The island of Sao Miguel is 40 miles long and 9 miles wide, so you would think that getting from one place to another would not take long. Add in narrow two lane roads, many bends and climbing several thousand feet, getting around here is not so fast. At least I'm used to driving on the right hand side of the road - my Aussie friends and relatives would have to adjust to that as well! Although our drive was only 47 miles by the most direst route, it would take at least1 hour and 22 minutes.
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| Lagoa das Empadadas |
Knowing that we had plenty of time to fill before checking into our next AirBNB, we decided to take the scenic route through Sete Cidades again and check out a few supposedly good photography sites that I had found online. I'm sure they were beautiful, but today was not the time to be there!
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| Lagoa das Empadadas |
I could see that it might be lovely.........
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| Lagoa das Empadadas |
....and there was a momentary break in the cloud to reveal this pretty gardener's shed. But overall, this place did not reveal its true beauty to us.
Next stop was Lagoa do Fogo, which is said to be the most beautiful spot on this island.
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| Lagoa do Fogo |
When you consider that it is over 3,000 feet, it is no surprise that it, too was in the clouds. The occasional glimmer of sun coming through gave a lovely sheen to the surface of the lake.
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| Selfie at Lagoa do Fogo |
The wind, however, was mighty! It afforded a completely new look in hair for Robyn! LOL!
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| Selfie at Lagoa do Fogo |
I thought it gave her a lovely wild look, that's why I gave you two photos to demonstrate! I tried taking a trail around the rim to a nearby ridge, but the wind was so strong it persuaded me to be less ambitious.
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| Lagoa do Fogo |
Although one might think that 'fogo' means 'fog', it actually means 'fire'. This attests to the fact that this lovely spot is the site of a former volcano. It is the youngest volcano on the island - formed 15,000 years ago, with the last eruption recorded in 1563. It makes a peaceful scene now, but I expect it would have been pretty exciting to see it in action.
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| Gorreana Tea Factory at Maia |
At this point we thought it might be a safe bet to head to the lowlands and a cup of tea sounded awfully good.
We were rewarded with clear skies, free samples and a lovely bakery to choose some treats from.
(Those of you who know me, can see I am not sticking to gluten free - impossible on this trip. I'm buzzing from the sugar and stiff from the gluten, but anti-inflammatories with all the dopamine and endorphins offset the worst of it.)
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| Gorreana Tea Plantation |
I loved the orderly curves of the tea hedges on the hillside. Although the plant is called Camellia sinensis, it is not actually related to the lovely flowering plant, but was named after a Jesuit from the Philippines, Rev. Georg Kamel.
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| Harvesting Camellia sinensis |
I was pretty excited to see the plant being harvested. The tips that stick out of the hedge are shaved by this machine that is like a vacuum assisted hedge trimmer which is passed across the top of the bush. The bags were emptied onto larger sacks and then taken for drying for 12 hours, followed by steaming.
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| After this, the leaves head to the drying room |
The varieties of tea we get are then due to the amount of oxidation that follows and the selection of leaves. Because I am such a fan of tea, I would love to explain more, but I suspect that my interest is not shared by most.
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| Welcome Message in Tile at Cha Gorreana |
It had been a lovely, very civilized way to spend an hour or two, and the time was finally right to head off to our AirBNB in Furnas. More volcanic adventures ahead!
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