Horta, Azores, Portugal

Seas reaching six meters but fortunately in same director as ship's travel from our very stable low and midships suite on 4 Deck

Barbara all alone for breakfast pastries. Passengers in high, forward suites seemed not to want to mingle during rough sea day

Looking for land after crossing from Bermuda to Azores

Pico Volcano, Azores as we approach Horta on neighboring island

Downtown Horta, Azores

Colorful "local" was actually fellow Silver Spirit passenger from the UK

Quaint street, Horta

Weather Observatory built by Prince of Monaco, Horta, Azores

Park, Horta

Black swans, Horta

Silver Spirit alongside in small Horta

Monday - 28 April 2014 - Horta

The view out our window was a bit daunting during the crossing due to up to 45 knot winds and 5 to 6 meter high seas, but the ship stayed stable due to the captain's excellent navigation aided by a very favorable direction of the swell and fully deployed stabilizers. Actually, the ship didn't even pitch but just slowly went up and down, kind of an hotel that was an elevator. Kind of. See, our suite 417 is as low and as midships as can be. Any pitching or rolling of the ship is not evident so near the pivot point of the ship. Passengers in the much more expensive high up and far forward suites could get an "E-Ticket" ride. But we didn't.

After all our days at sea crossing the Atlantic Barbara seemed to be gazing for land, and we found that a quite a few of our fellow passengers were not around to enjoy the amenities of the ship. After four full days and two half days of this remarkably smooth crossing of the Atlantic, we arrived at Horta on the island of Faial in central group of the archipelago of the Azores at noon. Not booking a tour for this short stop here we took a 3 mile or so walk that pretty much took in the sleepy town known for the summer traffic in yachts which stop here on their way to other places where they stop each summer.

Highlights of the walk was a sign pointing to the location of a weather station donated long ago by the first Prince Albert (of Monaco), people watching on the narrow streets (turned out the strange Hora citizen was really an English lady who was a fellow passenger of our ship), a volcanic rock landscaped park with black swans in it, and a pretty view of our ship in the very small harbor.

It was nice to be on land and stretch our legs. The half day stop in Hora was about right, as most residents of this island might be thinking as well. We sailed at 7 pm for Ponta Delgada, the administrative center 180 east of Horta to arrive at 8 am the next morning.