Location: Horta, Azores
You just spent 19 days at sea surrounded by an infinite horizon, every shade of blue your mind can imagine, and a crew you grow closer to with each passing day. When the lights from the land flickered into view, at last, your mind began to race with the possibilities new scenery would hold. It’s your sixth day in the Azores, and you are spent from the exhilarating schedule from the past five days; hiking through vineyards and across volcanoes, exploring the cities of Pico and Horta, eating more gelato than you thought was possible, and running more than you have in ages to make sure your watch team can be the first to defeat Final Boss Gabe for the challenge course champion title. (Shoutout, WATCH TEAM TWOOOO, we killed it, and I LOVE you guys). However, today is a different day. Today, you get to choose how you enjoy the island of Faial.
It’s 7:00 am. If you want to wake up and go for a run like Alex, jog to paragraph 1. If you want to sleep for 30 more minutes before going on a dive with Will and Maria B., go to paragraph 2. If you’d rather dive with sharks, head over to paragraph 3. If you want to continue sleeping (like the rest of your crew), read on.
You’re soundly sleeping, but it’s now 8:00 am. You have the option to wake up and get ready for a morning of much-needed solo adventuring like Maya. If this is what you decide, make your way to paragraph 4. If you want to stay soaking up some much-needed rest, continue reading.
The clock has moved its way to 9:30. If you want to get up and go to breakfast with Celia, Cate, Santana, Charles, and Lily, go to paragraph 5 but make sure you wake up before 10! If you want to stay sleeping and meet up with people later, then go back to the beginning and live vicariously through one of your fellow crewmate’s adventures.
(1) You decide to wake up and start the day off right by getting an early morning run-in. You follow the sidewalk along the water, appreciating how still and calm the morning is. The run feels good, but you have a whole day of adventures to get started on. You can pick from a two-tank dive 2, diving with sharks 3, a solo adventure 4, or you can meet up with friends 5.
(2) You walk to the dive shop to set up your gear and get on a boat that will take you to not one but two destinations. You get bundled up in wetsuits because we are no longer in the Caribbean but in the middle of the Atlantic, and temps can get chilly. You take the dinghy to the locations, suit up and splash into the salty blue. Both dive spots were overflowing with life. Rays, eels, schools of fish, and other creatures roamed around daunting underwater cliffs and into mysterious crevasses. Will, Maria, and you marvel at the underwater scenes as marine life bustles around you, unaware or unbothered by your presence. You’re grateful to be underwater again, appreciative of the silence and mindfulness diving instills. After the dive, it’s time to eat. You can eat lunch alone in paragraph 6, or you can eat with friends in 7.
(3) You could hardly sleep last night thinking about the opportunity to dive with sharks. You head over to the dive shop with Alex to prepare for the thrill of a lifetime. The dinghy ride is a blast. There are dolphins trailing your wake and turtles begging to be photographed. You feel content from the sights only to remember there are sharks to be seen. The divemaster chums the water, and the waiting begins. After an anxious 30 minutes, a fin finally appears. You suit up and land splash-free in the water. You and the shark make eye contact, and it seems, at last, you have met a worthy opponent. But the thought leaves as the shark moves on, careless of the silly little thing that humans are. After the dive, it’s time to eat. You can eat lunch alone in paragraph 6, or you can meet up with friends waiting for you in paragraph 7.
(4) You wake up, ready to explore on your own. You notice you’re sore from yesterday’s challenge course shenanigans and decide that some deck yoga is a must. The morning sun has peaked above the clouds, and you wave to your friends as they pass Argo on a dinghy heading for secret dive spots. After yoga, you get ready for the day, packing a bag with anything you may need: a swimsuit and towel, sunscreen, money, a book, and your Yacht Master book, just in case you have time to squeeze in some studying. You then head to a caf where you successfully order a pastry and coffee in Portuguese. You sit down, enjoy your hard-earned treats, and write some postcards to your friends back home. Once you finish, you make your way to the beach, where you spend the next bit of your day reading, studying meteorology, and finally getting back into the water. It feels so wonderful to swim again after being bound to the deck for so long. You reminisce about the early days of this voyage, where we were in the water more than we weren’t. After the swim, you start to feel hungry. To eat lunch alone, saunter over to paragraph 6. To meet up with some friends, go to paragraph 7.
(5) It is time to head into town to grab some brekky with the homies. You walk with the group to a caf and collectively consume more pastries than one can count. After savoring the last sips of good coffee and tasty treats, you all wander into souvenir shops. Laughs are shared while Viking hats are modeled and dresses are flaunted. Once you’re composing, you can either drive to paragraph 8, where you will enjoy a lighthouse hike with Santana, Cate, Celia, and others. To stay in town, keep reading with Lily, Charles, and Eddie.
