Dear Readers,

kaum angekommen in Horta auf Faial hatten wir erstmal eine ganze Menge zu tun, um das Schiff für Catis Rückkehr herzurichten. Das Deck und Segel wollten gründlich entsalzt werden, Wäsche und Polsterbezüge gewaschen (da ebenfalls salzig …) und dann: cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. At some point the TAP plane coming from Lisbon floated over the marina towards the island and out came Cati. With a noticeably bigger stomach than when we left Nassau.

Together with friends we wanted to explore the islands of the Azores for eleven days. From our last trip we only knew Faial and Sao Miguel. However, in total the group consists of nine large islands, which come from the west (Flowers) east (Santa Maria) about 330 extend nautical miles. Visiting ALL the islands would be impossible in such a short time. Because our crew are also non-sailors with little experience (once in the Bahamas) handelt, Route planning wasn't that easy, Because of course I wanted to keep the distances as small as possible, but at the same time work out an exciting and varied tour. So that there is enough time for sightseeing and relaxation everywhere, That's why I only chose four islands.

Cati is barely there, Let's get started on provisions. I stowed water in bottles and canisters in a borrowed car immediately after arriving in Horta. In order to get the fresh supplies, we have to climb the hill to the Continente supermarket a few times on the last two days before the friends arrive and drag everything there. How comfortable it was in the Bahamas, when we always had a rental car during the short layover times when changing crews and were able to drive to the boat. Shopping in Portugal is pure joy. Everything is incredibly cheap! In any case, if you come from the Bahamas... We really have to hold back, not to panic buy.

The next day our crew lands. Kai and Katha, Rolf, Christine and Juli move into our three free cabins. Full house. Pardon, Boot. Until now, we had mostly used Juli's cabin as a cargo space, but we did it, to store all the equipment somewhere else and between spare towels and bedding, Drucker, First aid kit, To build a fully-fledged cabin using spare parts and workshop manuals.

Horta is quickly explored the following day. We forego a rental car and a tour to the volcano, because there are a few better ones at the end of the trip on Sao Miguel, bigger and more beautiful. Of course we return to an obligatory one in the evening “Gin do Mar” in Peters Cafe Sport, the historic sailing bar where sailors from all over the world have been coming 101 pilgrimage for years.

When we left the port the next morning, The sea greets us with a leaden calm. An Azores high has settled over the islands and the machines have to get going, um die 23 miles to the neighboring island of Sao Jorge. On the starboard it towers over us imposingly 2350 Meter hohe Pico, the (randomly) on the island of the same name. I only know this much about Sao Jorge from the manuals, that they too “Cheese Island” is called, 53 Kilometers long and only about 8500 has residents. But twice as many cows!

The port of Velas works, as if it had been blasted directly into the rock, which rises several hundred meters high right next to it. The harbor master is incredibly nice and on the ball. He gave us the last place at the end of a jetty. In doing so, we are essentially closing the port. We search the place that same evening, Get us a few burger patties and dig the gas grill out of the back drawer in the evening.

As we sit in the cockpit with red wine in the evening, we realize, that with the dusk above us a flock of birds has secured their perches on the slopes. There are more and more. Dozens, if not hundreds! And they are getting louder and louder. The confusion seems strange. Completely different, than we have ever heard from birds. “Wacka-wacka-wacka” and “Ouch-ouch-ouch”. A little bit, a friend commented on Facebook the following day, “Like Mickey Mouse on LSD”. Later in the evening, when we were lying in bed, Cati kept bursting out laughing, when such a creature flutters past our window and... “Ouch-ouch-ouch” roars and sounds like Mickey Mouse fell on his face. Sample? Please:

There is an impressive house at the top of the mountain, surrounded by high walls. It looks like a prison. But with such a view? We decide without further ado, that there is a bar inside and want to go up there. In fact, we google it, that there should be a restaurant there. Also: Rauf too! However, the path up is steep. And we have two pregnant women with us, that takes time and energy. Then we get caught in a cold rain shower and are all soaking wet, when we finally get to the top of the mountain. The view is fantastic. The restaurant appears to be attached to a bullring. But to our horror it is closed. Only opens at 16 Clock. Three more hours. It's been cold and wet for too long for us. So back to the boat. On the way, the girls discover a tiny bakery. Actually, it's more of a window into an older woman's kitchen, which sells all sorts of delicious pastries. Hungry, a large package of delicious things is put together. And they are completely amazed, that it should only cost a few euros. Portugal. You have to love it.

