn!

We saw that there were quite a few comments on our posts.  Wish we could respond to all of them, but we’re paying by the minute for our internet access!

Our last view of the island—

-T