Furnas

I have never been happier to not be on a plane!

We arrived to Sao Miguel yesterday and rented a car. Evan expertly navigated the hilly, winding, narrow roads to take us to a super cute coffee & breakfast spot right on the water. Next we drove to the hotel but our room wasn’t ready so we took a walk around a nearby garden and then drove to a lookout spot up in the mountains (Miradouro do Pico do Ferro), then back down to the Caldeira Das Furnas. There are SO many hydrangeas here! Apparently they’re an invasive species but they grow well here because of the climate and volcanic soil.

For dinner we just took it easy and ate at the resort restaurant (A Terra). We bought a bottle of wine at a nearby store and had a nice night looking through photos from our wedding and swimming in the heated pool on our private terrace!

Today we took advantage of free breakfast at the resort - it was great! They had several different breads, cheeses, and pastries as well as meat, eggs, and pineapple! Next, we spent the day at Parque Terra Nostra, a popular botanical garden with a thermal bath. It was really beautiful - we spent close to four hours there! Of course none of the photos do it justice. The water in the thermal pools is brown because the dissolved volcanic rock is rich in iron and minerals - it smells like sulfur!

For lunch we stopped in at Queijaria Furnense, a place popular for their angus meat. Unfortunately, my sweet husband is sick and couldn’t taste anything. Hopefully some rest and some drugs will help him get better soon. We’re gonna have a chill night exploring the thermal pools at the resort and nibbling on lunch leftovers for dinner.