Our last look at land until Ft. Lauderdale, 6 days away. And what a look it is! Having been here in May, we scoped out the activities and the island then- and did some research when we got home. So (yes big surprise!) we had our Ponta Delgada day all planned out.
Luckily we docked at the new dock right in town – which meant an easy 5 minute walk to the rental car agency. Got there first thing, picked up our cute little Wingo car and off we went – straight out to Sete Cidades – the little town nestled in the valley of the volcanic calderas.
Very easy to navigate (although Catarina at the rental agency said a few year ago we’d never find our way – they’ve improved the signage that much for the tourists recently) – we sped through the winding narrow village roads and out into the countryside. The road hugged the coastline and it was just beautiful looking out over the water, past the cow pastures (and let me tell you there are TONS of cows – cheese production here is a major industry – and we can see why!), and up toward the looming volcano craters before us. The plant life here is incredible – Hydrangeas all over the place – framing the roads with their lilac, white and pink 
colors. Also beautiful lilies (we think they are ginger lilies) that spring up on the side of the road with hardy stalks to keep them straight and tall. They are so beautiful, they almost look fake - we thought the first few bunches we saw were actually shrines on the side of the road. We’re a little bit past peak bloom, unfortunately. Can’t image how gorgeous it would be if everything were still at the peak.
After about 1/2 hour of increasingly beautiful scenery – and more hydrangeas, lilies and now towering pine trees - we made it to the Vista do Rei, the scenic point overlooking Lago Azul and Lago Verde – the two lakes in the valley of the caldera. The vista is incredibly gorgeous with the tall sweeping volcanic ridges towering over the lush valley and shimmering lakes. Pictures can’t do it justice, but we sure tried! 
We tore ourselves away from the view and headed down into the valley itself to Sete Cidades, a cute sleepy little village. On this Sunday morning, we arrived in time to watch the whole village walk to the church at the center of town. It’s a very compact little town, and with everyone at church, we ended up driving through, then stopping at the trail head between the two lakes.
Our intention was to hike up the ridge of the caldera for a few hours, then come back down. We had a great book that provided every detail you would need for the hike. We started out climbing up the forest path so lush and green – it’s almost – or maybe it is – sub-tropical. It’s quiet here – except for the cows in the distance and the rustling of the wind through the woods and pine carpet. As we made our way through the increasingly overgrown wilderness we started to encounter mud puddles on the path. After about 15 minutes we hit a puddle that straddled the entire path with no way around except straight through. Since we are only hobby-hikers – we weren’t exactly equipped to go marching through a deep, dark puddle. Our sneakers and clothes need to last the rest of the trip – so, disappointingly, we had to turn around and head back.
We ended up walking a bit more down around the banks of Lago Verde – which was out in the sun and the crisp fresh breeze. Turned out to be a nice walk/hike after all.
Next we headed off to Ribeira Grande, the oldest city on the island. Unfortunately, there were 3 exits to R. Grande from the road we were on, and we were unsure of which to take. So, we quickly regrouped and headed straight for Furnas – a lake in the Western part of the island. We wound through towns and villages on little teeny roads, watching what seemed like entire villages standing outside on the side of the road. Kind of odd – everyone just standing around in doorways and watching the cars go by – but – maybe it was a Sunday afternoon thing.
We arrived at Furnas after about an hour of driving (again through increasingly beautiful scenery – but now with clouds rolling in). The area surrounding the lake has underground springs so hot the water boils and it keeps the ground at a constant hot temperature (like Furnace, yes) – hot enough that locals come out and cook their food in the ground. When we arrived there was a bicycle relay race going on, so there were tons of people and bikes – and yes – cooking in the ground. For some reason we didn’t get any pictures of it – but there were mounds of earth piled up over the baskets of food – each with a number on top so you could find your food. When you reached down to touch the ground – it was hot – everywhere. Too wild!
Next, we circumnavigated the island through R. Grande and back to Ponta Delgada. Along the way, the scenery was just mind boggling. We had wanted to picnic somewhere, but didn’t think about bringing food from the ship and then couldn’t find any place along our route to stop for food. So, we contented ourselves with taking pictures from the perfect picnic area we found above R. Grande.
Of course, right after we found the picnic area we found the grocery store in R. Grande. But, by then we figured we’d just stock up on cabin supplies and head back to the ship for a quick snack.
Back in town – we dropped off the car, hit the ship for nourishment and came back out to wander around P. Delgada a bit, snag some free wi-fi at the mall and have a last couple on-shore beers and wines before heading out to sea for 6 straight days!
What a great last port. As much as we love Madeira – we like this place much better. Every curve in the road brought more and more gorgeous views, every scenic point was more beautiful than the next. So we’ve added yet another island to our list of places we want to visit again.
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