Ilha Sao Miguel, The Azores, Portugal
Of the nine islands off the coast of Portugal that make up the Azores, Sao Miguel is the largest, and has the capital, Ponta Delgada. The Endeavour was docked there, among many other ships, at a very busy dock, dealing with materials and containers from different ports.
The City of Ponta Delgada (Narrow Point) is quite cosmopolitan, and all type of wares of the highest quality are to be found easily among its many shops.
The geologic origin of the Azores is very violent. They sit directly on the Atlantic Ridge, the ocean floor ridge created by upwelling of magma rock, spreading out to both sides of the ridge. Every one of the islands has at least one huge crater, today mostly filled with water. In the case of St. Michael, one can easily see that there were at least three large volcanoes.
The weather was beautiful as we drove west from Ponta Delgada. The views were green… so many shades of green! Up we went, till we reached an overlook point to the Blue Lake, a lake within the largest crater of the island. The old caldera of the volcano is at least four miles in diameter! And we drove down the inner road to the bottom, where a bridge divides the large lagoon in two. From that point on, we walked to the eastern end of the lagoon, enjoying the local vegetation, as well as the numerous cows. All the islands of the Azores harbor a great number of cows, since the most important business for the islanders is cattle raising for milk. There are a series of transformation plants where cheese is made, as well as butter and cream. Some of this produce is exported to the mainland in Europe, but is mostly used locally. We had refreshments at that end of the lake, and enjoyed the picnic area. Later we drove down to Ponta Delgada again, with another short stop at a "miraudor" or lookout point.
Of the nine islands off the coast of Portugal that make up the Azores, Sao Miguel is the largest, and has the capital, Ponta Delgada. The Endeavour was docked there, among many other ships, at a very busy dock, dealing with materials and containers from different ports.
The City of Ponta Delgada (Narrow Point) is quite cosmopolitan, and all type of wares of the highest quality are to be found easily among its many shops.
The geologic origin of the Azores is very violent. They sit directly on the Atlantic Ridge, the ocean floor ridge created by upwelling of magma rock, spreading out to both sides of the ridge. Every one of the islands has at least one huge crater, today mostly filled with water. In the case of St. Michael, one can easily see that there were at least three large volcanoes.
The weather was beautiful as we drove west from Ponta Delgada. The views were green… so many shades of green! Up we went, till we reached an overlook point to the Blue Lake, a lake within the largest crater of the island. The old caldera of the volcano is at least four miles in diameter! And we drove down the inner road to the bottom, where a bridge divides the large lagoon in two. From that point on, we walked to the eastern end of the lagoon, enjoying the local vegetation, as well as the numerous cows. All the islands of the Azores harbor a great number of cows, since the most important business for the islanders is cattle raising for milk. There are a series of transformation plants where cheese is made, as well as butter and cream. Some of this produce is exported to the mainland in Europe, but is mostly used locally. We had refreshments at that end of the lake, and enjoyed the picnic area. Later we drove down to Ponta Delgada again, with another short stop at a "miraudor" or lookout point.
