November 2017 (by YK)

Another popular stop on a trans-Atlantic cruise itinerary is Ponta Delgada, Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal comprised of 9 islands.  The first time we were there, we just walked off the ship and walked around town. There were lots of little shops and restaurants. Of course most of the cafes near the port offered free wifi.

This time we wanted to venture out and see more of the island of San Miguel on which the capital of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, is located. My research suggested hiring a cab & sharing the cost with another couple would be a good way to go. We noticed a lot more going on right at the port with places to shop, eat or drink compared to the last time.

As we were looking for a cab, a gentleman approached us offering an 8-passenger van tour for Euro 30pp to visit Sete Citades area. As more people gathered around, he threw in another point of interest, Fire Lake, for Euro5 each extra. Eight of us went & had a great tour. He turned out to be a very knowledgeable guide.

We drove 25-30 minutes west passing through green hills to reach our first stop. Sete Citades is known as Green & Blue Lakes, but, it actually is one lake artificially divided by a bridge added by humans. Colors reflect the surrounding scenery, not the color of the water. After looking down at the lakes, we drove down to the lakeside and the village by the lakes. After some free time for snacks and a peek into the local life of dairy farmers, we were driven to the western edge of the island for a photo op.

Cows were everywhere on the island. Our guide claimed them to be real laughing cows: how can they be sad living in a place like Azores with plenty of organic food and plush playgrounds! The van hugged the southern coast of the island & passed by the port and climbed another hilly area more to the east of Ponta Delgada. Lagoa do Fogo(Lagoon of Fire) is a crater lake formed about 5 million years ago, which is considered ‘young’ as far as a caldera goes.

As we descended the hill on the north side of the lake, there was a hot spring that we could stop for. Everybody said, “no swimsuit, no go.” So we drove slowly back to the port & arrived way before our ship’s departure time. The whole tour took 4-5 hours.

 

June 2014 (by Pat)   Itinerary Link

ZHANGJIAJIE CITY

After our lake trip, we took the bus back to Zhangjiajie City, a city of about 1.5 million. Since our flight wasn’t until 10:30, YK had arranged a day hotel room for us.

After settling in to our room, we checked at the front desk for activity and restaurant information. We had noticed that the terminal for the tram to Tianmen Mountain appeared to be right in center of the city. That was the trip that they were suggesting, but we decided we needed lunch first.

At first, when we returned, we were told it was too late to take the tram to the mountain, but, when we weren’t interested in any of their other offerings, we were told we did have enough time. We paid for the tram tickets at the hotel at a small (about 15Y) discount to the usual price and received one of those tissue paper receipts. I asked if we should just show that at the ticket counter and was told we should just go with one of the young desk clerks. She took us to the tram terminal in a cab. We then sat down and waited for someone else to show up. Another woman arrived and asked for our passports. Since I know China is passport happy, I had mine, but yk did not have hers. I thought that was the end of our mountain trip, but the hotel clerk called the hotel and arranged for another clerk to bring the copy of the passport they had taken when we checked in. After she arrived with the copy, a fourth woman showed up and walked off with my passport and the copy of yk’s. Sometime later, she returned with my passport and the tickets.

Clearly the hotel had somehow received a deep discount on the tickets to make it worth the time of at least 4 people plus the expense of three separate cab rides to get us our tickets.

We headed for the tram.

TIANMEN MOUNTAIN

Tianmen means gate of heaven. The mountain is reached by means of a 7.5-kilometer cable tramway from the center of Zhangjiajie City. The trip takes about 40 minutes. After leaving the city, we traveled over a small farm community, then up the mountain. Since we left late, we were the only passengers in the eight-passenger car up the mountain.

There is a temple at the top of the mountain as well as numerous trails, including one that features a section that hangs over the edge of the mountain with a clear glass floor allowing you to look straight down at the 1000 foot drop. Somewhat disconcerting.

• Zhangjiajie National Park
• Zhangjiajie: Baofeng Lake
• Zhangjiajie: Tianmen Mountain

June 2014 (by Pat)   Itinerary Link

BAOFENG LAKE

There are several other attractions in the general area of the park, Baofeng Lake, Golden Dragon Cave, and Tianmen Mountain. Our flight to Xi’an was quite late, so, before heading back to Zhangjiajie City we headed to Baofeng Lake. We could reach it by city bus.

Admission included a boat ride on the lake, which turned out to be much shorter than we had thought. The scenery, of course, was beautiful.

Baofeng Lake proved to be the only place in the area where we encountered foreign tour groups, in this case Korean. The Koreans were very happy about the World Cup tie with Russia the previous day. Korea would have nothing more to cheer about in this World Cup.

• Zhangjiajie National Park
• Zhangjiajie: Baofeng Lake
• Zhangjiajie: Tianmen Mountain