The Azores is an archipelago made up of 9 islands and are located 850 miles west of Portugal and are what the Portuguese call the “mainland”. Punta Delgada is the capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, is located on the island of Sao Miguel, and is the largest and most populous in the archipelago with a population of 67,287.
PUNTA DELGADA, AZORES, PORTUGAL
The Emerald Princess docked in Punta Delgada on Saturday April 23, 2022 at 8am. I stepped off the gangway at Cais Portas do Mar and looked down at my cellphone. The time was 8:10am.
On previous trips to the Azores I viewed Sete Cidades, the dormant volcano where the famous blue and green twin lagoons lie. I also enjoyed a stop at Furnas, situated inside the crater of the volcano. I experienced a traditional lunch, cooked only with the steam of the earth. Weather prediction for April 23, 2022 was overcast and raining. If this held true then you would be unable to see or experience the Sete Cidades. This is, in fact, what fellow passengers confirmed to me once I was back on board. In their words, “I couldn’t see a thing on the trip and feel it was a waste of money.” I was instantly pleased on me decision to stay in port.
A tourist information office is located at Av. Infante Dom Henrique. My GPS indicated it was ½ mile and would take me about 10 minutes to walk so I set off. I strolled slowly along the boardwalk so it actually took 20 minutes. Unfortunately, it was Saturday and the tourist office wasn’t open so be sure to check your dates and times of operation.
Just past the tourist office on the same side of the street you will find Dotto Trains. These cute little green open-air trains have operated in Punta Delgada since 2001, offering 4 different tours.
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| My walking route from the port to the Dotto Train |
I arrived just prior to 9am so took the "Gardens Tour" first. The 1 hour trip cost 8 euros. They do offer discounted fares and children under 2 are FREE. This is NOT a hop on hop off type of train. Commentary was in English. They do not offer any discount for taking multiple trips in a day so plan on 8 euros for each tour. All tours start and end at the Lagarta Kiosk, Avenida Infante D. Henrique 9500 Ponta Delgada.
Some of my favorite pictures from the "Gardens Tour".
I remained on the train once we arrived back at the Lagarta Kiosk and took the "History Tour" which included Campo de Sao Francisco, City Gates an Grace Market, arriving back at the Lagarta Kiosk at 11am. Sights from the History Tour.
From the Lagarta Kiosk I walked up Av. Roberto Ivens to the Beer House. A local told me this was a beer factory but upon arrival found it closed.
I decided to start making my way back to the port and ended up stopping at Facaccia Restaurant Bar where I found a local beer for 2.50 euros.
As I continued on toward the pier I passed several small sundry shops and supermarkets. All aboard was 4:30p
with a 5:00pm sailing with our next port Lisbon.
LISBON, PORTUGAL
Arrival into Lisbon was Monday April 25, 2022 at noon. Before leaving the Emerald Princess I first made my way to the onboard Da Vinci Dining Room for lunch. I ended up stepping off the ship at 1:10pm, stopping briefly inside the cruise terminal to send emails via the complimentary wifi.
My plan for the day was to take both the blue route and the purple route on the hop on hop off Yellow Bus.
First order of business was to exchange my voucher for a ticket. I walked from the cruise port to the Arco da Rua Augusta at the Praca do Comercio, a harbor-facing plaza and one of Lisbon's largest. The distance is 0.7 mile and will take between 15-20 minutes. Once there I spotted the small Yellow Bus kiosk. It was located in the northwest corner of the square. I assumed this would be where I would exchange my voucher but that was a wrong assumption.
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| Yellow Bus Kiosk Photo: Public Domain |
The young lady working the kiosk didn’t appear to be having a good day. I found her to be rudely abrupt, difficult to understand and brief with her responses. I was able to glean from my short discussion 1) I had to exchange my voucher with the bus driver at stop #1 and 2) the general direction to find stop #1.
I left the kiosk feeling frustrated and slightly lost but made my way to the Arc as instructed and turned left. As I passed through the Arc I was pleased to see it was a pedestrian street.
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| Entering through the Arc da Rua Augusta |
The corner street sign read “R Augusta”. I wasn’t told exactly how far to walk up this street, merely “just keep walking down that street and you will see it”. I wrongly assumed it would be within a block or two but after several stops along the way to ask if I was heading in the right direction, I finally ended up at bus stop #1 Praca da Figueria.
It ended up being eight long blocks taking
about 25 minutes as I stopped frequently for directions feeling I was totally lost. As I entered the plaza I was more than
excited to see a Yellow Bus parked across the plaza, ready
for boarding. To help you navigate from the port to Yellow Bus stop #1, here is a google map highlighting my accomplishment.
I did not find the plaza itself to be as attractive as Rossio or Commercio. It’s basically just a large, open and exposed space with a plain grid & block pattern on the paving. The main feature is the equestrian statue of King John I. Although it looks very traditional, it’s actually fairly new and was only placed there in 1971.
It appeared to be a main hub for Lisbon’s transportation system. As I walked across the plaza to catch the bus I was able to identify the metro entrance, trams coming and going, a large line of tuk-tuk’s and numerous tourist and sightseeing buses, not to mention bikes and electric scooters.
I handed my voucher to the driver, promptly received my ticket and boarded the bus, snatching up a set of earphones on my way upstairs to the top level.
The bus was very clean and in good repair. Audio commentary was available in a wide selection of languages and was delivered very clearly and was easy to understand. The upstairs open-air seating was in a 2-2 configuration. Two seats on each side with the first 3-4 rows under cover and the remaining seats open-air. We pulled away from stop #1 right on time.
I had decided to take the “Belem Blue Route” for my first tour. All routes with Yellow Bus originate from bus stop #1, located at Praca da Figueria.
Departure times vary based on the route so check the brochure carefully. The “Blue Route” operates daily from 9:30am-7:00pm (last departure) with a tour leaving every 30 minutes from stop #1. The “Blue Route” took a total of two hours to complete.
STOPS:
#6 Pc.De Espana / Gulbenkian
#11 Torre
de Belem
#12 Padrao dos Descrobrimentos
#13 MAAT
#15 Cais
do Sodre
#16 Rua
do Comercio
Here are some of the sights along the "Blue Route"
The “Modern Lisbon Purple Route” was next on my agenda so after taking a little break at a local sidewalk cafe, I boarded the “Purple Route” bus. These operate every 60 minutes from stop #1 beginning at 10:00am with a last departure at 7:00pm. This loop took 1.5 hours.
STOPS:
#3 Yellow Boat Terminal
#7 Oceanario
#9 Vasco
de Gama Shopping / FIL
#10 Torre Vasco de Gama / Hotel Myriad
#11 Campo Pequeno
#12 Restauradores
#13 Pracada Figueira
Here are some photos from the "Purple Route"
By the time I returned to Praca da Figueira plaza it was 8pm. I wanted to make a quick stop at the Museu da Cerveja which is located kitty-corner from the Yellow Bus stop #1.
As you enter the building you can go upstairs for a beer museum tour which offers a unique and multi-sensory beer experience. As you move from room to room you will journey through the evolution of beer over the last five centuries in Portugal.
Be sure you try one of the local beers along with the house special - Codfish Cake with Serra Cheese Filling. The Codfish Cake will run 6 euros.
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| Viewing window for making Codfish Cakes |
It was getting late and I still had the walk back to the ship ahead of me which was another 0.7 mile. All aboard time was 9:30pm with a sail away at 10pm. With little time to spare I stepped onto the gangway and boarded, ending another fabulous day.
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