Day 13 - Tuesday, February 27, 2024 - Furnas and hot springs
Today was our day to explore the eastern part of the island. We started our tour at Villa Franca which was the first capital of the island until it was wiped out by an earthquake. Four thousand people died. Then the new capital became Ponta Delgada. Along the way we saw the pilgrims that walk from church to church during Lent. Next, was a trip to the thermal springs of Furnas.They are situated in the botanical gardens and we had one-hour and a half to soak in the highly mineralized the waters and enjoy the gardens. It was a pretty and relaxing time. The nearby hot springs are also used for cooking and we saw how our lunch "cozido" was cooked by a volcano. Ron helped remove it so we could eat. We then went to a restaurant - Banhos Ferreos -that used to be a thermal spa and ate our cozido - beef, chicken, pork, blood sausage, chorizo, potatoes, yams, carrots etc. With wine or beer and dessert - queijadas da villa. We stopped to see some more hot springs and sampled more liquor before our bus broke down on the turn of a narrow curvy road. We were very near a gorgeous viewpoint so we talked and enjoyed the view while we waited an hour for another bus to come. That did not stop us from making it to the 3rd best viewpoint on the island Pico Ferro - we had seen the other 2 yesterday. From there it was on to Gorreana Tea Plantation. Here we learned about how tea is processed and the difference between Greenl and black tea. We of course got a sample. We got back at about 6:00, picked up a couple of things for tomorrow at the grocery store, and got ready for whale watching tomorrow.
Views of Eastern Sao Miguel
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Another group of pilgrims
Furnas Thermal Spa and
Botanical Gardens |
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| Iron Baths |
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This is where they cooked our lunch - markers indicate
restaurants or individuals food |
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| Where they put the pots to cook |
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| Part of our group |
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| Lunch |
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| Dessert |
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| A traditional dessert |
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| Our restaurant was a former thermal spa |
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Our bus died on the curve of this narrow,
winding road |
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| Fortunately it was by a beautiful lookout |
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| The tea plantation |
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| Learning about tea |
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