Azores Day: 2

We had to drag ourselves out of bed, but we made it down to breakfast and that was enough of a victory to get us going.

First stop: Lagoa das Furnas for the 8 km loop. It was pouring and showed absolutely no signs of stopping, so Fern convinced me to just commit to being wet and go with it. And honestly? Worth it. The walk took us through geothermal steam, past volcanic activity, a stunning Neo-Gothic chapel, and through the most lush forest paths. We also saw where the famous cozido stew is slow-cooked underground using volcanic heat, which was smelly but very cool. We crossed paths with an Araucaria Heterophylla — one of the largest of its kind in the world. It was a very large tree. Very cool. See how Tiny I looked below. ALSO we saw really beautiful tree roots and Fern and I decided the tree would make gorgeous furniture.

We were completely soaked despite being the only people wearing full ponchos. The colors were so beautiful and the whole thing felt incredibly peaceful — right up until the last 20-30 minutes where the trail spat us out alongside a road and we spent the final stretch praying not to get splashed by passing cars. We almost made it out unscathed, and then I tripped and fell into a puddle right next to our car. So close.

We drove into town next and stopped at the Caldeiras das Furnas — boiling mud pools, steaming fumaroles, and sulfurous vents. Still raining, still very smelly, still somehow very pretty. We tried to stop at a tea shop but they were closed for winter. I also slipped again. Moving on.

Then came the humbling portion of the afternoon. We missed some street signs, Google Maps led us astray, and we turned right down a one-way street. A line of cars formed in front of us. Fern had to back up the entire length of it. It was stressful. It was humbling. We don't need to talk about it further.

We pressed on to Queijaria Furnense to try the famous Azorean cheeses — because Hugo, our beloved horse fairy guide from yesterday, had looked us in the eyes and told us the Azorean cheese was incredible. We trusted him completely. Readers, everything tasted like cow. The same cow from the night before. The cow had followed us. It was, genuinely, a little traumatic. We tried to fight through it — I focused very intently on cutting my pizza with scissors (which reminded me of the Baines) and powered through a full carafe of passion fruit sangria, which tasted like juice :) and provided a minimal buzz even after being downed entirely.

We were meant to go to the hot springs but were too hungry and had to postpone until tomorrow — spoiler alert, we changed the tickets and got in, so stay tuned.

Instead, we made the spontaneous decision to drive an hour to the opposite side of the island to Ponta da Ferreira, a natural thermal pool where volcanic hot springs meet the Atlantic Ocean. The water temperature shifts with the tides — warmest at low tide — and we timed it perfectly, arriving right at 6 pm for the lowest tide of the day. The whole thing was absolutely picturesque, and we caught a beautiful sunset over the water. The walk down was long and steep since a landslide had closed the road to cars, so we made it on foot. It was very windy and I was freezing, but Fern bravely went in. Her words: "I felt washed anew by the waves and I was polished by the rocks." She was very moved. I put my feet in (it was warm) and was content.

On the walk back up I sincerely attempted to hitchhike. I received only dirty looks, so we had to conquer the mountain ourselves.

We then stopped at a pharmacy in Ponta Delgada to treat our horseback riding battle wounds, found a shopping mall, stocked up on picnic supplies for tomorrow (we are, unfortunately, temporarily done with Azorean food), and drove back to the hotel.

The roads here are the windiest we have ever seen. We genuinely do not know how people drive them at the posted speed limits. We cannot imagine what tour buses do on these cliffs! The roads alone are humbling, but we will become pros - we still have half the island to explore!"

♡ Ink