MOPTA.0

The conference began with lunch, so we could have a relaxing morning. It had rained heavily in the night, and several times until mid-morning, but cleared up by the time we wandered over to the venue. Lunch wasn't great, but we sat with a couple that A also knows, and it was good to catch up. A then left as I chatted with more conference folk, before the first plenary - which was disappointing, as they usually are.

I missed most of the coffee break to make sure I was properly set up for my talk, and it was a good idea, as it took me a while to find the room. When the time came for me to start, about three others had found the room so, knowing that the other four in my team hadn't arrived, I told the chairman that I'd be starting five minutes late. In the end the room was full for my talk, and it went well.

At the end of the day there was a reception, which I attended for a while with A, but I was tired and it was noisy. So, once we'd eaten enough finger food to not need dinner, we wandered back to our accommodation. Just before we arrived, I spotted that the sun was lighting the façade of this building that we'd passed in the morning. It's typical of the colonial architecture of Ponta Delgada, but appealed because the dark (volcanic) stone is used rather more subtly than on other buildings.