Azores

Veronica and Hiram and the geothermal station that interrupted lunch.

This was the only riding day where it rained. It was only bad enough to stop for short time, so we just waited under some trees.

The Azores are volcanic in origin. Lava welling up between gaps in tectonic plates under the sea floor formed the islands between 7 million and 300 thousand years ago. This makes them similar to Hawaii in terrain, with lots of steep, eroded hills. The climate is also similar, rarely too hot or cold, giving lush vegetation, although with more variety than Hawaii has. The Azores are much smaller than Hawaii, with Sao Miguel being the largest island, only 30 miles long and 10 miles wide.

Where Hawaii has flowing lava, Sao Miguel has tremendous geothermal activity. On a large scale, this geothermal activity is used for electricity generation, but we got up close and personal with it by soaking ourselves in a couple of natural hot springs. There is a local dish of vegetables and several meats that is cooked by placing the ingredients in a large pot that is then lowered into these steaming vents on the shore of Lagoa das Furnas (Furnas Lake). After several hours of slow cooking, it is ready to

Nelson might have been going fast, but he wasn't getting far.

I just missed the shot of Goncalo proving that these rides might need training wheels. He recovered nicely.

In Villa FdC, we took a small boat out to an island that had a large lagoon, where the locals enjoy swimming and relaxing. After an hour or so there, we headed for a store where we enjoyed some local pastries. These were delicious and gave the energy to continue on to Furnas.

At the end of the 2nd day, we loaded into the van and zipped over to a village where they were hosting a religious procession. Azorean culture has strong religious ties. Throughout the year, there are several major festivals to celebrate various religious events and traditions. The guides explained to us that in the summer the smaller villages take turns hosting a weekly procession of statues of religious figures and locals dressed as key religious figures.

The most eye-catching aspect of this event is the carpet of flowers that is laid down the village streets for the parade. We had dinner reservations, so we could not stay for the whole thing, but it was fascinating to glimpse what we could.

Along the river that flows through Furnas they have built a 15 feet by 6 feet pool, just the right depth to sit on the edge and soak your feet. If your feet get too warm, you can pivot around and soak your feet in the cold river.

Furnas sits in the heart of a major hydrothermal zone. The residents embrace this location in several ways. Downtown has a park that is full of steaming vents, boiling pools and springs. We enjoyed corn on the cob that was cooked by placing it in a large sack and then placing it near one of the vents to steam the corn. The variety of springs was impressive. There were boiling hot, mineral water springs that were tasty (if you like that sort of thing), and a mineral water spring that was naturally carbonated

This picture really captures the Azores. Beautiful flowers framed by steep hills

They aren't really walking on water. That edge of the lagoon is fairly shallow.

Climbing, climbing, climbing.

The gardens behind the hotel were originally started by the first US Ambassador to Portugal. They've been expanded and are amazing. We did a walking self-guided tour of the main trails. It took us about 2 hours and we covered maybe 75% of the garden.