Wednesday,
October 14, 2026
Ponta
Delgada, Sao Miguel Island, Azores Archipelago, Portugal
77F,
some clouds and sun, a bit of humidity
The
Azores islands together have a population of 236,440. Sao Miguel: 140,000, and
Ponta Delgado: 67,000. Sao Miguel has been populated since 1444.
Portuguese is the official language.
The islands are located about 930
miles west of Lisbon and about 1200 miles southeast of Newfoundland. As
mentioned in 2012, I also found out that the U.S. military base in the Azores that uses
our Medal of Honor character development program/curriculum is on the island
Terceira, which is about 120 miles from São Miguel/30 minutes by airplane (cost
$150).
We
visited the farmers’ market—no matter where we are such markets are a visual
treat. Interesting fact: pineapples are
grown in greenhouses! The island stopped growing oranges because a devastating
19th century insect blight wiped out the island’s massive citrus
groves.
This island is home to the oldest and only industrial scale tea plantation. Growing tea became a cornerstone of the island’s culture because of the orange blight. Farmers discovered that the island’s mild Atlantic climate, acidic, volcanic soil, and regular rainfall provided the perfect conditions for Camellia sinensis (tea plant). I thought it was interesting that the local agriculture society hired Chinese tea masters from Macau to teach them the secrets if withering, rolling, and oxidizing the leaves.
The best known factory is the Gorreana Tea Factory, and I purchased a small box of teabags. We do not know many people who drink tea.
We did make a stop at an ATM for euros--TK has never had a problem with his EFF FCU ATM card, but this was the first time in a very long time that my NWSB ATM card worked overseas! That is a good thing! We do use credit cards for the most part, it always a good idea to have some cash. Every port we are going to is part of the European Union, except Turkey.
As
we walked in and out of the city shops, I couldn’t believe how reasonably
priced the souvenirs were. We stopped at
Bagga, a coffee shop, for pastry and coffee. We
had a bretzel amendoa, a pretzel like pastry with almond filling, and
Napolitana ovo. Plus a STRONG Americano coffee and a cappuccino for TK--$6.41
American dollars!! The Napolitana ovo is
a historic Azores specialty---the islanders are very religious—a couple
centuries ago the nuns used egg white to starch their “wimples,” collars, and
“gitterns.” So, they had a lot of leftover egg yolks and made a custard for
their pastries with them.
And that brings me back to the souvenirs—we saw religious souvenirs everywhere, and the only other place we have seen so many is near the Vatican!
TK’s Takes:
The first thing he noticed as we docked this morning was all the people
swimming near the port area. One of the nearby vendors told me that her 81 year
old mother swims there everyday—no sharks, whales, or crocodiles!
What an interesting day~ egg whites, tea bags, and pineapples!
ReplyDeleteSounds great, and relaxing. I would bet if you wrote a very short book on cruise ship elevator etiquette, it would sell quickly
ReplyDeleteEnjoy. 88 degrees feels like 101 today..
We always have to let Marquette know when we’re traveling in order for our ATM cards to work. I love the photo of you working on your blog. I would love to hear Tim’s thoughts on elevator etiquette, as I have a few of my own.
ReplyDelete