Horta

Now we had time to relax and catch up on sleep before exploring the island. Pat flew in to join us about 6 hours after we arrived which meant she could take part in the island tour.

The Azores are very volcanic and the area still has some activity in places. We came to a place on the tour where the land was younger than the skipper!

The island is very green with lots of rain – it reminds me of the Scottish islands

Then it was time for a good meal – so we stopped at Peter’s bar which soon became a habit.

Next morning Nick dragged the skipper off diving.

The water was cold but the visibility was excellent and the underwater geology was terrific.

Suddenly we spotted this enormous octopus with a head as large as a human’s. It was out in the open so we played with it for a while. Largest one I’ve ever seen.

 Of course being an island in the middle of the Atlantic, Horta is one of those crossroads for sailors from all over the world. You have to leave your mark on the harbour wall.

And there we have the finished result

Some of the wall paintings are unbelievably good and there must be some really talented artists amongst the sailing population.

Now Graham is more of a mountain man than a water baby so the day after he dragged Nick off to the neighbouring island of Pico to climb the volcano.

They got a taxi half way up and then had to slog it out for another 3 hours to reach the summit.

But all too soon it was time to say goodbye to Graham. So we all went out for a slap up meal – Graham’s treat – thanks mate.

And then he was gone leaving us to sail the next 1,000 miles without him.

Paul - Peejay