The last day of 2010 - the hike to Fogo lake

The last day of the year was a true blessing! We had sunshine, beautiful colours, a good walk and a great group! It was hard to believe it was December 31st based on how warm it was! After the hike we finished our day with a bath in Caldeira Velha - a Natural Regional Monument with a warm waterfall. What a great way to finish 2010. Let's hope we have many more days like this in 2011!

These are just a few shots of the day:

 

 

A challanging walk in Furnas

As we have mentioned before, it has been raining quite a bit this winter. As a consequence of that, some of our walking trails are damaged by some landslides and fallen trees. To avoid that today we had to take this week's group on an alternative walking tour. It was a little more challenging then we expected but in the end it worked out well and we all had fun! After the walk we had the unique "cozido" meal for lunch and ended our day with a hot bath in a thermal pool and a visit to the tea factory for our 5 o'clock tea.

Here are some photos of the tour:

 

One of the cooking holes where the Cozido das Furnas is made

Resting our feet

Sitting back enjoying the view over Furnas

Looking at the fumaroles in Furnas village