The 2007 Grand European Farewell Tour Begins

As in "wife, say good-bye to Europe, we're never doing back". We spent eight days at sea onboard the M.S. Veendam. Here is the first installment in the tour.

Monday was our first port day since leaving Tampa and our second visit to the Azores Islands. Hiring a guide to chauffeur us around Sao Miguel island was quite different from renting a car (which we did two years ago). There's not the same sense of adventure and the excitement of chance discoveries. The chances of something going seriously wrong are greatly reduced also, however.

Certainly, time is better spent, questions that pop up are answered and everybody gets to gawk out the window at the stunning tropical beauty passing by. Ricardo, our guide, took us first to the Santo Cristo church in town, where the statue of the Miraculous Christ resides. Once a year, on the Fifth Sunday of Easter it is brought out in procession. It is the major devotion in the Azores, I believe. Lorna and I were content to give a quick thanks for the beautiful crossing.

Then we headed out towards the Lagoa das Furnas (Furnace Lake), where the cozido meal is made. We stopped along the way at the Sixteenth Century chapel of our Lady of Peace on a hill high above the coast. It was built just five years after a major earthquake flattened the town below.

Arriving just a few minutes too late to see our lunch being removed from the ground in the hot springs at the lake. We made our way over to the village of Furnas to the restaurant Ricardo had picked out for us. It was a bit anti-climatic, though a bit tastier than the last time, since we already knew what was coming. The couple who joined us, Ron & Fran, however, didn't. And the sight of the blood sausage in the mix positively put them off. The result was that the meal--already too much for the four of us, but enough for three Azoreans--went half eaten.

We then went to a park in the nearby village of Caldieras complete with a pleasnt garden and boiling hot springs, one of which the locals use to cook their corn in. Several villages are in the huge caldera (3-4 miles across?). Property values will plummet when this volcano stirs again.

We re-visited (from two years ago) the beautiful viewpoint above the lake, overlooking the huge caldera. Then we crossed over to the north side of the island to enjoy some great scenery.

We learned a bit about the local customs and beliefs. For example, Ricardo explained that nearly all of the islanders are Catholic and he said this was because of the earthquakes. Three had been felt in the 24 hours before our arrival. And everyone being Catholic explains the islander's peculiar custom: "When a man wants to divorce his wife, he brings her to this scenic viewpoint (several hundred feet of sheer cliffs above the sea)". I pondered the obvious advantages of this over our Canadian system of divorce, but then I remembered that Lorna had the money and the credit cards. So we proceeded on as a couple.

Liquer tasting in the second ("and last") city, Ribeira Grande, was next. I highly recommend the passion fruit brandy.

Then back up over the sharp spine of the island with a stop for an admiring look at Lagoa de Fogo (Fire Lake), the second of the three great calderas on the island. Then down the winding road to the south coast, while swapping jokes. I'll spare you Ricardo's favourites: blondie jokes.

He dropped us off, as scheduled, in the center of town (Ponta Delgada) at 6 p.m. We did a bit of shopping and then parted company with Ron and Fran, who wante to walk around the town. Lorna and I got a taxi back to the ship and had a late dinner in the Lido Restaurant, while admiring the sun setting over the island.

So, adios Azores. Tomorrow, ola, Cadiz.