Leaving Angra do Heroisma seemed premature, but leave we had to for a night passage to the next island, Sao Miguel, and the port of Ponta Delgado. The instruction was to time arrival for 9.00am when the customs office opened. We duely tied up on the hard concrete dock at 0910, and reported in, paid our dock fee and then moved over to the new marina just to the West. Inevitably, several other boats were arriving at the same time, to the racket of a massive pressure washer and much commotion on the dock. The reason; seemingly the dock was coated with a think layer of seagull guano and the detritus of many chicken leg meals. It looked like the dock had not been used for months, but the dock lads assured us that if the cleaning had been done the day before, it would have looked the same. Hmmm, not sure about that!

What a mess,however a day later and given the opportunity to dry, it did not seem so bad!

First order of the day? Isabell reported an itchy eye, so another trip to an Atlantic healthcare establishment, on Portugal National day to boot. Taxi to hospital, a remarkably quick triage and consultation, taxi to pharmacy, taxi to a second pharmacy (stock out) and a taxi back to the marina. Thankfully the taxi rides cost just 5 Euros, and in the spirit of getting to know the locals, I asked one, what he normally did on National Day (like July 4!)?

Answer: "work" I tried again with our young driver: "What would your mother like you to do?" Answer: "work" End of conversation!

Later that evening, we enjoyed an incongruous evening 10 pin bowling. A fun evening with our fellow sailors, with a couple of beers.

A strange end to a long day, before crashing into bed.