Spirit of Discovery blog

After five days crossing the Atlantic the ‘green jewel’ island of Sao Miguel was a welcome sight, rising from depths of over 2700m! The island is formed of a series of ancient volcanic massifs. The largest of these, Sete Cicadas cradles two picturesque lagoons, one blue, the other bright green! Many of our tours headed here from our berth in the city of Ponta Delgada to take in the 2-mile-wide caldera!

The theme of volcanic activity is present everywhere you look in city: The pavements and many of the older buildings like the city gates and beautiful church of São Sebastião are constructed using porous volcanic rock, and whilst the last major eruption was some time ago, geothermal energy has today been harnessed to provide the island with over 60% of its electricity.

The last port of a such a long cruise is always bitter sweet, being homeward bound but leaving the sun behind as the many beautiful islands become fond memories to cherish…or until our next visit!

We did have a last, very special treat, as Ponta Delgada faded astern of Spirit of Discovery. The Orca team has sailed diligently with us to the Caribbean and back, braving Deck 14 forward in all weathers, recording and educating guests and crew alike on the marine life we have encountered during our voyage. As a reward, we sighted a lone Blue Whale, on an even longer journey than ours, a fantastic cherry on top for our Springtime in the Caribbean.

Kind Regards
Captain Darin Bowland, MSc