Tuesday – Ponta Delgada
Today, we arrived at our very last port of call, Ponta Delgada, on the island of San Miguel. Once again, the clouds were low, the wind was blowing, and the sea was choppy. I’d been put on yet another tour… to see another volcanic crater….
The tour stopped at a Botanical Garden first (which was nice), followed by a visit to a Pineapple farm (which I’d done before, but everyone seemed to enjoy). All good stuff, of course, but the main event was still to come…. The twin crater lakes of Cete Cicades, one green and one blue….
Alas, spirits sunk as we approached the high summit, as we knew that any chance of a view was slim to non-existent. Actually; I wouldn’t even have gone as far as ‘slim’. Exactly the same as yesterday, the cloud was low and swirled around the misty tree tops in the wind. Not a cat in hell’s chance! Sadly, there was no redeeming pick-me-up on this tour. We did stop a couple of times further on, where the guide would jump off the bus to check the view, and each time he came back shaking his head. The journey took us down windy roads, through a few little villages, back to the cruise terminal.
So that’s that; the last of our port stops. Next stop, Tilbury in London. Once again, we’re leaving early, to try and beat a storm coming in, but rumours are abound that we’re not going manage it. The shutters have been put on all the cabin windows, so they’re expecting things to get a little bit rough…. how bad can it be?
Today, Marco’s Bistro reopened; not as a self-service, but with staff serving up, but it was nice to be able to slip in there, and out again, quickly, at lunchtime, just for soup and a roll. The Library and Card Room have also been reopened to passengers… however; as I write this , the Conference Room remains closed. It seems there are still some issues over whether or not the watercolour and Jewellery classes will be allowed to resume. I’m still waiting to hear….
