Lukas Leddington
Sept. 9, 1995 aboard Concordia
San Miguel Island
There was a feeling of excitement onboard the Concordia when we saw land after a thirteen day transatlantic crossing. What we saw were the Azores Islands. The Captain cut the engine so the crew could take a swim a few miles out from Pico Island. The next day we hit our destination, San Miguel, the largest and most populated island of the Azores. The Concordia docked in the city harbor of Ponta Delgada around noon time. We spent the first day ashore roaming the island and experiencing their culture.
Our second day was spent touring the island with a local guide. We took a bus to the many interesting sights that San Miguel had to offer. Our first stop along the tour was a magnificent lake set on top of an ancient volcano. What was interesting about this particular lake was that the temperature was about twenty-four degrees Celsius year round because of the sulfur hot springs.
Many of the hot springs are located on the North side of the island. Further up the hillside there was yet another spring, however, this spring was about ninety-eight degrees Celsius. (It is a tradition in San Miguel to put meat and vegetables in a hole near the boiling water for three to five hours while the food cooks and have a big dinner.)
Our next stop was a tea factory. The tea is grown, dried, and packaged on the island. This is also true with pineapple and tobacco. Tobacco is San Miguel's pride, because it is one of the only places in Europe where tobacco is grown.
After a tiring day we headed home to the ship and prepared to head on to our next destination, Madeira.
Until then, take it easy and you'll hear from me later.
Annie Ouillet
September 21, 1995
Colors at sea
Before we started to cross the Atlantic Ocean, I was certain
that the color of ocean water was a sad gray, but I was happily
surprised to discover that this ocean is not gray, but
incredibly blue. It is a blue that I have never seen before.
In my Marine Biology class I have learned that this magnificent blue is due to the fact that there is not a lot of life in this water. In deep offshore waters there are not enough nutrients in the water to permit life to grow from the bottom of the food chain (marine plants called phytoplankton) up to the top (fish and other larger animals). Phytoplankton need light and nutrients to grow, but out here, they have only light. Nutrients come from land - erosion of rock and vegetation - and they are carried to the sea. Everyone knows that land is very far away from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and for this reason, there is not a lot of "land stuff" in the water. The water is very clear and clean, and that is why it is very blue.
Introducing ||
Concordia ||
Students & CrewCurrent Position || Logbook || Journals || FAQs
Q&A || Special Offer || Bibliography || Glossary
Class Afloat / Ocean Challenge / OceanChallenge.com