Tag Archives: Ponta Delgada

Still in Sete Cidades for the beginning of today’s article, but not for long. And today we say goodbye to São Miguel Island and the Azores. For after the Azores, Brilliance of the Seas headed across the pond to Tampa, Florida, whereupon we would stay aboard for another adventure further south and 1,200 years into the past. But for now, let us continue to explore Sete Cidades, particularly the wonderful Church of St. Nicholas (Igreja de São Nicolau):

While the exterior of St. Nicholas is charming, and well framed by the surrounding trees, the interior is much more subdued. Nevertheless, it retains a certain picturesque quality because of the rich wood beams and similarly stained wood pews beneath:

We now have one more destination of this tour before returning to Brilliance of the Seas and a fond farewell to São Miguel Island and the Azores. This is Miradouro da Ponta do Escalvado, a great photo stop on the west coast of São Miguel Island:

This viewpoint sits atop pyroclastic cliffs, and the views of the deep blue ocean is stunning. That’s especially so because of the rocks protruding offshore above the surface of the water:

On Wednesday I will present to you a very different experience. Until then, I’ll leave you with this photo gallery and slide show of Miradouro da Ponta do Escalvado:

In the above photo you can once again see the two distinct twin lakes. Green Lagoon (Lagoa Verde) lies to the left, and Blue Lagoon (Lagoa Azul) to the larger lake to the left. But I came here for the real scenic beauty, and here she is:

There is much of interest to photograph in this twin lake, and I found the Blue Lagoon the more fascinating of the two:

I think part of this had to do with that interesting peninsula jutting out into the blue waters. Zooming in on it there appears to be a road along the right (eastern) perimeter, and a small building and a garden to the left just before the trees:

Up here on the lookout you’ll find something else to image with your camera. That would be the lush vegetation and colorful flowers:

On Monday I promised you a view from that road that separates the Blue Lagoon from the Green Lagoon. Our tour guide took advantage of a narrow pullout at the west end of this narrow crossing and pulled our van over at this point. From here we got out and I snagged one last image of the Blue Lagoon, but this image was taken at a lake level: