Our activities of the last days

23/5/2013

Walking tour to "Sete Cidades" 

Walking around the lakes of "Sete Cidades" (in the back The Blue Lake - Lagoa Azul) with our german clients

"Frogwatching"

Taking a bath in the warm water of the natural swimming pool in "Ferraria", the place of the last eruption on the island

24/5/2013

Jeep tour to "Lagoa do Fogo" - The Fire Lake



Our view to the Fire Lake

The beautiful flower of passion fruit seen in the front of the liquer factory "Mulher da capote" in Ribeira Grande, the second biggest city on the island

 28/5/2013

Full-day jeep tour to "Furnas"

Explanation about the green tea in the "Gorreana" tea factory by one of our guides - André

The workers of the "Gorreana" tea factory

Explanation about Furnas Lake and  Furnas Valley by one of our guides from the viewpoint of the "Pico do Ferro"- The Iron Peak

Removing the speciality food of  the "Furnas" - "cozido" from the ground

Walking tour to Sete Cidades

On our usual walking tour around "Sete Cidades" we have beautiful views of the lakes from above. However, because of the foggy weather and slippery due to recent bad weather, we have decided to do an alternative tour and walk down around the lakes of "Sete Cidades" through a protected area of these volcanic lakes.



Walking down by the Blue Lake of  "Sete Cidades"

One of Futurismo´s guides - Emma with our german clients

The protected area of "Sete Cidades"



The Blue Lake of "Sete Cidades"

Our clients



Full-day tour to Furnas with Futurismo

Below are some pictures of our full-day tour to Furnas from Tuesday. On this day we combined our walking tour with a visit to the tea factory "Gorreana" where you can taste local green and black tea. For lunch we went to a family restaurant where we ate "cozido" which is a speciality cooked underground in Furnas. We also had the chance to taste some local liqueurs. At the end of the tour we visited the chapel "Senhora da Paz" in Vila Franca do Campo. This chapel is situated high on the hill above Vila Franca and offers breathtaking views of Vila Franca Islet.



The tea plantations

The modern methods of tea collecting which replaced a traditional manual ones



Sterilization of tea leaves before their rolling

In the middle of the Furnas crater - caldeiras

The favourite "sauna" place of Heidi (our german guide)



The tasting of natural mineral water in Furnas

The view from the "Pico do Ferro" (The Iron Peak) to the Furnas lake



In front of Vila Frnaca Islet

Fishermen in Vila Franca do Campo

Walking tour to Lagoa do Fogo with Futurismo

Today we accomplished a full-day walking tour to „Lagoa do Fogo“ (The Fire Lake) which got this name after the last very explosive eruption that had occured in 1564 and was visible even from the Island of Terceira in the central group of the Azores archipelago. The difficulty-rating of this walking trail is "medium "because of its steep slope at the beginning, which is followed by enjoyable walking through the forest passing by "levada" (the water channel which brings water  from the mountain to the lower places of the island). From the beginning we had pleasant weather and in the end we had nice views to the "Lagoa do Fogo" lake which was not hidden in the fog this time. Today's walking tour rounded up with a visit to the natural monument of  "Caldeira Velha" which is the place with natural boiling water and also, with the bathing place where our clients can have a warm bath if they wish.

"Levada"

Blossoming hydrangea

Caldeira Velha

Full-day Sete Cidades walking tour

a full-day walking tour to Sete Cidades took place yesterday. We had started our tour with foggy weather but later on the sun showed itself and we had nice views of the Blue and Green Lake as we were walking around the crater of Sete Cidades craters. After the walking part of the tour we visited th village of Sete Cidades and ended it with an excursion to a pineapple plantation in "Fajã de Baixo" village.

                                                                          Sete Cidades lakes

     One of the Futurismo´s guides with our german group of clients explaning how the pineapples are grown in São Miguel

Walking tour to Praia da Viola with Futurismo

Yesterday, with beautiful sunny weather, we accomplished a walking tour to the beach called "Praia da Viola" on the north coast of the island of São Miguel. Starting from a village Lomba da Maia, passing the ruins of the old watermills, we were walking down to the coast, where we saw several waterfalls, and soon reached this beautiful beach. After a short break we left Praia da Viola and continued up to another village named "Maia", where we had a picnic in one of the local picnic places, which can be found all around the island. We rounded up the walking tour with a visit to the tobacco factory in Maia. Below are some photos of our full-day walking tour that took place today:

                                                                       The village "Lomba da Maia"

Coming to the beach "Praia da Viola"

One of the several waterfalls on the way

One of Futurismo´s guides with our clients

The north coast of the island of São Miguel

Maia village

Welcome to Futurismo's land blog!

Welcome to our land blog!

Since 2006 Futurismo has been operating land tours, including jeep safaris, walking tours, biking tours, geotourism and tailor made tours. These tours operate throughout the year and they are an excellent way to see the most beautiful places in the Azores with Futurismo's knowledgeable and experienced guides. In this blog you can see our stories and photographs from some of our previous land tours. Over time we will be updating this blog with more stories, photographs and videos of our adventures.

We welcome you to come and discover the Azores with us!

Furnas jeep safari with Futurismo

Futurismo offers a variety of activities on land as well as our tours at sea. Our main activities on land are jeep safaris, walking tours and biking tours. our tours are led by experienced and knowledgeable guides so that you can get the most of your time in the Azores. Our guides show you the most beautiful places and hidden treasures of the island and give plenty of interesting information along the way. One of our favourite tours is the full-day tour to Furnas. This beautiful regions is surrounded by lush green vegetaion and is well known for its hot water springs, fumaroles and ofcourse the cozido (a traditional dish made up of stewed meats and vegetables that are cooked underground using the natural heat of the earth). Below are some photos of our full-day Furnas jeep tour that took place today:

 

Along the way to Furnas we made a quick stop at the church "Senhora da Paz". Here you have breathtaking views of the south coast of São Miguel Island

View from the church showing Vila Franca Islet just off the coast

Looking down into one of the cooking holes where the famous "cozido das Furnas" is made

Taking the cozido out of the cooking holes

While our cozido lunch was being prepared we enjoyed a walk through Terra Nostra garden

Irene (one of Futurismo's guides) with one of our clients

Terra nostra garden - bathing in iron-rich hot water

Looking at the fumaroles in Furnas

Azorean chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs moreletti) (endemic subspecies)

Tea plantation

View over the north coast of São Miguel Island

Half day on the sea and half day Lagoa do Fogo

After a wonderful whale watching in the morning with fin whales and dolphins (read more about the morning whale watching HERE) we set of to Lagoa to eat a wonderful lunch before visiting Lagoa do Fogo, Caldeira Velha and the liquor factory in Ribeira Grande. Full day of wonderful experiences.


Photos from a jeep safari to Lagoa do Fogo in the afternoon: