What happens when the earth begins splitting at it’s seams deep beneath the ocean? Well over the course of millions of years you get a series of islands. The Azores are such an archipelago that formed over the Mid Atlantic Ridge, and have served as an important waypoint for as long as ships have been crossing the Atlantic. In particular, if you are a small vessel sailing from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean then stopping in the strategically located Azores is a no-brainer. But the bonus, especially if you’re like us and are coming in “blind” with no expectations, is that the islands are charmingly unique and stunningly beautiful.

We make landfall in Horta and pace the docks which are covered in the colorful tags of visiting crews, a kaleidoscopic rolodex of boats come and gone. No, we don’t add Champagne to the cacophony, but simply being here is enough to feel like we’ve made it into the Big Leagues. You don’t just “wind up” in the Azores by luck or accident—if you’re here, then you’ve made a concerted effort and crossed some serious water.

If Horta is the most iconic port for Trans-Atlantic passages, then Peter Café Sport is her most iconic bar for passing sailors. We make sure to stop in for a bite and a brew, and lo and behold are informed by the owner that our meal is been paid for—wha? Turns out our dear good friends have called ahead (and supplied an email photo of us so as to be recognized) to buy us a congratulatory meal. This is on top of them giving us daily weather updates via our satellite inReach during our crossing so that we are not caught unprepared. THANK YOU ISABELLE AND EMILE!

Horta is quintessentially quaint and although we’d love to spend more time here, there is a good window for making progress east and we can’t afford to dally. So we rustle up Champagne once more and make the 150-mile passage to the archipelago’s capital city of Ponta Delgada. We arrive sometime after midnight, but have little trouble tying up on the new and massive municipal marina.

As the largest and most populated island, Sao Miguel offers plenty to explore. We rent a car and take advantage. Natural hot springs; 1000-meter volcanic peaks; tea plantations; windy clifftop roads; stunning mountain hikes; supermarket stock-ups; and a birthday picnic in a botanical garden. All in all, a near perfect slice of pie.

Considering that we crossed 2000 miles of open ocean to get here, it doesn’t seem fair that we only have one measly week with which to visit these indelible islands, but such is the nature of keeping commitments. Better one week than nothing, right, that’s the bottlehalffull attitude after all.

Time to finish crossing an ocean.