Ponta Delgada; Friday, 24 May, 2019

My flight time was such that I was able to have a bit of a relaxed morning and so was probably the last guest down to breakfast, which meant that the choice was quite limited.

After packing the few things I’d taken out of my bag away I headed down to reception, checked out and picked up my cab back to the airport.

In 2018 this was the point where everything had gone wrong, but then the winds had been really strong, and it was a lot calmer this morning. Arriving at the check in desk I was happy to see that they were checking people in for the flight, and even letting us through into departures. I still wasn’t completely sure we were going to make it until our SATA plane touched down on the runway, bang on schedule, and taxied to the terminal.

Another uneventful flight as we crossed the Atlantic for two hours to get to the Azores, topped off by a stunning approach and landing into Ponta Delgada airport.

As both Madeira and the Azores are parts of Portugal it was a very quick journey through the airport as it was a domestic flight – even if we were nearly 4 hours flying time from mainland Portugal. Through to arrivals and another person standing there with a name board for me. My taxi very quickly zipped me down into Ponta Delgada and dropped me off near my accommodation – not actually able to drive up to the door as I’d booked an apartment on a pedestrianised street!

Checked in and with my bags dumped in my room I headed out for a wander around Ponta Delgada. It was at this point that I realised I’d managed to time my trip with some major religious festival as there were lots of decorations up, and lots of roads being closed off. It became even clearer by the time I got down to the fort at the end of the harbour and the neighbouring church and square were decked out in garlands, lights and lots of fair stalls.

I had a long walk along the sea front, down through the harbour area, and then back through town to my room where I freshened up before heading out for a quick dinner.

I had dinner in a restaurant right by the main church and city centre gate – so a perfect spot to do lots of people watching and taking in the warmth of the late spring evening. After dinner I had a short wander around the immediate area, but conscious that I needed to get up early the following morning, I headed back to my room relatively early to turn in.