Dry Crater

Most of the islands in the Azores were formed as a result of volcanic activity. Most all the volcanoes have gone dormant since then, but their impact on the topography can not be ignored. 

This crater, known as the Dry Crater, is massive! The sides of this creation look like cliffs, and the bottom of it is flat as a pancake. What was once a fiery pit of inferno has now become a lush hole in the ground. 

While this is called the “Dry” Crater, we did notice a lake that formed in the right side of it, though this was right after a massive downpour the day before.

Red Right Returning

The old phrase to help you remember how to work with buoy navigation lights doesn’t always work! 

The concept is simple, red buoys on your right as you return to port, Red Right Returning. 

Red Right Returning Shirt

The problem is, not all countries work this way, and the opposite setup can also be found.  

Portugal is one such country we have found to use the opposite method. Here, the idea is that the lights to aid navigation are to match your own running lights as you return to port. So your starboard light which is green will match up to the green light on your starboard. Red light on your port. 

It pays to look at the charts before you get into new waters so that you don’t get confused and run aground, misled by the very lights that were intended to keep you safe.  

If you are cruising only in the United States, enjoy the mnemonic of Red Right Returning to keep your aids to navigation in order! 

Judging Water Depth from a Distance

Land is something we search for when out at sea, but also something that can destroy our yachts if we bump into it. How close can you get to land? 

An easy way to think of land is to ignore the water you see. Now, you will be looking at topography without the water obscuring your view. The land you see is actually just taller points of the ocean floor that managed to perforate the surface of the water. 

Since the water is out of the picture, simply visualize the land extending off into the distance. You know how deep the water you are floating in is, so you know how far down the island needs to reach to make it all the way to the oceans floor. If the edge of the land comes in steep, then it is safe to interpret that the topography will continue on its steep path all the way down into the water. If the land comes in nice and gradually, then you can assume that it will also continue to proceed at a slight slope under the water.  

Steep land means that it will probably be very deep right up to the waters edge, while slow and gradual land will be shallow far from shore.  

With these ideas in mind, you can figure out how safest to navigate around land masses. Steep cliffs will be deep but the landmass can destroy your hull, while gradual shores will be shallow (and provide a bottom that your anchor could possibly reach). 

Beach Bull

It seems that cows have free reign in the Azores. We came across a cow that was standing in the middle of the highway because it wanted to eat the grass that was growing on the side of the road. This bull was not tied to anything, and could easily have charged us, but it was just eating grass while it looked at the waves breaking on the cobblestone beach. 

The bull seemed pretty calm and relaxed, but I would still not recommend grabbing this bull by the horns!

Poço Ribeiras do Ferreiro, Again!

These waterfalls are considered to be the most gorgeous waterfalls in all of the Azores, and there are a lot of waterfalls on these islands! 

A few days ago, we saw them for the first time and were in awe at their beauty. Today, the weather was clearer and bits of blue sky were poking through the clouds. We decided to see them again, in the morning sunlight. 

Sometimes, when you see something amazing and then go away, your mind can manipulate your memory and exaggerate what you thought you saw. Upon returning to see it again, you might become disappointed because it is a far cry from what you thought was there. Reality can hurt like that sometimes. 

These falls did not disappoint! It had been a few days since we last saw them and they were, honestly, more spectacular the second time around! Instead of filming and recording everything we do when we first got there for our YouTube channel, we just sat there and took it in.  

Sitting on a small boulder that is jutting up out of the ground as you gaze upon the power of the waterfall will clear your mind and make you realize that no matter how hard you struggle, time will flow on, and it will work itself out in the end.  

The water that was calmly flowing through the river suddenly comes to a cliff and freefalls several hundred feet. Wind will push it one way or another trying to pull it in untold directions as the water falls. In the end, the water will reach the bottom and continue flowing on as it once was, with the chaos of the fall a distant memory in its long journey of life.