The next morning we cast off and set the gennaker. The wind is just enough, around us 5 to 6 To push nodes east. As we round the eastern tip of Sao Jorge and head towards Terceira, However, he falls completely asleep and I start the engine. Shortly afterwards there was a big alarm on deck: “Delfiiiiine!” Actually, a school of at least 20 Animals play around our ship for a good half an hour. A Dane, motoring within shouting distance, looks over with envy, as the animals keep hopping between our hulls and our crew applauds. They ignore him. The animals come so close to us, that we could almost touch them and lie on their backs and sides and look at each other. The beeping can also be clearly heard. An incredible spectacle.

Kurz vor “Shop closing time” we arrive in Angra do Heroismo. Short: Angra. There is no more space on the jetty for a seven meter wide cat, therefore we are transported to the commercial shipping pier, right next to one 80 Meter-long offshore patrol boat of the Portuguese Navy. “You can lie there, but I warn you”, the harbor master tells me at check-in, “The day after tomorrow is Portugal Day and that's where the ship will be 21 Fire a salute. Cover your ears.”

The city is picturesque and beautiful. The many ancient houses, colorful and well-kept gardens, … We walk and marvel, climb a hill in the middle of the city and enjoy the view over the bay. Below us the marina and a beach with deep brown lava sand. On the second day we hike through the nature reserve on the island next to the city and also climb this hill, from which there is an even greater view of the city. And it's shooting everywhere in the hinterland, we constantly see clouds of smoke rising. The Portuguese like to shoot, when there is something to celebrate. As a highlight, the patrol boat actually shoots next to us 13 times. Load inhibition? Wir wissen es nicht. We take refuge in the hull, because our eardrums are almost bursting outside.

In the afternoon of the second full day in Angra we sail east with half wind. The wind falls asleep and we start a machine, that pushes us into the night, while the moon rises in its wake. A wonderful picture.

The night trip is a great experience for everyone. Just 100 We have to cover nautical miles to Ponta Delgada on Sao Miguel and I'm very happy, that the sea is so smooth. I prefer calm to headwind. One machine is enough, around us 5 Knots to maintain speed. Cati and I take turns being on watch and every now and then someone from our crew comes on deck, to enjoy the starry sky and look for the Milky Way. Pretty much exactly 19 We circle the harbor wall of Ponta Delgada for hours and see one on the AIS “Maverick”. What a coincidence. It's Mark Slats, who sailed in the new edition of the Golden Globe Race last year. Together with the only female participant, Susie Goodall, he is now on the regatta course and racing “PUNISHMENT” (Azores and Back) sailed here. However, he crosses the finish line drifting.

We want to see a lot on Sao Miguel and have therefore reserved two rental cars. The next day we rumble into the mountains with two small Nissan Micras, to visit the Sete Cidades volcanic crater. From the top you have a great view of the two lakes down in the valley. One blue, one green.

What excites me almost more than the view is a sight right next to it: An old hotel ruin, right at the top of the peak. It is said to have once been one of the most beautiful hotels in Portugal. But it had barely been in operation for a year and was 1986 permanently closed due to lack of customers and bankruptcy. Apparently no one was aware of this when the hotel was built, that it's good 250 Days of the year disappeared into the clouds...

Because you didn't know, whether it would be operational again at some point, patrolled until about 2012 a security guard with a dog on the premises. Today, however, it has fallen into disrepair and for a ruin romantic like me, there was of course no stopping it. “We have to get in there!” Former fences had long been removed from the increasing number of curious tourists and all doors were open. A mystical image. Completely abandoned and all interior walls covered in moss. Definitely even worse with clouds.

Up from the roof, the view over the crater is even more impressive than from the viewing platform. But compared to some ruins in the Bahamas, this one looks more like a building in ruins, because all furniture and other fixtures have long since been removed. After an extensive photo tour and shortly before leaving the hotel, I discover a basement staircase. And a door with the inscription “Don't enter. Death lurks here”. Of course that makes you curious...

Only in the light of four dimly glowing cell phone lamps do we set off into the catacombs of the old hotel. It's pitch black, moist, modrig. Again and again, indefinable shadows flit through the meager cones of light. There are holes in the floor everywhere. We wade through puddles and mud. Nevertheless, we explore every room, every junction, until we find an abandoned theater in the far corner. A great adventure.

