Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 - An Easy Walk With a Surprising Kitchen

 Near Furnas, is the lake that filled the crater of its explosive volcano, Lagoa das Furnas. At first, we had a bit of navigation struggle and light rain, so it was late morning with higher hopes that we set out on a walk we hoped would be easy. Of course, it had to start with a climb, but this one was short and not too steep.

Stew Payment Station!

The first oddity we came across upon entering the lake's park was a little booth off to the side, where we could rent a pot for the day for a mere 3 Euros! What the heck is this! We decided to pass on the option, but were curious to see why one would want to rent a pot!

Caldeiras da Lagoa da Furnas

A short while later, we came across these 'boilers', but how on earth are we supposed to get a pot in that!

Boiling Mud

There was a hole that was doing a great job of boiling mud, something hat I had always wanted to see.

Black Boiler

A very enthusiastic black boiler took my attention for quite some time - trying to catch a moment when the fumes cleared to get a clear shot took quite a bit of persistence! (This is not a black and white photo - it is the color of the hole.)

Cat Likes the Warmth

The cat didn't read the signs about staying on the sidewalk, but I suspect he found that rock had a very cozy glow - better than a hot pool for him!

But what about these pots?

Restauranteur Installing his pot for the day

Finally, we saw a man carrying a pot on a stick near a bunch of small mounds nearby.

The Pots are Buried

There were many mounds, the majority of which had the names of restaurants on them. I seems this is actually a very ecological slow cooker - not one bit of fossil fuel goes into it - other than the drive! The restaurants put together the ingredients for their stew at the beginning of the day, in their pots, and then come back at the end of the day to pick up the cooked result and serve it in the restaurant. It's called - wait for it - Furnas Stew! LOL! Basically it's meat, sausage, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, blood pudding etc, etc. 

Hole for Stew Pot

The place we saw at the beginning allows any one to access a cooking hole to make their stew for the day. Here is an empty hole that would fit the pot.

Cooking hole is all set.

Here is a link that gives you more details, in the event you ever want to come and fix your own stew.

 https://igoazores.com/en/azores-gastronimy-how-to-prepare-furnas-stew/. 

Base of Pico do Ferro

So, after all that fun, and more inhalation of Sulphur fumes, we turned our back to the dramatic and set off on our walk around the lake. How wonderful to anticipate a trail that was flat!

Trail around Lagoa Das Furnas

It was a lovely, gentle trail.

Totem pole?

Every now and then we cam across interesting carvings that looked a bit like totem poles. We figured out that they were the stumps of trees that had been cut, but instead of removing the stumps, they made carvings from them. This one looked a little like the Loch Ness Monster, to me.

Bird Box with Character

We were also entertained by the humor in these bird boxes. I wonder if the birds who inhabit them notice the difference?

Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Vitorias

This lovely chapel did not fit the usual 'church' formula we've seen to date and is said to be a 'rare example of neo-gothic' style in Portugal'. It was very evocative of an English countryside scene. It was privately built in 1886 in order to be the burial site of a couple from here Jose and Maria do Canto. It seems he had planned for it to be a family mausoleum and died with the disappointment that the couple had no children.

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_do_Canto

A Windy Outing

I was pleased to see that these canoeists had their life jackets on as it was quite windy and looked like a great struggle. It was frustrating to watch them, as they really did not know how to paddle and kept switching from side to side together. I hoped they were having a good time. But we had now reached the end of the idyllic scenes of this lake trail and you know they can't just let us have a flat walk!

Miradouro Lombo das Milhos

So away from the lake and up we go to the Miradouro that overlooks Furnas. It hadn't been too bad and the view was pretty.

Down, down, down!

Oh, but now we have to go down, and more down and steep down! Oh, my knees! I've learned to snake my way back and forth across the road in a zig zag to ease the impact on my knees, and although it makes me slower, it works. I'm also VERY grateful that my joints are still keeping up with the demands, even though I get home tired.

Cascata da Ribiera Quente

Our day was not yet over. We had arranged to go to a restaurant on the coast in a little town called Ribeira Quente. The restaurant had been recommended by a friend, so off we went in our glad rags. When Robyn spied this beautiful waterfall as we drove past, we had to find a place to park (sometimes a hazardous process on the narrow roads) and traipsed back to get a closer look.

Cascata da Ribiera Quente

It really was a beautiful cascade.

Ribeira Quente

The seaside town was charming.

Porto da Pesca, Ribeira Quente

The fishing fleet had a much more substantial heft than the boats we had seen over in Mosteiros when we fist arrived.

Traditional Boats

There was a substantial sea wall, and I saw there were a few traditional boats there which caught the evening sun very nicely.

Ponto do Garajau Restaurant

Our reservations were at opening time for the restaurant, so we found it all ready for the evening. If we had not made reservations, we would have been turned away.

Menu Arrived in a Bottle

I was intrigued by the way the menu was presented. It arrived in a water bottle, as if it ha been washed up on the beach. I suspect there are a few Fernandina restaurants that might find this touch appealing.  Robyn observed very accurately that all the diners she saw struggled to get it unrolled and keep it unrolled in order to read it! Dang those practicalities!

Bon appetit!

Both of us had fish and declared it was the best meal we'd had yet (apart from the home cooked treat in Mosteiros). A pleasing day had ended very nicely indeed.