Flores 

Waking to sunshine calmer seas and dolphins escorting us to the island of Flores. 

It was interesting upon arrival how the clouds hid the island. The plush terrain and landscape had cliffs on the south side as we manoeuvred our way around to the port. 

So happy to arrive and quickly realized we had been a long time at sea as we all had wobbly legs.

First order of business was some local food and fare.  

After securing some local transportation we made our way to a wonderful AirBnB on the west side of the island in the village of Fajãzinha. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to explore we got our laundry out of the way and made our way down the coastline. Exploring the natural beauty which is everywhere on this island. We had our first dinner by the ocean with the sun going down surrounded by volcanic rock and the surreal mountains that made up the island. Our next day touring the island was visiting the one coffee shop and dinner in Santa Cruz.  We admired how a small population of 3400 thrived in such a remote location. The people of the Azores were kind and welcoming. The next few days we managed to hike to remote cascading waterfalls, lakes, rivers and rolling landscapes.

After some minor provisioning, we headed to our next island of Faial.

On arriving in Horta we were greeted with a kaleidoscope of cultures that had descended on the island from around the world. It is tradition upon arrival for passing sailboats to make their mark along the sea wall. And 40 degrees North is among them. Cafe Sport has been a central gathering place for sailors for over 100 years. We are now counted among the seafarers who found comradery and good food. Above the bar is the unique skrimshaw museum that shouldn’t be missed.  The island offered both adventure on land and sea and we took advantage of both.  

With a good weather window, it was time to head to Sao Miguel Island to the port of Ponta Delgada.  

This is the largest of the islands. In my opinion, It is one of the hiking meccas of the world. We stopped at a volcanic hot spring located adjacent to the botanical gardens. What a way to relax.  

With deadlines approaching we started to prepare for our last stretch to the mainland of Portugal. 

Our route is to head northeast to Porto.