So where is Lagoa?

The night was short because while Schahaatz snores quietly beside me, the espresso or the espresso martini keeps me awake.

Today we’re on to the next full itinerary.

Lagoa da Fogo, tea plantation, then to Furnas and in the evening we’ll have dinner at the famous restaurant Tony’s, known from television.

The weather is bad. Gray on gray, foggy and rainy. The best conditions to see something. A sense of lethargy spreads, throwing off our planned departure time.

With an hour delay, we set off. The drive up to Lagoa Fogo already hints at how beautiful the view will be. And the tip from the internet to hike up to the transmission masts on Pico da Barrosa doesn’t make it any better.

On our way up, we were delighted that there were so few vehicles on the road, just a few large tour buses and another car creeping in front of us, until we saw the sign on our way down stating that only authorized vehicles are allowed to ascend from 9 AM to 8 PM. But even though we weren't allowed to drive up, at least we parked properly in the designated car park.

Through the thick fog, we make our way back down from the volcano and head to one of the two only tea plantations in Europe. Tea has been cultivated here in the Azores for almost 180 years.

Facts:

Due to the decline of orange cultivation, the Society for the Promotion of Agriculture in São Miguel wanted to utilize the land differently and planted seeds brought from Brazil in 1848 on various fields, marking the beginning of tea production in the Azores. Despite the initial enthusiasm, there was a lack of technical knowledge for the efficient cultivation of tea. To overcome this challenge, the Chinese tea master Lau-a-Pan and his assistants and interpreter Lau-a-Teng were brought over to impart the ancient wisdom of tea production.

By the end of the nineteenth century, tea was already regarded as an important source of wealth for the Azores, as several factories were in operation. However, the challenges of the twentieth century, including mass emigration and changes in labor laws following the revolution of April 25, 1974, resulted in the closure of all tea factories, except for the Gorreana tea factory, which has been operating continuously since 1883.

However, this place is a tourist mass processing facility. Nothing romantic, no tea pickers deftly plucking the tender leaves. The only thing still done by hand is sorting the stems from the tea - for the premium tea. The rest - from harvesting to teabag - is all done by machine.

After a few pictures, we leave the hectic activity behind and drive towards the Farolim dos Fenais da Ajuda lighthouse. Why that particular one, you might wonder? Because the pictures on the internet looked good and it actually fit well into the route. But, the lighthouse is just a miniature version of a real lighthouse, still nice. The cliffs around it also make for great photos.

So, just a short stop at the lighthouse since the Terra-Nostra Park in Furnas with its pool of naturally brown iron-rich thermal water closes at 4:30 PM and we're already a bit behind schedule.

When the park is open, this tranquil spot of Furnas comes under exceptional circumstances. Everywhere there are parked cars and streams of people. We also have to search for a long time for a parking space, as all the designated spots are full.

Facts:

The Terra-Nostra Park (“Our Earth Park”) is a botanical garden. The park boasts one of the largest collections of camellias in the world with over 600 different species, and also holds Europe’s largest collection of sago palm ferns.

The garden was founded in 1780, when the then consul of the United States of America built his summer residence here on the island of São Miguel, which then became known as Yankee Hall.

Only in the mid-19th century did the area of two hectares gradually expand. One of the main attractions is the pool of naturally brown thermal water with a temperature of 38 °C.

Quickly paying 17€ per person and jumping into the brown broth - just like Tim Mälzer did.

(Just a quick background: Tim Mälzer, known from the show Kitchen Impossible, had to cook the national dish here once and he was here beforehand showing off his usual worker’s neckline in this pool.

The pool itself isn’t that crowded, but the changing rooms and toilets are a disaster.

But we’re in. And it’s wonderfully warm - at least for me.

Unfortunately, we had to quickly see the park because they wouldn’t stay open forever.

Next highlight is the typical dish Cozido à Portuguesa at Tony’s.

It mainly consists of vegetables, meat, sausages, and rice or potatoes. The traditional method of preparation involves burying the pot in a hole in the ground and allowing the dish to cook from volcanic heat for 6 hours.

This is done once a day and taken out at lunchtime. In the evening, you then get the kept warm dish served. I had read some comments online mentioning that the food wasn’t hot and the meat was dry. And it was a bit like that, but with the provided jus, it was totally delicious.

The portion was huge and we were stuffed. A little walk to the fumaroles at Lagoa de Furnas was just right.

Facts:

In the valley, there are a total of 23 warm to hot mineral springs and fumaroles, known as Caldeiras, with water temperatures of up to 98 degrees. The volcanic activities mainly manifest in the so-called Caldeiras, which are steaming spots of boiling water. They are the main attraction of Furnas, visible from afar.

The winding road home, it is now 8 PM, with beautiful sunshine brings forth the hope that we might still see Lagoa da Fogo legally today (remember the beginning of the report?) and that’s exactly how it was - including the sunset. A great end to the day.