This morning we woke up in Ribeira Grande and had a quick perfect breakfast of natas and some other tart (a milk tart). The natas were out of this world. The outside wasn’t nearly as chewy as the ones back home. It had the combination of perfect chew and perfect crispity flakey crust. The custard wasn’t overly sweet like back home and the “burnt” parts added a whole other depth of flavour. It was amazing.
Hot as a furnas
Our next stop after lunch was the hotsprings in Furnas that are nestled within a gorgeous garden, called Terra Nostra. First we walked through the trails and saw all kinds of cool flowers, plants, and giant koi fish. There was even a section dedicated to different types of palm trees from around the world, some of them from the 1600s! Then we went to try out the thermal baths, all naturally heated by the ground. The brownish water might not be so appetizing but I assure you, it was wonderful; as warm as a nice bath. There were also 2 other smaller hot pools (not as brown), that were slightly different temperatures. We had a lovely relaxing time!
Fizzy bubelach from a wall
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).
Obrigado
After getting acquainted with our “hotel”, which is a guesthouse that only has 2 guests (us!), we went for a stroll through the town and to the beach. This is on the road to our hotel:
First Stop – Limpets!
We made it (finally)! We each slept for about 3 hours on the plane which I guess isn’t the worst. We got “upgraded” to the emergency row, and no one was sitting next to us so that was actually pretty nice.We tried asking every rental car place at the airport if they had any automatic cars, and they said they were €650 for 2 days… Yeah, no. Looks like we’re walking and cabbing!This island is absolutely stunning. It’s like a more tropical Prince Edward Island, with massive hills covered in farms. Everyone here has been very friendly so far, and they automatically assume we’re from Toronto. Apparently there are a ton of people from the Azores living in Toronto.Of course our hotel wasn’t ready, so we did what we do best – eat!
A good start
Our trip was almost over before it began!!! Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration.
Our plan was to leave at 9 p.m. tonight, head to Ponta Delgada (the main island) and fly to Flores 2 hours after we landed. Flores is an island of the Azores that is closest to the west. We were going to spend a few days there, go canyoning, do a few hikes, go to Corvo (a tiny island north of Flores) for a day, and then fly to Faial (another island in the middle of the Azores).
I Came, Azores, I Conquered 