Azores 2023 - Day 3: São Miguel East, Furnas

I think we intended to get an earlier start today, but the 4-hour time change is still winning the battle. That, and it always takes more time than (I) expected to handle the logistics of going out for the entire day, such as packing provisions; gathering appropriate clothing and footwear; double-checking hours, locations, and travel times, etc.

Our first real objective today was a 5 or 6 km hike, in a loop along the coast in the Lomba da Maia area. Before doing that, though, I chose a cafe near the highway exit based on nothing more than a Google Maps search for "cafe".

It turned out to be another bar/cafe, but in a sleepy little hamlet with only a few houses and even fewer people around. There was only one other customer, who was enjoying a Sunday brunch beer. The woman behind the counter was enthusiastic, and her English was about as good as our Portuguese. To give perspective of what that means, exactly: when we were ready to leave, I managed to look up "how much do I owe?" using Google Translate, pronounce it passably enough that she understood the question, and she returned with "1.90" written on a scrap of paper (for a cup of Gorreana green tea and a Nescafe instant cappuccino). 

She asked if we were Swiss, and seemed surprised to learn we were from the US. We really haven't encountered many tourists from the US, especially not off the beaten path, so to speak.

The proprietor saw us taking a photo of her cafe, and insisted on taking a picture for us, with us in front of the building. After we left, just before noon, she closed the door behind us and might have been done for the day.

Just a few winding miles down the road, we found our landmark for the start of the hike, across from Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Aflitos (Church of Our Lady of the... Afflicted?).

The view from the top of the road was quite promising, and the weather was cooperating nicely, again.

As we turned off the road, we got our first taste for how the next few hours were going to play out. Side note: there are cornfields everywhere here. I suppose that might go with all of the cows? But they seem to be all grass-fed.

Some time around 1 or 1:30 PM, we stopped for lunch beside a small waterfall, sitting on rocks next to the stream.

The first part of the hike was a shaded, well-maintained path with plenty of stairs, heading down into the gorge towards the ocean.

Along the way, we wandered around some ruins of old mill buildings.

Eventually, though, the shade deserted us as we reached the lowest point on the trail.

Once we reached the end of the valley, the trail turned to the right along the face of a steep hill, toward the ocean.

This was the only part that had a railing, much to Sabrina's dismay.

Sabrina started to develop a fear of heights at precisely the wrong point in the hike. I helpfully pointed out that she chose the trail.

The views from the edge of the cliff were stunning. The weather was clear, and we could see down the coast for miles and miles.

When it got steep enough, the trail switched to and endless staircase. There was no shade in sight, but there was a nice, cool breeze coming up from the ocean.

I don't mean to sound dramatic, but it really was a "one wrong step here, and you could plunge into the ocean" scenario.

The view only improved, as we climbed higher.

As we rounded the corner of the cliff, we found a few small patches of shade that afforded a respite from the day star, as we stopped for a water break.

Suddenly, as we crested a small hill, we were in a cow pasture. Or, as Sabrina put it, "Oh. My god. There's a cow." Then there were three.

Then, there were a dozen. And they were occupying the trail.

No amount of cajoling would convince this cow that we were a threat. They were completely disinterested in our presence, in fact. We detoured around.

We eventually made it back up to the car, after about 4 miles total. Next, we headed back to the highway to continue driving along the ring road, towards the eastern end of the island.

Tractors seem to be permitted on just about every road/highway. This is not an uncommon sight here. It's usually a surprise, or in the middle of a corner, but I saw this one coming with enough time to get a photo.

As the signs clearly indicate, however: bicycles, pedestrians, carts, and cows are prohibited.

Our next stop on today's adventure was Parque Natural da Ribeira dos Caldeirões.

I thought the water was chilly and refreshing, and walked around a bit by the waterfall in a few feet of water. Sabrina would only commit to getting the bottoms of her feet wet.

The hydrangea here looked the best of any we'd seen. My guess was that they're actually cared for, unlike the roadside specimens.

Sabrina for scale.

We walked down the path and did a small loop through the main part of the park, but didn't venture onto anything that could be considered a hiking trail.

It was around 4 PM when we left the nature park, and we hadn't eaten much today, so we exited the highway in the town of Nordeste and paused at a miradouro to look for a quick food option on the map. The lookout I picked at random was at the top of a very steep road down to the ocean. If you look carefully in the middle of the signs, you can just make out the swimming pool carved into the edge of the rock.

Not far down the highway, we stopped at a random roadside "snack bar" to see what was available. It was clearly a Sunday afternoon hangout spot for locals; the beer was flowing, music was blaring, and the picnic tables were full of people enjoying some spirited conversation. We didn't blend in, but we managed to order a bifana, some fries, a beer, and a bottle of water, and then briefly soak in some small-town culture.

A mere five-minute drive south, along the coast road, we stopped at the Miradouro da Ponta do Arnel, overlooking the Farol do Arnel (lighthouse). Sabrina was severely dissuaded from letting me drive down the switchback lane to see the lighthouse up close, and I was not terribly interested in walking down (well, really "up" was the problem), so we viewed it from the top.

It turns out there's a second, better lookout spot just another five minutes down the road, which provides a lovely view of the road past the lighthouse, down to the fishing port.

The eastern edge of the island is sprinkled with beautiful lookouts, some of which are also well-manicured gardens; we stopped at a few of them, but one can only enjoy so many breath-taking views per hour. ("Another one? How many of these are there? How often do we have to stop?" etc.)

Near the southearn corner, the terrain gets too rugged for a coastal drive, and the highway winds inland for a bit. As we approached the town of Povoação, a few clouds were rolling in. 

At the bottom of this hill, we encountered a police officer who was stopping all of the cars for a brief chat.

The chat was essentially "Where are you trying to go? The road through town is closed. At the next intersection, my colleague will point you to the detour".

The detour was a winding, narrow road up through the hills above town. It was handling a lot of traffic, temporarily, which made it a rather exciting detour.

Eventually, we made it around and back down to the ring road, then onto our next stop in Furnas.

First, we had to stop and see (and smell) the caldeiras.

After that, we debated either getting some dinner, or soaking in some hot springs. After examining a few of the (very touristy/busy) restaurant options (menus without prices are a red flag), we decided to worry about food later, and go to the thermal baths while they weren't very busy.

We chose the smaller facility (Poça da Dona Beija ) that was open later (until 11 PM!), and it was a lovely way to unwind after a day of hiking and sweating.

After soaking for about an hour, we grabbed a mediocre sandwich at the adjacent restaurant and took it to go, for the longish drive back to the apartment. We got back around 10 PM.

Tomorrow, it looks like our weather luck might finally run out; nothing severe, but some wind, clouds, and maybe a bit of rain is forecasted. We have rough plans to go visit Ponta da Ferraria, but anything other than that depends on the weather.