We arrived in Terciera after a 90 mile sail up from Sao Miguel. To quote the guide book.

 

“To speak of Terceira is to speak of the history of its capital Angra do Heroismo (Angra for short), which became one of the most important Portuguese and Spanish trade centres of the 16th Century. Listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site as an example of a Renaissance city….today over eighty percent of its historical buildings date back to the sixty years it remained under Spanish rule. Today, arriving at Angra is like travelling back to the 16th century. Forming an amphitheatre with its harbour as its stage, the city expands in an intricate network of streets full of palaces, churches and convents”. It really is impressive, and our photos probably don’t do it justice.

 

The marina was small but welcoming. Unfortunately we seem to have arrived in these island when the weather is unusually bad!  Windy with a cloud base  about 300 feet. We hired a car anyway and toured the island, but all of the volcanic centre was shrouded in a thick mist.  There is a huge NATO base here: it is quite incongruous to come across what seems like a large American town plonked down in these islands. We got a bit lost close to the base, and within moments a US Police truck was shadowing us!