We took a tour to the Sete Cidades Crater Lake area. There's a lake under there. Really.
Apparently this cloud cover is not unusual in the morning. What is unusual is this building.
It was a five-star hotel and spa. After opening in 1989, the hotel only operated for a little more than a year before shutting its doors. According to reports, for about a decade the empty halls were patrolled by guards and dogs, but with no one interested in paying them any longer, it seems that they simply disappeared some time in the mid-2000s. We understand that the nightclub was the bomb and the views from the suites were fabulous. In the afternoons, of course.
We stopped in the nearby village and had a walk around to enjoy the sights and sounds of a lazy weekend morning.
They grow pineapples on Sao Miguel at the Arruda Pineapple Plantation, and not the ones we are accustomed to seeing at the grocery store. These are kind of shorter and fatter, and much more flavorful. They are grown in greenhouses under very strict conditions and are pretty costly. They make some very tasty (and very strong) liqeur from them. We had a free taste. Our advice: put it on ice cream. Here's a few more examples of the island's scenery.
Next day, more Azores. This time we were in Horta, on the island of Faial, and we were off to see the Capelinhos volcano. This one erupted as recently as 1957, so it is really young. The area is a moonscape and we were reminded of our "adventure" on the volcano in Nicaragua...this was much safer and easier, but we did take a hike through the volcanic cinders.
From Capelinhos, we walked a good five miles down a vegetation lined path to the village of Varaduoro, a resort town with natural swimming pools near the sea. It was a pretty hot walk, but worth it for the ocean views. This was one time that we were glad to see the air conditioned bus! Overall, the Azores were a pleasant surprise and an area we would consider visiting again.
Four days at sea lay ahead. We took a leisurely pace, deviating a little south to avoid the Hurricane Florence disturbances, and heading for Bermuda. On the last day out, it was so much for leisure. We had a medical emergency and Captain Atanas (Captain Ubaldo bailed out at the last stop) poured the coals to it. We arrived at St. George's in the wee hours of the morning, discharged the patient (he was recovering well at last report), and drifted around until morning when we could dock. There's not too much to see in this little town, so we hung out on the ship on this overnight stop. One more day at sea and we were back in Manhattan.
Wow. What a trip. So much to see and absorb. Icebergs, midnight suns, Soviet blocks, quaint seaside villages, vinyards, volcanos...but only three wiener dogs.
Final count? Gordon wins, as usual, two dogs to one.
