Because our flight to Flores got cancelled and we have no rental car for the first couple of days, we asked our hotel to recommend a driver to take us around today. They set us up with Bruno, which was the best thing that’s happened to us so far. He’s amazing! He knows all the good spots and all the good food to eat, and he’s not just driving us around. He’s given us a tour of everywhere we’ve been, and made a reservation at a special restaurant for us.

The first stop was a tea plantation that has been around since 1883. They make green and black tea, and the tea is bagged by hand by ladies who work at the factory. It was the best smelling place we’ve ever been to! It is apparently the only tea plantation in Europe, and they got the plants from Japan. The island is also covered in hydrangeas, which also came from Japan! Turns out hydrangeas turn different colours depending on the minerals in the soil (thank Bruno for that tidbit).

The machines used at the factory are original from when the plantation opened, and the factory is powered by hydroelectricity from a nearby river. At the end, we got tea samples and had a lovely breakfast with a local bread that was out of this world. Bruno told us that there was a competing company trying to make the bread but it wasn’t as good as what we ate. He had to whisper that fact to us because the owner happened to be standing nearby and was giving us the stink eye. Inside was a local cheese and ham that was fantastic.

We also had something that is only available in the Azores and only 2 families know how to make it: queijadas. It was like the Azorean version of natas. Very sweet and had a great texture, sort of like a macaron in that it had a crusty exterior but a chewy interior.

Most of the day has been spent in and around Furnas (pronounced “Foornash”), a town in the middle of a volcano crater. We went to a lookout point but there were too many clouds, so we went down to the lake and saw where the restaurant would be making our lunch – in a hole in the ground! There is a hot spot under the ground from the volcanic activity, and water comes boiling to the surface. Restaurants or picnickers bring pots of food to stick into holes in the ground for 6 hours.

We went to the centre of town and Bruno took us to the garden with hot springs. The coolest part was that there is water coming out of the wall in places, and Bruno took us on a tasting tour of all the holes in the wall! It’s actually naturally carbonated mineral water, and some of the ones are more sulfuric than others. You can tell the difference because of the residue on the wall, and the flavour! Some of the water is hot (like above 200 degrees hot) and some is cold. The locals also make tea out of the hot water coming out of the walls. We wouldn’t have known that the water was drinkable if not for Bruno.

There are even hot springs in little pools next to the river (which was cold) for dipping your toes (the one below was 40 degrees, still pretty hot):

During the summer, the locals cook corn on top of one of the holes with boiling water, and sell the corn on the street. The water turned yellow from all the corn! We thought it was yellow from the sulfur but apparently not…

Then we went for lunch to Tony’s Restaurant, where we ate the food that was cooked in the ground earlier! The cabbage was so soft it cut like butter. Everything had a bit of a smokey taste to it and was very tender.

We had blood sausage (a local delicacy) with pineapple. The pineapple comes from a small farm on the island and are small and a bit more orange in colour. They’re delicious!

Bruno is taking us to the hot springs for swimming now! Will post more later.