Day 10: Caldeiras hike and lava pool

July 14, 2020

Today there are 10 suns in the sky, so we want to take advantage of the beautiful weather and drive to Sete Cidades in the northwest of the island.

The goal is the 11 km long northeast circumnavigation of Caldeira das Sete Cidades.

Apart from that, I absolutely have to go to the viewpoint 'Miradouro da Boca do Inferno', which is also featured on the cover of our travel guide. This view is what inspired me to go on vacation to the Azores.

But first we have breakfast!

The lonely resort pool looks especially beautiful in the sun today

We leave around 10 o'clock towards Sete Cidades.

At 10:45 we reach the parking lot from where we want to start walking. Right next to it is one of the many cow pastures.

According to the travel guide, the trail is so crowded in midsummer that you can only make progress in single file. Today we are alone ...

Once again ...

We walk past an old aqueduct along a gravel road and in front of us we can already see the mountain with the extremely steep concrete path. Oh no! Do we have to climb up there???

The concrete path is terrible! It goes steeply uphill, I walk in small curves to save my knees. While my daughter has almost reached the top, I have only reached halfway.

Once we're at the top, we'll go up a small hill to a viewpoint and are rewarded with a first great view of the lakes

And we can see our path, winding up and down along the edge of the crater and finally ending in a wide arc down in the village.

Oh no...

Is that 11 kilometers? Looks like 20 km!

The path is constantly going up and down. The gravel road is sometimes slippery downhill, good footwear is essential.

I briefly regret not bringing my newly purchased hiking poles. They might have been useful here.

At a cow trough (mostly masonry water spots), there are masses of frogs, tadpoles and those who want to become frogs

With many photo stops, we calmly circumnavigate the lake. No sign of mass tourism. On the first 8 km we meet only 4 people (and 2 motocross riders), then maybe 6 people again. Even at the viewpoint, which can be reached by car, there are hardly any tourists on the road.

On a cow pasture we then discover a 'slightly different cow'. On closer inspection, this cow turns out to be a horse.

Unfortunately, horses on the Azores are tethered to a 10m chain and left largely to themselves. Even if several horses are on one meadow, they are not allowed to 'run' together, they are all tethered.

For me as a former rider, it's very unusual.

When we have walked quite a bit downhill through the forest, the road splits. Here we look in vain for a marking. From the direction, however, it must be the path with the excavator that is currently renewing the road. We ask the driver and he confirms to us that this is the way to the lake.

What he doesn't tell us (probably due to a lack of English skills) is that the road is not yet finished...

As it goes steeply downhill, we find ourselves on an unfinished road that eventually ends in loose rubble and sand heaps.

After we climbed down across the stone heaps, we meet 2 construction workers including an excavator. They seem a bit confused, they probably weren't expecting tourists here. We signal that we want to go to the lake, which we can already see not far in front of us, but there is no road or path to get there, it is just being built ...

The excavator driver grins and clears a path for us with the excavator bucket, maybe 2 m, then we have to climb through ankle and calf-deep sand and earth heaps to the other side.

The two construction workers are probably laughing at us when they see us stepping through the heaps.

Visibly relieved, we reach the road and walk along the lake to the nearby restaurant. There we have something to drink and an ice cream! We have earned it!

We then take a taxi back to the parking lot. Our soles are smoking!

To the next viewpoint, the Miradouro Boca de Inferno, you apparently used to be able to drive quite a distance, but the gate is now closed. So we have to walk again ...

But it's worth it!

When we return to the car, we swear not to buy another trail. Our legs feel like jelly.

We continue to the viewpoint 'Vista do Rei', which is right next to the ruined hotel of Monte Palace.

The Monte Palace, a former 5-star hotel that was only in operation for 1.5 years in the late 1980s before it went bankrupt.

Today only a plundered ruin remains.

All entrances and staircases have been bricked up, there are 'No Entry' signs everywhere, but the main gate is open.

The ruin is a tourist attraction.

We also go into the hotel ruins. There is graffiti everywhere, the bare concrete is painted. There is nothing left of the former glory of a 5-star hotel.

Through the dark staircase we dare down to the basement where there used to be a swimming pool and spa area. We only see tiled walls in the light of the mobile flashlight. It's so creepy that we quickly go back upstairs.

After seeing the ruin, we continue driving.

The goal is the lava pool in Ferraia, where the seawater is heated by underground springs.

The parking lot is busy. In contrast to the previous highlights where we were mostly alone, there is a lot going on here. .

We walk to the lava pools and jump into the surprisingly warm sea. The closer we swim to the cliff, the warmer it is, and according to the travel guide, the water temperature here is an average of +28 degrees Celsius.

The narrow streets of Moisteros are a real challenge

We continue driving along the coast to Moisteros, where we drink and eat something at a small snack bar above the lava bathing pools.

With the sunset we reach our Santa Barbara Eco Beach Resort in the evening.

What an eventful day!