On November 3 we left Miami for Southhampton.  Right behind us,  Hurricane Raphael , was heading straight for Cayman Islands, where we were yesterday.  What a difference a few days can make. On November 5 there was another hurricane, named Donald Trump, who, defying any logic and all odds, got re-elected president of the USA.  My sleep pattern began to change, for I worried about the future of democracy in the U.S.  I was so perplexed at how far off I was towards understanding our nation, that, save for my exposition on the future of the country  the next day, for the rest of the trip pretty much avoided politics in my postings.  Today, I still seem to have lost interest in our future, for all seems lost.  Reminds me of Ray Bradbury's  A Sound of Thunder , where a time traveler returns home to find everything changed.  He would have expected Kamala Harris to prevail over Donald Trump, but the opposite happened because he stepped on a but...

 Day 28 found us in Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal. Photos from the pool deck. 441 Lunch of salad, soup and noodles, with a gin & tonic and beer. Went to the pool deck for a walk, and saw the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos. Dinner in the Garden Cafe buffet with glasses of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Karaoke in The Cavern Club. Midnight snack in the Atrium. Walked  a good 4410 steps today. Ponta Delgada, on the island of Sǎo Miguel Island, is the capital of Azores in Portugal. First populated in 1444. There are around 68,000 people now living on this island. Ponta Delgada became a city in 1546 after the 1522 earthquake, which devastated the island. The Cult of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles is the largest and oldest religious event in Portugal. The Azores is one of two autonomous regions of Portugal, along with Madeira. There are nine volcanic islands about 870 miles west of Lisbon. Possibly discovered in 1427 by Gonçalo Velho. In 1583, Philip II o...