Tuesday, 10th January, 2023
I am sure you are all looking at the itinerary and thinking, hang on, John, surely Ponta Delgado was your first port of call? And you would have been right, but unfortunately the weather was against us and the Captain made the decision that he could not make it there in time and that we would have to give it a miss and go straight to Horta on the island of Faial in the Azores, part of Portugal, of course and the last place I could use some mobile data!!
The day started well, with a bit of sun shining through and a pretty warm 15 to 16 degrees. We only had the morning to go ashore as we still have to get on to get to Bermuda, so Val and I had signed up for one of the shore excursions organised by the ship, in our case a bus tour to Volcano Capelinhos via a viewpoint looking over the city of Horta, where our ship, the Balmoral, was docked and a visit to the Caldeira do Faial.
We then wound our way through some very lush landscape of green fields and small, wind-swept trees until we reached the Caldeira do Faial at about 900 metres. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the higher you go, the nearer you are to the clouds, which meant that the view of both the crater and the surrounding landscape was distinctly atmospheric, ie cold, rainy and obscured. The photos will give you a flavour, I hope, you could walk to view the crater through a rather nice tunnel…
We then descended through a national park of Japanese Cedars and wild hydrangeas which are a bit of an invasive weed problem on the island, but must be fabulous when in bloom in the spring and summer. The weather started to improve dramatically and, after a loo break at a cafe, we arrived at the Volcano Capelinhos. The whole island is dotted with volcanos, both extinct and dormant, but this one was certainly very much alive and kicking in 1957 when it erupted last and the evidence is still visible today with a wide landscape of volcanic ash. It is right on the coast and is wonderfully dramatic and beautiful. The Azores regularly have earthquakes too, plus very strong winds, but the temperature is pretty constantly mild.
It was then back to the ship. Sadly we did not have time to wander the streets of Horta or to look in at the Marina, which we were told is the 4th busiest in the world due to the position of the Azores in the middle of the Atlantic. The weather was now wonderful and we enjoyed the sail away party on the aft deck.
It also enabled us to be able to see the nearby island of Picos, which in the morning was obscured by clouds.
It did mean that we could be back on board for our now usual activity of darts and table tennis. Val did wonderfully in the former, coming second and muggins here prevailed, with my partner, Robin, in the latter.
The day finished with our dinner in the restaurant, a song and dance show in the theatre and then we went to one of the lounges to hear some live music and to take part in the evening quiz, in which our team got 15 out of 15, but failed on the tie break (how many times does the word ‘blood’ appear in Macbeth?). I will look for answers in your comments to this blog and will let you have the answer in due course. Val and I took to the dance floor with great gusto, if dubious rhythm on my part to round off a really excellent day. 4 sea days until we get to Bermuda…..
Wednesday, 11th to Saturday, 14th January, 2023
With 4 sea days before we get to Bermuda, we have settled into a good routine of shuffleboard, table tennis, reading, games, a bit of laundry, darts, quizzes, eating, gym, the evening show and a bit of dancing. Not that we are competitive, but Val has won the shuffleboard twice in a row!!
It is a wonderful life, with very few decisions to make (‘Shall I have the Beef Wellington or the Monkfish for mains?’). Faces and names are now becoming more familiar around the ship, including the crew, who are universally happy, cheerful and helpful. Banter is starting to fly in a good way and we are having a lot of fun. We would like slightly flatter seas, but we are getting our sea legs gradually. I am beginning to think that a rolling ship helps my darts playing…
I am currently paying a minor fortune for a cup of coffee in Bermuda, hoping the Wi-Fi is strong enough to upload the photos, so it may be that we don’t manage to publish this until the Bahamas. We shall see….
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