Our sail from Sao Miguel was very relaxed as we had a down wind sail in winds of around 10-16 knots so, once we had poled out the genoa, we could relax and enjoy the sunshine along the way, occasionally passing another ARC boat, which always feels good. We arrived in the early evening, just enough time to make the uphill trek to the town of Villa Do Porto, take in the view of the harbor and find some refreshment.
The airport on this island resulted from Britain, during the Second World War, invoking the 1373 Treaty of Alliance with Portugal. This enabled the allies to build a large military airport, which was the largest military/commercial in the Azores for many years, and was used post-war when commercial airlines needed to refuel on long-haul flights.
This island, known as the golden island, is much drier than the others, especially on the southern coast where we are. The cacti are abundant. It is one of the smaller islands, the oldest geologically, first one settled by the Portuguese and the only one on the African tectonic plate. With only one day to explore the island, we didn’t go far, choosing to hike along one of the paths to the east. This island is great for aerobic exercise!
Now we have departed, this time having made it to the starting line on time, for Lagos in Portugal. Winds look like they will be light most of the way so we hope there won’t be too much motoring....