Day One in Ponta Delgada, Portugal

2019 Transatlantic Cruise on MSC

Day 7 MSC Divina - Ponta Delgada, San Miguel Island, Portugal -- November 12, 2019

Please click here for video of our first day in Ponta Delgada.

I was very much looking forward to be here because we missed this port on our transatlantic cruise while sailing on the NCL Getaway in 2017 due to strong wind. It was a 'Hi' and 'Bye' type of situation on that particular sailing being so close to port. Fortunately, we were able to dock here for our overnight stay this time around.

Arriving the port of Ponta Delgada at the south side of the island.

This is an excellent cruise terminal conveniently located right in the heart of town. There are many shops, restaurants, and bars near the terminal making it an interesting stop for cruisers.

Commercial Port on one side of the ship.

Weather was a little dreary and misty this morning.

I had arranged a private tour for the ten of us with Miguel of Azores Dream Tours for the day. He was recommended to me by another cruiser in Canada who have used him several times and happy with his service. The reason I wanted a private tour here was that we wanted to get to as many sights as possible on the island. Using public transportation would take up too much of our precious time and I wasn't sure if it was even possible to do so.

We got off the ship at around 8:50 since we have scheduled to meet with Miguel at 9:00 just right outside the terminal. We waited and we waited. No Miguel in sight. Fortunately, there were benches right there at the terminal where we could sit and wait. Some in our group even went to the souvenir/convenient store there and bought some 1E bottles of beer to enjoy while waiting. By 9:15, most of the tour guides picking up passengers were gone with their groups but still no Miguel. I usually don't want to act like being impatient but I thought it was time to text Miguel and find out what was going on. He replied immediately and said would be there in five minutes. Apparently, he didn't put us down on his schedule book and forgot about our booking. He came in, introduced himself, and took us out to the street level where he arranged two drivers to take us for the day. It happened that there was a group of French speaking passengers that he needed to take care of personally and regret not being able to be with us. Fortunately, we had Tiago and Jessica who were just as wonderful as can be acted as our drivers and guides. We separated into two groups and off we went with the two vehicles going as caravan.

When Tiago told us that there is no sense of going to the twin lakes area with such misty and cloudy weather, our hearts sank. But, he said, hopefully the weather will turn sunny later and we may be able to go there in the afternoon. That's O.K., as long as there's hope.

Inside the van...

...a map of the island so we knew where we were going. Very thoughtful!

Riberia Grande
Our first stop was the Praia do Areal e Santa Barbara at Riberia Grande on the north side of the island. This is a beautiful beach with lots of characters. Tiago said the beach was filled with surfers the day before, but not today. I can imagine surfers would greatly enjoy riding the exciting Atlantic waves on a sunny day.

There is a bar and a surf board rental place right here at the beach but they were not open this morning.

Powerful waves!

Stacking of lava rocks along the beach.

City of Riberia Grande - Matriz Parish
Then we drove over to the town center of Riberia Grande to the east of the beach.

Passing by the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceicao.

We were able to walk around a little in this area. We also bumped into other passengers on the ship, so I assume this is a popular site for many visitors.

Right across from the city square stood the Church of Espirito Santo, a 17th century building.

Inside the church. Not as elegant but felt homey.

Riberia Grande Theater

The river running through town. 

I believe this is the Ribeira Grande City Hall.

A small section of the beautiful bridge!

Miradouro de Santa Iria

Just a little east of Riberia Grande on the northern coast, we made a stop at the Miradouro de Santa Iria look-out point where we had the most breathtaking sight of the coast.

Look-out platform. From here you can see both sides of the island.

Gorreana Tea Farm

Tea is nothing new to us and we have visited many tea farms in Asia. At least there was no pressure in buying tea here when we stopped at this family-run, historical tea plantation for a tea break.

The old buildings here tells how much history this plantation has.

What an absolutely pretty sight of the ocean and the tea farm!

Watching a video about the farm and history of tea planting on the island.

Mr. Lau from Canton, China. The first person who brought tea farming and tea production to this area.

Self-guided tour of the factory where we could see some old machines for tea processing.

There is also a tea room and a little shop where visitors can help themselves to free cups of tea and enjoying the gorgeous view at the same time.

Our van for the day.

Miradouro do Pico do Ferro Look-out

Our drivers then brought us to the southeast of the island where we would visit the Furnas area. Before we reached the Furnas, we stopped at the park and hiked up to the look-out. We were welcomed by the most beautiful view Furnas Lake.

Furnas Lake

The town.

What a view of the town and the lake!

Everything was so green and refreshing as we were taking the walk around and back to the parking lot.

Furnas (Caldeiras Vulcanicas)

We have already decided we would give up bathing here in the hot springs just so we have more time to see the sights. It was a good decision that we would not regret.

Many bubbling holes.

Lots of geothermal activities around this area.

Nice just walking around this village and see all the geothermal activities.

Tiago told us to try and taste the water coming out of the spring. It as ok with a taste of acid.

Riberia dos Caldeiros Nature Park
From the Furnas we drove up to the northeastern coast of the island and visited the Riberia dos Caldeiros Park where we would see another beautiful waterfall. It was an easy walk from the parking area to the fall and the vegetation were absolutely pretty all around.

There are hiking paths but apparently not suitable for us.

After taking a short break here without hiking down the trails, we felt we had done enough. But... will we be able to see the twin lakes?

Sete Ciadades
Seeing that the weather turned sunny, Tiago and Jessica drove us all the way from the east of the island to the west so we could see the Twin Lakes in Sete Ciadades. It was a long drive, passing by downtown Ponte Delgada on the way, but well-worth our time!

Largo Azul and Largo Verde

The contrast between the blue and green lakes were not noticeable because of the weather.

But at least we were able to see them in person.

Part of our group with Tiago and Jessica, our wonderful guides for the day.

Pineapple Plantation
Our final destination for this tour was the Pineapple Plantation. I have read that one of the must-try here in Ponta Delgada is the pineapple. So I was looking forward to have some.

This plantation is not too far from the cruise port in town.

With many greenhouses.

The small gift shop under the trees.

We bought a couple cups of fresh pineapples that cost 4E each and some pineapple juice for 3E. Very disappointed. They were quite sour. Not sure if it was because of the season or what.

As we were leaving the plantation, we bumped into Miguel with his group of French visitors at the entrance. He was making sure if we were taken care of by Tiago and Jessica. Indeed, we were. Apparently, Tiago is a real estate agent who was doing this on the side. We had a wonderful day visiting all these sights on the island during the eight hours with them. We also made good time without the hot spring baths and stop for lunch. We were back at the cruise port around 5:00 P.M. just in time for us to freshen up before dinner.

Lamb and pork Skewers starter

Cordon Blue

Atlantic Cod Filet

Layered Chocolate Cake

Our ship would be docking in port for the night, so after dinner we decided to walk out to town. Most of the stores were closed by now, except those near the port area. Many bars and restaurants were still opened.

The back of San Sebastian Church. Just loved those decorative tiles on the ground.

Quiet and quaint streets at night.

Front of the church. So pretty!

A phone booth that turned into a tiny roadside library.

The City Gates

and the statue.

The square had a very different feel at night.

After checking out a couple of souvenir stores near the port and found nothing, we were ready to end our full day in port. Back to our comfortable cabins for the night.

I just love having overnights at a port especially when it is so close to the center of town.

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."   --John 3:17~18