Our final stay in The Azores is Furnas, in the southeast and more mountainous part of Sao Miguel.
Known as the thermal hot spot of the island, it is home to boiling caldeiras, hot spring pools for soaking and swimming, the by-now expected waterfalls and the stunning Furnas Lake - it was going to be a busy three days.
What makes Furnas Valley unique is that the area is actually a dormant volcanic crater, and although the Furnas volcano last erupted in 1630, you can feel, see and smell the geothermal activity all around you in the steaming fumaroles and thermal pools around every corner; even the traditional food gets cooked in geothermal heat, using the heat of the ground to slow cook the famous Cozido Stew and corn-on-the-cob, which can be washed down with mineral water from one of the many natural springs. You can buy bottled spring water in the shops, but we were informed by a reliable source that there is such an excess of water from the springs that what comes out of the tap is exactly the same as what is sold in the bottles.
We spent a day around the village: the fumaroles are a sight to behold, bubbling and steaming at temperatures from 70-100°C with a strong smell of sulphur. Steam can be seen seeping from the walls and hedgerows and even from the grids in the roads.
In the centre of town there are dozens of these caldeiras making for a surreal lunar landscape.
There are also many fresh water fountains, each flowing from a different source and having different temperatures, flavours and holistic properties, although we found them all to be similarly sour and slightly fizzy.
Located in the center of Furnas, Terra Nostra Park is one of the largest and oldest gardens in the Azores. One of the most beautiful gardens in Europe, it has won countless awards, having more than two thousand different types of trees, plants, flora and fauna from all over the world including an impressive collections of camillias with more than six hundred varieties, many of which can also be found all over the island. The park also features a huge thermal swimming pool whose murky brown waters are said to have healing properties. It is certainly a positive wellbeing experience; who could not feel relaxed after spending an hour in a huge warm bath in a gloriously landscaped garden? The Victorians had the right idea.
You can also relax at Poça da Dona Beija, a small park with six pools that have varying temperatures. A bonus is that these pools are open until 11pm so you can bath in the moonlight as we did, or the rain, which I have been told is also a lovely experience .
We decided to spend our second day exploring Lagoa Da Furnas, a mystical volcanic crater lake surrounded by lush green mountains.
We set off on foot following a recommended hiking route from Furnas village. Leaving the village on a steep road past a fast running stream, the lake soon came into sight as we got to the top of the hill. Following the road down and around the aquamarine waters of the lake, it really did feel as though we were inside the volcano, especially when we reached yet another area of geothermal activity with its steam and bubbling pools.
Beside the geothermal zone is Grena, a beautiful park which exploits the natural beauty of the area providing walking trails to waterfalls and other areas of interest. We followed some of the trails, which were steep, slippery and quite tricky in parts, to find beautiful flowers and huge trees as well as the promised cascades and a spectacular viewpoint over the lake and valley.
After longer than planned exploring the trails of Grena, we continued around the lake, the trail at lake level passing close to the water through pine woodland, a bamboo plantation and past giant umbrella ferns. The lake itself was very calm and tranquil with reeds and trees growing at its edges, home to fish and birds that gave hints of their presence through movement but rarely showed themselves.
Half way around the lake we came to another garden, Matthew Jardim Jose do Canto, home to the Chapel of Nossa senhora das Vitórias, botanical gardens, the largest Sequoia tree in Europe and the Waterfall Salto do Rosal, accessed by a half hour trek through the woodland but we'll worth it.
Returning to the lake path, we completed the circuit, returning to Furnas via the Parque de Merendes miradoura which gives lovely valley views over the whole crater that is home to the village. The final stretch took us down a long, steep road, tough on toes and knees that had been on the go for over five hours.
Not an easy walk, if you take in all the sights as we did, but well worth the effort.
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