Month: August 2022 (Page 2 of 2)

Sao Miguel – Pt 1

Ponta Delgada Gates

Petronella had arrived the day before, so we already had old friends to visit. It was a bit of a search to find the farmers market (currently in the underground car park while renovations are made upstairs), but the selection of produce was great. We wandered into town and had a fabulous brunch/lunch at Louvre Michaelense, an old milliner’s shop that was turned into a cafe. Impossible to get into for dinner without a reservation, but if you arrive early you can get a table for lunch.

Nicole, Helena & Meghan at the Pineapple Plantation

Meghan (friend from Boston) flew in the next day and we strolled around town before doing lunch at the rustic and totally local A Tasca where I finally tried bacalhau (Portuguese specialty of salt cod) and was enthralled. To ease her in and manage jet lag we did early drinks and apps on board Kalyra.

Ponta Delgada town square

Helena, Meghan and I went up to tour a local pineapple plantation the next day while Trip was installing the new boat parts that Meghan had brought. The plantation is where you can learn all about the growth cycle (two years!) and sample the wares. Our favorite was the pineapple liquor, and the pineapple preserves. The pineapple caipirinha wasn’t too bad either.

Pineapple

Passages

No pics here, just some thoughts on special passages. We left Velas mid morning with almost no wind , but within a couple of hours we had a ghost of a breeze so we set the sails and killed the engine. We saw only 6-8 knots of wind for the next 24 hours, but managed to sail at a beautiful 4-6 knots upon glass calm seas. It was hard to believe that this was the same Atlantic Ocean that was so turbulent on the way across.

We had dolphins galore, swimming both up at the bow and playing behind the stern.

Night brought the most spectacular starry sky from horizon to horizon. Bioluminescent creatures came to life as the bow cleaved the water.

We made landfall in Sao Miguel mid afternoon and tied up in our slip without issue.

These are the passages that remind you how insignificant we are in this grand spectacular world.

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