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Ponta Delgada, The Azores– We Crossed the Atlantic!
After four days at sea on the MSC Meraviglia that departed from NY we arrived at Punta Delgada. We are now in Sao Miguel, one of nine islands that form the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. This is our second visit to this port and we are excited to stay overnight. Because we wanted to visit Sete Cidades at the center of a volcano crater, we decided to take a cruise excursion. There are two lakes; Lagoa Azul (only blue when it reflects a blue sky) and Lagoa de Santiago. They are a breathtaking sight, but beware, it is a very popular stop for hundreds of visitors and dozens of large buses and tourist vans. We very lucky the skies were clear and we got to enjoy the beautiful view. Next we traveled to Augusto Arruda Pineapple Plantation. They grow pineapples year-round in large greenhouses. It was interesting to hear their process and how they have sold their pineapples to other countries through the years. Lastly we stopped at the Antonio Borges Botanical Gardens. It is free to enter and visit this beautiful oasis full of large trees and diverse collection of plants. They also have some rock structures that are “fun” to explore. In the afternoon we visited our favorite store abroad; Decathlon! And bought a few items for our upcoming Camino de Santiago. Later we enjoyed drinks at the center of town while seating outside and watching people go by. Best sangria ever! The next day we decided to head back to the Antonio Borges Botanical Gardens and explore a bit more and also visited the Jose Do Canto Botanical Gardens. You do have to pay a small fee to go in, but it is quite beautiful and it was not crowded. Of course we could not leave without enjoying some Pastei de Nata so we stopped at a small bakery and had two each! With some “real” coffee. We really enjoyed our visit and would love to come back in the future. Next we are visiting the charming Lisboa! Thank you for watching. We hope you continue to join us as we travel around the world! #timetolinger, #slowtravel, #TatandSteve, #PontaDelgada, #Portugal, #Cruising, #MSCMeraviglia