22 DEPARTURES TRAVEL DISTANT REDOUBTS THE AZORES ARE decidedly neither here nor there, a series of mid-Atlantic volcanic nodes where the tectonic plates of Eurasia, North America and Africa collide. Europe is nearby. So is the Sahara. The latitude is northern (parallel with Delaware), yet the nineisland archipelago, an autonomous region of Portugal, has been called the Hawaii of the Atlantic, in part because of its teeming biodiversity. São Miguel, the largest island, promised lake-filled calderas, beaches and hot springs, punctuated by the food and wine of Portugal. It wasn’t until I got there that I learned how much more there is. In the past three years, just as flight options to the Azores from the US have expanded, São Miguel has sprouted an awardwinning art museum and a handful of boutique hotels, as well as new restaurants, shops and music venues. As with the rest of Portugal, a dictatorship ruled the Azores from 1932 until 1974, slowing development and sending generations of Azoreans abroad, a process hastened by a series of natural disasters, including the 1957/1958 eruption of Capelinhos, a currently dormant volcano on the island of Faial. So lacklustre was the economy that until recently Ponta Delgada, São Miguel’s (and the archipelago’s) largest city, lay all but deserted. That is changing. Encouraged by European Union initiatives, an increasing number of Azoreans have been pulled home to open restaurants, shops and galleries, joining transplants from mainland Portugal. The change happened slowly, then very quickly, starting seven years ago with Walk & Talk, a contemporary arts festival in Ponta Delgada, and continuing with the founding of a one-day experimental-music festival. By 2015, new routes from Europe had opened connections from Lisbon and London. Now, Tremor, the music festival, lasts five days. On a recent Saturday night on Rua do Aljube, where two bar-restaurants face each other across a cobblestoned street (on a warm evening, a destination Above: the cafe and market Louvre Michaelense; below: Lagoa das Sete Cidades, twin lakes inside a dormant volcano
SEABOURN’S EXTRAORDINARY WORLDS Intimate ships | Award-winning cuisine Open bars & fine wines | All suite accommodation HONG KONG Halong Bay Hainan Strait Da Nang Gulf of Laem Chabang Tonkin Ko Kood South China Sea Gulf of Ho Chi Thailand Minh City Sihanoukville HONG KONG Halong Bay Hainan Strait Da Nang Gulf of Laem Chabang Tonkin Ko Kood South China Sea Gulf of Ho Chi Thailand Minh City Sihanoukville SINGAPORE SINGAPORE VIETNAM & THAILAND Hong Kong to Singapore 14 days, 5 Jan^, 2 Mar 2019 From AU,999 * twin share pp THAILAND & VIETNAM Singapore to Hong Kong 14 days, 22 Dec 2018, 19 Jan^, 16 Feb 2019 From AU,499 * twin share pp For more information or to make a booking, please call Platinum Travel Service on 1800 673 760 (Australia) or 0800 377 421 (New Zealand). Book between 15 June & 31 August 2018 to take advantage of your Platinum Card amenities including US0 on board credit for double occupancy, complimentary bottle of premium wine, and special turndown service PLUS Additional US0 ~ on board credit when booking select Asia cruises. Terms and Conditions: ^Fares quoted are based on the 5 January and 19 January 2019 departures. ~ Additional US0 bonus on board spending money only valid on Seabourn Ovation 14-day Asia cruises departing 22 December 2018, 5 & 19 January 2019, 16 February 2019 and 2 March 2019 – promo code VP for bookings made between 15 June to 31 August 2018. *Benefit valid for bookings made from now until 31 December 2018 and for travel completed by March 2019. All bookings must be made in advance through Platinum Travel Service and are subject to availability. Payment must be made using American Express ® Platinum Card in Platinum Card Member’s name. Benefits are non-transferable, non-combinable for back to back voyages, and valid for new bookings only. Benefit valid for basic and supplementary Platinum Card Members. Maximum of 3 bookings on the same voyage per eligible card. Platinum Card Member must travel on itinerary booked to be eligible for the offer described. All benefits are per booking, based on two adults sharing accommodation on voyages of 5 nights or more. Single occupancy prices available on request, and benefits will be pro-rated for single travellers. Benefit expires at checkout. On board credits are noted in US dollars and are not transferable or redeemable for cash. Benefits are available to all categories of staterooms and suites. Cruise Privileges are based on Cruise Line’s published rates. Offer is not applicable for ‘net rate arrangements’. On board Credits can be used in the ships’ boutiques, beauty salon and optional shore excursions. This promotion may be combined with all Early Booking Savings and Seabourn Club Members (Repeaters) Savings. Platinum Card Member Privileges above are offered based on per booking, and NOT per voyage. A Platinum Card Member with back-to-back bookings shall receive a maximum of one set (01) of the above Privileges regardless of the number of segments booked. The On board Credit cannot be used in the casino. Unused portion of On board Credit is non-transferable and cannot be redeemed for cash or credit. Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of information, details may change due to circumstances beyond our control. Cruise partners and benefits are subject to change without notice. Fares are correct as at 4 May 2018. SE39.4
