Is the Azores High: a) a stable high pressure system forming annually in the eastern Atlantic, or b) the good feeling you get after your first proper hot shower in 10 days?
Both of the above. I thoroughly enjoyed our passage from Cap Verde and was almost reluctant to make landfall, but the Azores have turned out to be a very pleasant stopover in our journey back to the UK. Yesterday we hired a car and went to explore the island of San Miguel, a compact heap of volcanic cones piled up on each other, dotted with pretty little Portuguese-style villages. The lush green countryside seemed especially vivid after days and days of blue skies and blue seas.
It’s lucky that we made the most of the fine weather yesterday, as a gale blew up overnight, filling the marina with the din of clanking rigs and clashing fenders. So today will be an admin day of laundry, provisioning, and checking the weather forecast to see when we can set sail and depart on the final leg of Russ’s two-year circumnavigation.