Like yesterday, we started our day with coffee on the porch. Our plan today was to cover the rest of the sights in Terceira. We were to check-out at noon so we decided to head to Piscinas Naturais Biscoitos first and come back after spending some time there and then get ready and check-out. Piscinas Naturais Biscoitos are natural pools at the edge of the ocean formed by lava rocks from ancient volcanic eruptions. We carried a couple of towels and our swim wear and headed out. The weather was cloudy but it wasn’t raining.
We reached there around 10:00am and parked the car in the huge parking lot. There weren’t many other people there but I’m guessing that the crowds would increase as the day progressed. Especially in the summer months, this place must attract the masses. We first headed to the right side where there was a concrete platform from where we could jump into the deep pool. It was very windy and there was a chill in the air, it felt quite cold, not an encouraging sign for swimming in the ocean. There were a few lifeguards around and we asked one of them in this area if it was safe to swim since the yellow flag was flying. He told us that we can go ahead and then jumped in right in front of us for a quick dip. By the time I got myself ready to go, he was already climbing back out. I had an apprehension that the water would be quite cold so I asked him about it. He said it was better inside than outside and as unbelievable as that sounds, he was right (as I found out later).
I brought myself to the edge of the platform and took the plunge, figuratively and literally. The initial shock of the cold water gave way to trying to swim across as the waves tossed me around. This protected pool was already quite rough so can’t imagine how the open ocean would have been.
I managed to make it to the rocks on the other side and then swam back and climbed back up to the platform. Being outside I quickly realized that the lifeguard was right and it was colder outside with the wind and chill than it was inside the water. I repeated the circuit again and it was just as much fun as the first time. After that we headed to the other pools which were shallower and more sheltered and hence calmer. This felt more like being in a swimming pool and less like the open ocean, it was nice to swim around and relax.
There were a few others around by now. Some tourists like us and some locals. One of the local couples was trying to tell us something in Portuguese thinking that we looked like locals. But we weren’t really able to follow so the man switched to broken English and tried to tell us that there were jellyfish in the pools, pointing to a Portuguese Man o’ War which his wife had pulled out from the water on a stick. He explained that the ocean had been rough from the last few days and hence some of these Portuguese Man o’ War had been tossed over into these pools with the rough waves. He said all of us were lucky and nobody there got stung, otherwise it would have spoilt the day and the vacation for us. We took that as a cue and decided to head out of the water and back.
After rushing through getting ready and packing and check-out, we decided to go to Fonte das Sete Bicas for lunch to try out the local specialty, Azorean Alcatra. We ordered the beef and octopus dishes. They came with bread and boiled potatoes. In hindsight, we should have ordered one and then ordered another if we wanted more, with respect to the taste and the quantity; like if I had to pick one I would pick the beef alcatra. Both were very flavourful, but quite oily and salty compared to food we’ve eaten in Europe. The portion was quite large and too much for us to finish. So we asked for the rest to be put in a box and took that along.
After lunch we drove towards Praia da Vitória to see the Miradouro do Facho. On the way we made a quick photo stop at Miradouro da Ponta da Má Merenda. There were cattle grazing in the green meadows with the deep blue Atlantic ocean and the sky blue sky in the background. There was a nice bench made in the concrete wall to sit and enjoy the view.
We then drove further up and finally through a boulevard lined with trees on both sides to reach the Monumento do Imaculado Coração de Maria. We also saw the Baloiço da Praia there with beautiful views of Praia da Vitória below. We could also see Serra do Cume with the windmills in the distance.
We had called ahead to our next accommodation, Hospedaria casa D’Avo, asking when we could check-in and drop off our bags and had agreed on meeting there at 2:30pm. So we drove there and got the keys to our room and left our bags there and headed out for our next stop.
Algar do Carvão is a volcanic cavern with steps leading visitors down to rock formations, vegetation and a small lagoon at the bottom. We purchased the combo ticket to visit here and also Gruta do Natal later. We wore our rain jackets to avoid getting wet from the water seeping down. The initial part was down a corridor and tunnel till we reached the initial entry point into the cavern.
Looking up we could see the clear blue sky and the lush green vegetation growing at the top of the funnel. There was a platform area in the middle from where we could see a rock dome and lava tubes. We took another set of stairs down to see the lagoon at the bottom. It was a surreal experience to be inside an ancient volcanic funnel.
Our next stop was Gruta do Natal, a volcanic cave with various rock formations in lava tubes. We showed them our combo ticket and they handed us a disposable cap (like a shower cap) and a hard helmet to avoid bumping our heads inside. This was very useful because I did hit my helmet on the rocks at a few places inside.
There were a couple of path to follow once we were inside. It felt strange and amazing to be walking in tunnels which had magma flowing through them long ago.
The floor and walls of the tunnels had various textures and patterns caused due to different lava flows and there were boards explaining that at various places.
The area around Gruta do Natal was very beautiful with pastures and a juniper forest. The light was perfect and offered superb views of the the green foliage with the backdrop of the blue sky. We walked around for a bit and then got back in the car and drove on.
We then drove to Furnas do Enxofre, a scenic volcano park with walking trails. It was amazing to be in close proximity to the geo-thermal activity and we could see steam rising from vents in the ground.
The smell of sulfur was not too obvious at first, but it definitely made its presence felt as we walked further. The path lead you around the area and coming back to the parking lot where we started.
We had covered everything we had planned for the day and had some day light hours left so we decided to visit Miradouro da Serra do Cume one more time. The vistas from the viewing platform were magnificent again.
On the other side of the hill we could see Praia da Vitória and Miradouro do Facho in the distance from where we’d seen Serra do Cume earlier in the day.
We had an early flight the next day, so we re-fueled the car and returned it to the rental agency at the airport. We walked back to our hotel and had the Alcatra we had packed at lunch, for dinner. Stayed here for 1 night. The room was neat and tidy, the bed was not very comfortable though. The shared bathrooms right next to the room were clean. There was a communal kitchen with a refrigerator and washing machine and microwave.
We would be in transit for 2 full days before we reached Iceland ↗️; the first day in Lisbon again ↗️ and then the next day in Athens ↗️. So we packed our bags and backpacks accordingly and called it a night.