Ponta Delgada, Azores (Portugal)

(It was overcast and drizzly when we left Ponta Delgada to visit the Sete Cidades (Seven Cities Region) of this largest island in the Azores.  The goal was to see the volcanic crater and lakes.  There are the twin lakes with one being blue and one being green.  There are two additional volcanic crater lakes that are smaller.  The beautiful pastureland was filled with cows, and cheese and dairy products are extremely important industry in the Azores.  By the time we returned for a tasting of Azores food products at the hotel, the sun had come out for a beautiful afternoon.

(The Blogger Dashboard is still in Arabic, and I ask you forgive the strange placement of  final punctuation in paragraphs). Also, the photos in this posting are reversed from the usual posting (latest to earliest). 

The sun was out when we returned from the morning tour.  Here's a shot of the port in which we were docked.

Folks were swimming in the harbor.  Note the swimmer to the right of this photo.

Despite clearing weather, the seas were still rough.  Surfers would love the waves, but there were no sandy beaches here.

Another view of the port.  There's a highway and amphitheater on top and shops and restaurants below.

We (the tour groups) participated in a "taste of the Azores" in the hotel above (the building with arches).  We tasted the local wines and cheeses.  Everything was delicious.

Pastureland in the Azores.  Cows were grazing in the fields.  The temperature is very mild year-round.

Legend has it that the Azores were once part of the Lost Continent of Atlantis.  Of course, they are actually volcanic islands, and azaleas, flowering plants/shrubs, and trees were imported from across the globe.,

You can see one of the Twin Lakes from this shot on top of the mountain.  You'll note cows in the pasture along the road.

The Azores are truly beautiful.  I'm sad that we'll miss Horta tomorrow.

There are four crater lakes in the Sete Cidades region.  This one is a smaller lake high in the mountains.

Another view of the Twin Lakes as we climb up the side of the crater.

This is a shot of one of the two lakes as we left the village.

It may be a poor village (that's what our guide said), but the homes and gardens were extremely well maintained.

The road to this village was only recently paved (funds eventually came after Portugal joined the European Union for such projects).  The city was isolated from other parts of the island for this reason. 

I wandered around the village and took photos.  The people were extremely friendly as you passed by the homes.

The homes had beautifully maintained gardens.

The homes reflect the Portuguese style, and many are very colorful.

The guide referred to this village as being poor.  It didn't look impoverished to me.  One family, descended from the early families who immigrated from Portugal, own the land on which these folks live and work.

We visited the village beside the Twin Lakes, and here's the local church.

This bird landed right beside me as I was taking photos.  I got a few of him before he stopped posing for me.

Here I am at the Twin Lakes volcanic crater of the Sete Cidales region.



Sorry for the order of everything.  This is actually the first picture I wanted to display.  Here are the Twin Lakes of the crater.  The top lake is blue in color, and the bottom lake is green.  It is hard to see the color difference because of the overcast skies as we visited the lake.  The color of the lake is the reflection of the blue sky (blue lake) and the surrounding vegetation (green lake).