São Miguel, Azores

I don't know what it is about distant lands that make me want to visit them. Forget Paris or London. Give me the polar regions, or islands in the middle of nowhere ... like the Azores.

Today we made our wish to visit these islands in the North Atlantic a reality. Not a real visit mind you ... more like a peek at what the Azores have to offer. And after spending the day exploring a bit of the east end of São Miguel, we definitely would like to return for an extended visit ... perhaps in conjunction with a land vacation in Portugal. But that's for the future. Let's get on with today.

Of the two popular tours offered out of Ponta Delgada where our ship docked, I had booked the one to Furnas with a company called Funtastic Azores. We were not disappointed. Our driver/guide was awaiting us when we came down the gangway and we quickly set off on our flexible itinerary, driving through amazing scenery on our way to places with names like Caloura and Franco de Campo.

On the outskirts of Furnas, we stopped to check out an active geothermal site with smoking fumaroles and boiling mud pots ... Yellowstone in miniature. While here, we caught a glimpse of a couple of men placing a pot in one of the underground ovens used to cook the stew for which the area is famous.

Then into Furnas proper we went to check out another geothermal field, taste some of the spring water. We eventually ended up at a restaurant where we got a chance to eat some of the special stew ... the veggies cooked to perfection ... the meat falling-off-the-bone tender.

We were supposed to tour a tea plantation on the way back to Ponta Delgada. Alas, the chosen plantation was closed on Sundays. The one that we ended up stopping at was not worth the time as there were no guided tours, so after a quick glimpse and an even quicker sip of tea we continued on our way. To make up for this disappointment, our guide gave us a quick drive-through look at Ponta Delgada before returning us to the ship.

Arriving back in our cabins around 3:30p, we had time to relax before the 5:00p sail away from our last port of call of this Transatlantic cruise. Next stop — Ft Lauderdale.Read more