20060423 - Ponta Delgado, Azores

After 6 days at sea we arrived in Ponta Delgado, Azores. The Azores are a Portuguese archipelago (group of islands) about 2000 miles from New York and 1000 miles from Portugal (in other words in the middle of no-where). Since we did not know much about the Azores we decided to take a ships excursion tour through the city and on to Sete Cidades (a lake in a volcano crater on the island). The tour was very interesting, especially as the guide talked about the island culture on our way back to town. The islands have a mix of local and Portuguese government. They have very little unemployment, most kids opt for technical schooling after high school instead of university. Teachers have a relatively high unemployment rate. They also have a high minimum wage. After the tour we walked a bit more around the town.