We Made It To San Pedro - Wait? What?

On Friday, we were docked overlooking Sao Pedro - not the LA San Pedro.

Actually, we were in Ponta Delgada.  We consider ourselves very lucky to have been able to dock here as it is very iffy due to the winds.  We were once unable to get in but others report to have missed many times.

Our first plan, as is tradition when in Portugal, was to stop for coffee and pastel de nata.  Mission accomplished!

We then started wandering the city which we found to be quite interesting with it's architecture and paved streets.

We noticed signs for the farmers market which is another of our traditional destinations so we headed that way.  When we arrived we were disappointed to find a market that was apparently not open.

But then Linda noticed many people with shopping bags and a staircase down.  Voila, we found it!

Aftter exploring the market we decided to head for the botanical garden.  On the way we passed the lovely Jardim Antero Quental.

We soon arrived at Jardim Antonio Borges.

The garden was quite nice, a great place to walk around and explore the variety of flora.  We spent well over an hour doing that.

After the garden, we headed back to the main part of the city.  We wandered down the Rua Da Vila Nova where we discovered many cute houses with religious medallions on their front wall.

Arriving back in the city center, we came to a square and the Convento da Esperanca church.

And then, it was finally time for lunch.  We found a small cafe on a side street and indulged in cheese, bacalhau (cod) and shrimp.

After lunch, it was time for more wandering, more squares, and another church, Igreja de Sao Sebastiao.

After about 7 miles of wandering, it was time to return to the ship for the scenic sail away.

I would have to say that we did not know what to expect from Ponta Delgada, Azores, and it greatly exceeded whatever expectations we had.  The city was a terrific place to do what we like to do best - just wander and discover.  The good weather was a bonus.

Saturday was a day at sea, Sunday was a day in Funchal,, Madeira, and today, Monday, is our last sea day on this cruise.  I'll do another blog post when we have better internet and I have more patience.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry