We could have booked better connecting flights from Graciosa to Toronto, but the inter-island flights are sometimes delayed or canceled due to weather. So I had scheduled a couple nights in Ponta Delgada as a buffer.
Our last time through the Azores in 2019, we spent five days on San Miguel island, but it was all about seeing the natural wonders of the island. We only went into Ponta Delgada for dinners. So this also gave us a chance to see the capital.
Ponta Delgada is sometimes described as the town that is a city. It has all the things you’d expect in a big city - a central plaza, a boardwalk along the waterfront, pedestrian-only streets, hip restaurants and bars, museums - but everything is within walking distance. Even the airport is just a ten minute drive.
We were lucky that there were no cruise ships in port today. Some days, these can dump over 5,000 tourists into the town. It’s almost impossible to get into restaurants during this time.
We walked over to the main plaza and visited Igreja Matriz de São Sebastião. Then we took more pics in the plaza, this time with a blue sky in the background. It was a pleasant day, 16C that felt like 16C. We were too used to the high winds and rain in Graciosa and Terceira where it was 16C-feels-like-3C, that we overdressed with both our puffy jackets and windbreakers. We shed both of those quickly.
Next we climbed up the clock tower. The last bit is a narrow spiral staircase, which we barely fit in, and we’re not big people. I could see this being a major bottleneck when cruise ships are in port. There’s a cool view from up top of the water fountain in the plaza below, the city, and the port.
We could see a large church in the distance so that’s where we headed next. Turned out the church bordered on the same park as Santuário do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, the focal point of the festival.
Nearby was Forte de São Brás, another site on my list to see. We circled around trying to find the entrance. It houses the Military Museum of Azores, 5 EUR entry cash-only. We bought our tickets and entered.
The museum is well-mapped out for independent visiting. Some of the exhibits are in the old tunnels of the ramparts, which were cool to walk through. I’m not much for military museums, although they did have a nice collection of old minesweepers and communication equipment. Someone into this stuff could probably spend a couple hours wandering through. They also had some art interspersed throughout, which I found more interesting. The main attraction for me though was walking up top of the ramparts, and the views from there.
We had lunch at a very local diner, with only four tables and three stools at the bar. We ordered two bifanas and were able to get seats at the bar. After we ordered two espressos and a chocolate mousse. The mousse wasn’t on the menu, but one of the regulars had ordered one and we saw the owner pull out the tray from the fridge. The food was excellent and we didn’t overeat.
The diner was right across the street from Portugal Nice Things, a souvenir shop with some cool stuff. We bought a bunch of nice things.
We dropped off the souvenirs at the hotel and then did some more souvenir shopping. There’s a four block neighbourhood that is artsy and are branding themselves as a place to shop. It reminded us of Leslieville before it gentrified, when the local boutiques distributed flyers showing the location of all the shops along Queen St E. Anyways bought of few more things.
We had dinner at Pedro Homen Bîstro. We had a regional assortment of cheeses as an appetizer, and then the mixed grill (flank steak and striploin), both of which were excellent. It was a nice way to end our ten week trip.
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