Dear Followers....
Tonight my post will only place pictures at the bottom instead of within paragraphs. I will practice at home in case I can learn to use this site better. If you know of a better place with more flexibility and less skittishness, please let me know! Thanks. JLHT
Because so many ships were in port we had to dock on the far side so that only a shuttle could be used to go into Ponta Delgada itself. Whenever you are in a ‘working port’ as opposed to a cruise port this is the case. We did have that tour and our land stays are not really full days so not a huge issue, but if we could have walked around near the port, maybe found a Coke and some free WIFI at a McDonalds or somewhere, then, we would have asked to be dropped there on the return or gone back out if there was more time.
As it was, we just took our tour and it turned out that we made a good choice. We went out to Furnas, by way of the South Shore, which is where the hot springs are and returned along the North Shore. With the springs more inland we saw much of the whole island. The steam vents for the springs at our first stop were quite active. It is a little startling to know you are standing on top of a volcano which, if it suddenly collapsed, would have you boiled from the feet up before your head knew what happened! Also, unlike the underground heat of Iceland, there are not geysers. Only just around the thermal springs is exposed lava rock but the rest of the land is brilliant green sectioned by dark green hedgerows of hydrangea or charcoal grey-black walls of basalt. The overall effect is as though the landscape is a stunning quilt, scalloped in places where it falls over the rolling hills.
The sea is beautiful. Just beautiful. Sparkling blue, gentle waves, no real whitecaps today. The houses and shops are whitewashed with orange tile roofs, mostly with ruffled edges of white. The narrow winding dull grey road took us through a couple of villages where there was an occasional splash of pale yellow, or pink, or teal. Most wrought iron was standard black but here and there a cobalt blue rail and shutters against the white stucco stood out, or a red or purple door. So very pretty of a place, not at all like what we usually see.
After a short time to walk through the field of steam vents we went on to a hotel garden. It is the Terra Nostra Botanical Garden. Stunning! I do not have internet when I write this so am not adding links for you, which in reality is for me when I have time to relive my journey! At the hotel, that now seems to own the garden, there is a very large sulfur hot springs pool. When we booked the tour we knew there would be no time for ‘bathing’ but then a the night before were told you could skip the garden and have 30 to 45 minutes to swim. Since there are no changing rooms you would be in your suit, first dry then wet, all day. I decided that didn’t seem like fun so we stuck with the garden part of the tour.
Here I will share that we did not have a good guide. He was pleasant enough and seemed to have a good knowledge of the what we were seeing. He knew what kinds of cows where perched on the hillside. That Azaleas lined the roadside and why. General things because he was born on this island. He family were farmers but he didn’t like that so guides instead. He said he liked to be outdoors more than farmers can be.
What he didn’t have is the skill to heard cats! Elva and I were in the next to the last seats on the bus. By the time we were off, at the back door, he was gone. Basic tour guiding 101 should help you organize so that you have your group together before you move. You need to say where you are going and what you are doing. Very important to be clear about where to meet the bas at the end of the time. These things he did not do. So we did not learn a lot. There were more than 50 with our one very soft spoken guide. No ‘whisperers’ so mostly I could not hear them and a lot of us couldn’t. So people wandered off to look at things on their own. In this garden there was not much signage about the plants nor about where paths went.
At one point someone noticed a topiary garden and wanted to see it. He said, and notice I have no clue what his name might have been, go take a picture and come back. So we went, walked around the little circle and came back. He much of the rest of the tour was gone. I really did not see anyone and there were three paths. The most people were down the hill to the left and I thought I saw him. There was a man in a similar shade of blue sweater but when I caught up I didn’t recognize anyone. I asked a few people if they were Group 2 and even if they were they were from a different ship. Then I saw two ladies I recognized but turns out this whole gang of people were going to the parking lot and we were to meet back at the swimming pool. A gentleman pointed out that general direction and the three of us went that way. We were staying on the lower path when one of the ladies spotted her husband on the upper path. We climbed up the steep stone way and joined them. Good thing the men missed their wives because Elva had not even noticed I was missing. She figured I must be somewhere around although she would have said something – I hope – if I hadn’t been in the seat next to her on the bus.
