Oh the Places I Have Been - My Column - June 1, 2012

The first port of call on our transatlantic cruise was Ponta Delgada in the Azores in Portugal. The streets and pavements of the island were cobblestone, which were very tiring on our feet and we dodged traffic as most of the streets were only wide enough for one very small car and the sidewalks were wide enough for one person to walk. There were only a few street lights and they were attached to buildings on the side of the narrow roads. This island was interesting. At the end of the island was Music Park and Christ our Lord Church. We went in to find the most beautiful church with an ornate gold ceiling and altar area in the front and a beautiful chapel behind gates in the rear. We sat quietly, thanked God for the safe trip and the opportunity. Workers were putting light bulbs, like Christmas lights, all over the exterior of the churches in town, which we later found out were in preparation for a religious festival that would start on May 11th and last a week. Unfortunately, there was an American man from another ship in port, in the church speaking loudly. A parishioner tried to quiet him and the man became belligerent and abusive saying he was Atheist and did not have to behave with all the Christian idols, etc. and continued to tell the parishioner to go to hell! I ducked as I waited for the lightning bolt! Hello….why are you even in a church if you don’t believe? Evidently, no matter where you go, there are rude people! Do nutty people follow me? We continued to walk the cobblestone streets and found a marketplace of sorts where meat, vegetables, live chickens and rabbits, and fresh fish were being sold to locals. My husband and I could not believe the size of the heads of cabbage and the carrots! They we abnormally huge but looking at the green fertile mountain area on the island, it was no wonder. My husband said the smell of the market brought back memories of his days in Colombia and the market he visited as a child with his mother. After the market, we found Saint Thomas's church which was tiny but had very old paintings on wooden boards on the wall that depicted scenes of Thomas. advertisement We then walked further to the town plaza where we shopped and then sat and had beer and coffee and yes, I had the coffee! At noon, the bells in Saint Sebastian church in the square began to peel. It was beautiful to hear and see the actual bells ringing. A drum corp consisting of school children then came by with two large puppets in the form of a man and woman. They were entertaining to say the least. A thirty minute horse and carriage tour followed wherein we were provided with liqueurs that are made on the island. We tasted pineapple, blackberry and passion fruit. While on the island we took advantage of a café with free internet and sent a few e-mails. The weather on the island was in the 50’s and 60’s but sunny. As we were leaving port, rain moved in so we opened our balcony door and watched as we traveled the length of the island. Beautiful rainbows soon bounced off the water and we both were very thankful for another wonderful day.