More shops are enjoyed, laughter is shared, and memories are made. You enjoy your time with this group because some of them will be leaving soon, and we need to soak up every second we can. As time is being cherished, you start to get hungry. To eat lunch alone, saunter over to paragraph 6. To meet up with some friends, go to paragraph (7).
(6) You decide to enjoy lunch alone. You grab a pizza and Coca-Cola to go and carry it to Porto Pim beach, where you see others enjoying their lunch. You nod in their direction and continue to the beach to enjoy your solitude before the 8-day passage to Gibraltar. Once lunch is wrapped up, you have the option to taxi to the other side of the island to meet up with Cate Celia and Santana to check out some local pools in paragraph 9. You could stay in town at paragraph 10 or continue your evening alone at 11.
(7) You choose to meet up with friends for lunch. You decide on a restaurant right by the beach. You order the best fish you’ve had in your life and discover that the owner is the only Portuguese man to have circumnavigated the globe two times alone! He is delighted to hear about your experience and congratulates your ocean crossing. Once lunch is wrapped up, you have the option to taxi to the other side of the island to meet up with Cate, Celia, and Santana to check out some local pools in paragraph 9. You could stay in town at paragraph 10 or have an evening alone at 11.
(8) You arrive after a scenic 20-minute taxi ride to Horta Capelo’s lighthouse. The structure stands tall over the basaltic (or volcanic) sand dunes. You, Cate, Celia, and Santana decide to hike up the Costa a Costa trail, and once at the top, you revel in the beauty of the ocean and landscape beyond you. After discovering the taxi cab ride is a bit more expensive than you’d like, the four of you decide to take a 4.5-mile walk to a town called Varadero. Get ready for your long and sweaty walk over to the next paragraph (9).
(9) You finally arrive at the Varadouro natural swimming pools to meet up with your friends, and your mind is blown. The scenery is like nothing you have ever seen, with hidden turquoise pools woven into black lava rock. You all take turns jumping off the next highest cliff, splashing into the chilly waters below. You take a break to get coffee and a snack to discover that more friends will join you later. Go to paragraph 12 to meet them!
(10) After lunch, you decide to stroll around town, collect some souvenirs, eat even more gelato, and chat with your fellow crewmates. To meet up with everyone at the pools, go to paragraph 12. To head off on your own, continue peacefully to the next paragraph (11).
(11) You decide to spend the rest of your night in peace, away from the chaos of the crew. It’s not that you don’t adore each one of them. It’s just that time alone doesn’t exist in the same capacity it used to, and you need to soak up every second of it. You enjoy wandering the city, you read your book, and then find a spot for dinner. The clock reaches 10:00 pm, and you decide to head back to the boat, stoked on the day’s adventurethe end.
(12) You meet up with more friends at the pools. You can’t believe your eyes at the magnificent sight. It almost seems like you’re on the moon, yet the shimmery blue ocean lapping up the rocks brings you back to this beautiful planet. You take a deep breath and plunge into the nature-made swimming pool. You enjoy the sun and get ready for your 7:30 dinner reservation. You have more friends joining in paragraph 13, so continue reading to meet up with them
(13) You meet up with a bunch of the crew. It’s now you, Charles, Eddie, Lily, Drew, Maya, Will, Maria B., Maria Fe., Cate, Celia, Santana, and Sammy. You all enjoy a lovely meal together with laughter and stories of the day’s adventures. You think about how we have all spent the day in charge of our own journeys, and yet we all still end up together. It’s a wonderful feeling to have the connection we do with our crew, and you’re grateful for that. The meal ends, and you all scramble to find taxis. After a stressful 30 minutes, they finally arrive. To get in the taxi, continue onto paragraph 14. To go pee right before the taxis leave, go to paragraph 15.
(14) You all scramble into taxis, anxious to get back to the boat before the 10:30 curfew. You drive up the road, and just as the anxiety is fading away, you get a call from a mysterious number. You pick up anyways, just in case, and it turns out one of your crew members didn’t make it into the taxi. You turn around to go pick them up and head to paragraph 16.
(15) Your bladder is busting, so you decide you have time for a bathroom stop while everyone is trying to figure out who gets in what taxi. After you return, the streets are empty, and the realization that you’ve just been stranded hits you straight in the gut. You pull out your phone only to realize you have enough charge to make one phone call. You click the first name that appears on your phone, hoping that the other end will provide a return home. It’s a success, so continue reading to get in the taxi.
(16) Everyone is united at last, and you all head back to the boat. The sight of Argo brings a sense of comfort as she’s slowly become a home for all of us. You pile up on deck and recount the adventures of the day with staff and other friends. One by one, you all head off to sleep after an epic day of setting your own course.