After motoring from Horta for a couple of hours, the wind sprung up and we enjoyed a further 5 hour pleasant sail to Graciosa which apart from Corvo is the smallest of the Azorean islands. The small harbour is completely full of local fishing boats and so our only option was to anchor outside. During the night, a swell built up and the boat began to sheer around and snatch on the anchor chain, which didn’t really encourage peaceful sleeping. The morning dawned bright and clear, the wind and swell abated and as by now we knew that the anchor was holding, we decided to blow up the dinghy and go ashore and explore the island. We wanted to visit the Furno do Enxofre, the cavern at the bottom of the caldera, which was first explored in 1879 by Prince Albert of Monaco.

As we wandered around the very pleasant, little town of Praia, we spotted a taxi waiting outside one of the red onion-shaped domed windmills which have been restored and turned into holiday apartments. The driver, yet another Azorean who had emigrated to Canada and then returned to the islands, told us he was early for a pick-up and agreed to run us the 4 kms up to the caldera, saving us the uphill slog. 180 steps down a spiral staircase took us right into the huge cavern, with sulphurous smells, a bubbling muddy pool venting carbon dioxide and, far below us, a lake cloaked in haze. We had to stay in the upper part of the cavern as the atmosphere above the lake is toxic with the heavy poisonous gases; clever back-lighting gave the whole place an ethereal feel. We hiked back up to the rim of the caldera and then had a pleasant downhill walk back to the harbour for lunch. Coming back down to the harbour we passed a family having an alfresco lunch and they invited us to share a glass of wine with them. We had left ‘ Flinette ’ our dinghy, inside the fishing harbour and we got chatting to the fishermen as they unloaded their catch of Goraz ( Black Spot Sea Bream ). They kindly offered us some fish and absolutely refused to accept any payment. We have been greatly impressed by just how friendly the people are throughout the islands.

Back on board, we had an early night anticipating an early departure to Terceira. Shortly after midnight, the wind and swell destroyed our repose and it felt like we were sleeping inside a washing machine; we have been in worse anchorages, but not many!

We left at first light and had a very blustery and challenging downwind sail to Terceira; the wind was directly behind us which always makes setting the sails tricky and heavy showers scudding through meant that we were constantly having to reef the sails. We were pleased, 8 hours and 45 miles later, to be able to tie up in the calm of the marina at Angra do Heroismo, where we enjoyed the best meal of the whole trip: Goraz grilled on the BBQ accompanied by salad and a chilled, crisp white Azorean wine.

Life can be so tough!