So instead of going to the parking lot like all those others had been heading, we walked back through the front entrance and through the town to where we had been dropped off. Now we in the back realize that there are two people missing. The couple across the aisle from me. There is no where for them to be since in the beginning there had been only one space left. Someone told the guide who only then, and only for the first time as far was we could tell, counted heads. He left the bus, was gone only long enough to walk back to the garden entrance to look for them. When he came back to the bus he didn’t say anything but away we went. I felt bad for the folks left behind because that was going to be an expensive taxi back to the port and time was limited as well.
Luckily the Eclipse had done the tour in reverse, the garden then the hot springs. Our bus stopped in Furnas again, and the people rejoined our bus where all their things were waiting for them on their seat. The lady told me that when they couldn’t find the guide or any of us they asked other groups until they found any on from Celebrity. The lady guide from the Eclipse allowed them to join her tour which was finishing up and go back to Furnas. She then contacted her tour company to figure out which guide had which tour number for which of the Celebrity ships. They called and told him to meet up with her in at the hot springs so all is well that ends well. This whole mishmosh took up about 30 minutes of our time, however.
We made a brief photo stop at an under – construction overlook. I got some nice pictures and an especially good one of Elva. The ten minute stop here worked much better than the garden restroom stop where he allowed 15 minutes for all of our ladies, about 30 of us, to share a ladies room with several groups of tours. It might have worked if there had been more than three stalls! But even on the men’s side, most of them gave up waiting so as not to miss the tour.
Our final stop was the village of Reibiera Grande. Another rest room break which was much more successful, a few minutes to look around the square, a walk up hill to view a church exterior and then way up a steep cobbled walkway to where the bus waited. This had been supposed to be time for a walk about on your own after a tour of the church and the theater. So as I think I said in the beginning, not a great or even especially good tour. Lots of beautiful people so although I am complaining about the way the visit was handled I know we are lucky people! The island is remarkable but no real chance to meet people or explore on our own.
It was a short ride back to the ship. Typical, long out and quick return. Because we were late getting back and sailing at five, I worked on trying to post the many things I stayed up late last night to give you. Super frustrating because of poor connections but a couple new things were added to Intentional Traveler and I did check some emails and voicemail. Luckily with T-Mobile messages can be heard by data rather than calling in. You can see who they are from and decide which ones to listen to and which to delete. One needed to be dealt with right away and my daughter, Karen, took care of it for me from home once I messaged her. It takes a village to keep me on the Road again – errr the high seas!
I also texted Katie and spoke with Christine. I hope she will send me the picture of Maddie and Christian that was online which I saw during the day. They went to the Shuler Awards and Maddie got to wear her brand new black sequined dress! All I can say, and I know grandmothers are prejudiced, is WOW!
Since Elva had a late lunch at the Mast Grill while I annoyed myself, I went up and got a plate of roast beef and fruit salad and bread and took it to Deck 5 at the theater. At the back of that is a bar positioned to watch the show but I actually ate quickly and joined Elva on Deck 4 center. So glad I didn’t skip it all as Andrew Derbyshire gave a remarkable and quite entertaining performance which included a variety of musical styles. He had starred in the West End as Joseph in one of my favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals and in many others. From that he sang the dramatic first act closer which is when Joseph is behind bars. He also sang Whitney Houston song, Queen -with who he had toured- and so many things. He closed with The Impossible Dream and brought the audience to their feet!
Since neither of has had dessert we ended the evening with that, mine was delicious cheesecake and tea while Elva had chocolate cake and decaf coffee. Since we had gone to the early show at 7:00 I had time for a long hot shower and we both read for awhile. Neither of us had slept well the night before so were quite happy for an early night.
NOTE: So right here let me add that 11 minutes after CNN made the big announcement I had checked the internet while on the bus and announced to my fellow passengers that Princess Kate had had her baby boy. T-Mobile is great for my traveling because while on shore I usually have free service, that is too say, included. So what fun was that!
The sea is beautiful. Just beautiful. Sparkling blue, gentle waves, no real whitecaps today. The houses and shops are whitewashed with orange tile roofs, mostly with ruffled edges of white. The narrow winding dull grey road took us through a couple of villages where there was an occasional splash of pale yellow, or pink, or teal. Most wrought iron was standard black but here and there a cobalt blue rail and shutters against the white stucco stood out, or a red or purple door. So very pretty of a place, not at all like what we usually see.
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