Today is Bill’s birthday!! He enjoyed a big sundae called “The Godfather” in the afternoon and later at dinner a piece of chocolate cake and a chorus of Happy Birthday by the waiters. He wasn’t too worried about the calories. The ship is three football fields long and our cabin is located in the front of the ship. Lots of walking to get anywhere.
After two days at sea. We have started the process of turning our clocks back an hour at a time so we will be on Eastern time when we reach Florida on November 30th. We will have to do this six times before we reach home. Nobody’s complaining because each time we turn the clocks back, we get an extra hour of sleep.
Today we are in Ponta Delgada, Portugal in the Azores. The rugged, volcanic Azores lie 800 miles off the coast of Portugal. The Azores were colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century and consist of nine islands. Ponta Delgada, the capital of the Azores, is located on Sao Miguel, the largest of the nine islands. The island’s rich volcanic soil supports fields of tobacco and tea, vineyards and pineapple greenhouses.
Bill still had a cough and was not feeling great, so we took a short visit onshore. We took the short walk into town along the marina.
We noticed two other cruise ships in port, including a Holland America ship. We sure miss Holland America!!

Also we spotted this warship in the port.
The Catholic church was holding mass so unfortunately not open to the public.
The City Gates were constructed in 1783 as a gateway to the city from the sea. It is a construction with three arches of stone, having the center one some baroque elements, the royal coat of arms of Portugal and of the Municipality of Ponta Delgada.
The streets of mosaic tile reminded us of Lisbon. Very pretty but also dangerously slick when wet.
Bill managed to find two geocache during our short time in the area.

Next up: Bermuda