The second day on Sao Miguel is spent looking for food. And we have precise ideas about it: Meat, cooked in a caldeira. That source of boiling water, that bubble from the mountains all over the island. There should be something like this specifically in Furnas. So we head there, in the eastern third of the island. According to the Internet, the valley has its own microclimate, in which plants grow, which would otherwise not thrive in this geographical latitude. Exciting!

We can see the columns of water vapor rising from the distance at Lago de Furnas. We've come to the right place. You want three euros per person for entry. But it's worth it, because we find ourselves in a very strange mythical world. The hot springs are there, next to it is the lake from which air bubbles rise. Animals everywhere in between. Either, Geese, Katzen. Very trusting and curious. Everything is surrounded by green fields with the obligatory ruins.

Where are we here?? An enchanted place. A drone hovers above us. In Portugal there are not many rules regarding this. No comparison with Germany. And so I get my drone out of the trunk and let it fly. Hover over the many holes, which are drilled into the ground next to the hot springs. Aha, So this is where the food is cooked. Pots of meat and vegetables are lowered there, covered with earth and then 6 Stunden cooked for a long time. Auweia, On the return flight I hit turbulence, as I fly through a column of water vapor. The drone staggers, but catches himself.

Afterwards we visit the Terra Nostra Park, that one American consul per year 1780 founded. Even the journey there feels like it, as if we were in the middle of South America. Trees grow in the park, Flowers and fruits from all over the world. Imported tropical plants. Why do you plant them here?? Weil “it works”. They just grow in the microclimate there in the valley, as if they were in the tropics. The park's greatest spectacle, however, is a large swimming pool with natural thermal water. Bathtub temperature, 38 Grad. Of course we have to go in there. Into the brown broth. Wonderful. But we can't get the sandy-clay yellow paste completely off our skin, even after showering, let alone out of your bathing clothes.

Of course, in Furnas we also order a few portions of Cozido. Any meat from the earth oven. Tasty looks different. But it does taste good. Rind, Pig, chicken, plus potatoes, carrots and cabbage. And then something very strange: Tongue. Try out? The boys dare, but are not enthusiastic. I pass. I had a tongue years ago. Accidentally. Thought it was a really thin fillet of beef.

We have set ourselves another tight program for the last full day. In the morning we drive to the north of the island to the tea factory “Cha Gorreana. Highly impressive, like there with good 150 Years old machines and leather belt drive tea is dried and packaged. Homegrown tea, right outside the door in our own tea fields. The last tea factory in Europe.

Next we head up into the mountains to Caldeira Velha, because we want to bathe. This time in clean water. A waterfall, that comes straight from the mountain. Unfortunately the water is also quite cold. It comes from far above. But a little further down, the same water flows through a hot spring and warms up. Shortly below, bathtubs have been carved into the rock and the water is loose 30 Grad warm. That's enough for me. I don't even want to go out anymore. Because the air temperature is only about 18 Grad.

A few streets further down the mountain and then back up there is an old hydroelectric power station. Als wir 2016 were on the island, has us our Guide Victor taken there. I find the spot again using Google Earth. And it's still a great spot. Totally secluded, without tourism. This time I also have the drone with me and let it fly.

Actually, three highlights are enough for one day. We still have one on our list: There are said to be tunnels in the south of the island, where the residents hid during a war. We don't know any more. Not even in which war. But the information is enough. That's where we want to go. You are on one of the many hiking trails, but even the starting point is difficult to find and the caves are hidden somewhere behind fields and meadows. The rental car has to be back in a few hours.

But with ours (mittlerweile) We manage to cover part of the hiking trail in fully off-road Nissan Micras and start close to the first tunnel. The hiking trail looks like something straight out of a Disney film. We walk along a slope and look down into a green gap between the mountains. In between there are hundreds of years old masonry and aqueducts, which have completely become vegetation. At the end of the path we find a huge waterfall and another way back, this time completely in the valley of the gorge. A final moss-covered tunnel leads us back to the field, where we parked our cars. And we are back at the rental car station just in time.

A great vacation with a great crew comes to an end. A great crew? One of the greatest in all these years. We had a lot of fun, to be on the road with you. And in general: The wonderful thing about the boat is actually way too big, to be able to be hosts and bring friends into our lives. Join us on our adventures. It's actually a shame, that this will all come to an end soon. But everything has its time.

But before returning to German country life, love is still good 2500 nautical miles ahead of me. The next stage (1350 NM) I will now take myself to Scotland with one hand. I'm curious, whether I can still do it after all these years.