Sunday 19thApril
Ponta Delgada, The Azores
This is our last port before we return to the U.K. The morning started cloudy and cool but by the time we went ashore it was soon warm enough to take off my jacket. The town here is full of lovely buildings in black and white. Also the roads and pavements are in black and white mosaic. On the front near the city gates we saw lots of runners waiting to start their race. We watched the start of the race before walking up to the higher part of town to the botanical gardens. We had hoped to visit the gardens we went to two years ago but they were closed so we went into the Jose do Canto Gardens that were next door. These gardens date back to the 19th century and were lovely. In the gardens were some lovely and very old Moreton Bay Fig trees with some amazing roots. The photo shows me standing amongst these roots. I haven't seen roots quite like this before! We had a lovely time in the gardens and then wandered around the town. By the afternoon it was quite sunny and we sat in the sunshine having a drink just by the beautiful St. Sebastian church. We finished our day by taking a walk along the waterfront. Back on the ship we have three sea days until we reach Southampton and the end of our trip.