Viewing São Miguel Island

A choppy and windy day out at sea today! We saw two friendly pods of dolphins this morning - common dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins - but unfortunately have had to cancel our afternoon excursions because of the poor sea conditions. Luckily, despite cloud in some places, there were some sunny spots over the island so our guests went out on jeep and walking tours to see some of the beautiful crater lakes and volcanic areas like Sete Cidades and Lagoa de Fogo. The forecast is looking more promising for tomorrow so fingers crossed we're back out at sea in the morning!

 

 

Another hiking week



Another week has passed and we had a few more really great hikes in the green island (São Miguel) of the Azores. The weather hasn't been great, but still, with some flexibility and team work we were able to manage the schedule to best suit our walkers. Guests that join our walks have the opportunity to learn about local history, fauna, flora, traditions and society while having fun, excercising and being in close contact with nature. It will be our pleasure to have you in one of our next groups!

 

Sete Cidades lake in front of us, walking along the rim of the crater

Another perspective from the rim of the crater

Furnas walk, passing near Furnas lake

Still in Furnas, visiting the beautiful Terra Nostra garden

The third walk of the week - Faial da Terra 

 This walk is also known as "the jungle walk"



Salto do Prego - the amazing and very refreshing waterfall where people can go for a quick swim

 

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

 

 

Futurismo walking tours

April 15th and 21st

During the last days our land team been busy. On the 15th they did a walking tour through Faial da Terra and on the 21st a jeep tour through Sete Cidades. Here you have some pictures of both activities:

Here you have some guests at Salto do Prego, a waterfall that you can visit when doing the walking tour in Faial da Terra

Pico do Carvão, Sete Cidades

Sete Cidades blue lake

Santiago Lake