Favorite Places on the Azores

Ship: Regina Maris
Date: 6th of April 2025
Position: Horta, Azores
Geographical Position: 38°31.946‘N 028°37.494‘W
Etmal: 0nm
Total: 10,966nm

This morning, an exciting day came to an end. As you already read in our previous report, everyone survived their night in Horta more or less. Whether they stayed awake, slept in a ruin, or spent the night in the military barracks, by the end of the day, all five groups found themselves back at the ship with tired eyes.

Of course, no one wanted to miss Rainer’s delicious Sunday roast. The last day before we really head off to see all of us again was mainly used to catch up on sleep and prepare for the rough sea ahead. Final stretch! Now we’re truly on our way home.

However, we actually ended up having one of our longest stays on land here on the Azores: 17 days. During these 17 days, we got to know the island better and found a few favorite spots.

So, if you ever plan to visit the Azores (which I highly recommend), you should pay attention:

The Padaria
We discovered the small Café in the alley near Harfen on the first day. Here you can get a coffee for €1.50, small Portuguese pastries called „Pastéis de Nata?“ for €2 and plenty of delicious, affordable baked goods.

“Are you going to the small or the big supermarket?”
This is one of the most frequently asked questions in the last few days. When you need to do some shopping, you have two options.

The small one is right by the port and offers a lot of snacks. If you need tech, stationery, all sorts of food or even want to go to KFC, then you’ll have to climb a long, steep hill to get to the big supermarket. The supermarket up there is the most European one I’ve seen on the entire trip and I missed it!

“Where’s the crew?”
This is probably the least asked question because you’ll usually find them at the Peter Sport Café. Not only is there a lot of nice people to chat with, but also great drinks and a huge group of Ocean College kids who are there to pick up letters from home – because the PSC also has a postal and package station for sailors.

Azorean Bars
If you can’t find the crew at the PSC, you’ll probably find them in one of the many other bars. There’s “The Trust Bar,” where you can always trust that you’ll get a ham and cheese toast or a cola because it’s open at all times. Plus, you can leave your mark on the wall with a marker.

Then there’s “The Toilet Bar.” This place doesn’t just have the best crème brûlée, but also clean public restrooms that you can visit whenever you don’t feel like walking all the way back to the ship.

Finally, there’s the popular „Oceanic Bar“, where we have our regular spot right next to the “Kicker.” The bar also has a shop with a printing press, where you can buy huge printed fish pictures for €70 if you like.

Romantic View from the Mountain
Lastly, our favorite spot on the entire Azorean island: A steep mountain that takes your breath away not only when climbing it, but also when you reach the top and see the stunning view.

We’ve met up here countless times at sunset to grill, sit by the campfire, or just chat while enjoying the view of small hills with fields and cows and the endless wide ocean.

Well, now it’s time to head out to the wide sea again – though not as far this time, because we’ll see you all again in just 13 days! See you there!

Anmerkungen:

Sonja: Das letzte Mal auf See jetzt, ich werds vermissen, trotzdem freue ich mich auf euch! Bis in weniger als zwei Wochen! Hab‘ euch alle lieb und alles Gute nachträglich Lukas, Du Löbatz, Brief ist unterwegs!