Watch as in "Look For" Rather than as in "See"

With no planned activity this morning we slept a bit later than usual.  Pre-dawn light suggested that it could be a beautiful sunrise followed by some good light for taking some pictures around the city.  I grabbed my camera and headed out. Forty minutes later I returned having taking only a few pictures and those mostly for something to do.  The pre-dawn light had been a false indicator.  Clouds had rolled in blanketing the sky.

The clouds cleared as the morning progressed.  Pam and I took advantage of having nowhere we needed to be to do nothing in particular.

At 12:30 we met some other members of our group in the lobby.  From there we walked down less that 100 yards to a shop where we had a lecture, signed a liability form and donned a full-length raincoat and life jacket.  Suitably dressed (and sweltering inside it) we crossed the street and boarded a boat for a whale watch.

After the watching the dolphins it was basically a boat ride in lumpy seas with some sightseeing near shore until we turned out to see and set a watch for whales.

No whales.  We did come across a boat fishing commercially for tuna.  The rods the men used have neither bait nor barb on the hook.  Using a bamboo pole and fixed length of line they cast into a school of tuna and flip them out of the water into the boat. The "bait" is water being sprayed on the surface of the ocean apparently simulating the sound of something tuna like to eat.

We turned towards Ponta Delgada where we disembarked, shedding our life jack and rain coat immediately, then returned to the hotel for some R&R before dinner.

We had dinner at Mariserra.   It was a further walk from the hotel than we had been lead to believe.  We had a good dinner, but did not consider the food commensurate with walk there when so many other intriguing restaurants are closer.  We felt perfectly safe on the walk and had the evening been less humid perhaps would have enjoyed it more.

At 9:30 we joined some other members of our group going to the marina to listen to Azorean guitar playing.  The skill of the musicians was excellent.  Whether it was the late hour of the evening or the fact that I did not take enough music appreciation classes in school the three songs we listened to sounded very much alike to us.  Perhaps wrongly anticipating a continuation of that commonality, Pam & I quietly slipped away, returning to the hotel and to bed.