Sao Miguel - Hiking the most unique trail on the island and eating pineapple at the farm
Almost anywhere you go, there is a parking area. Today was also about discovering the island by foot, so we parked our car at Lagoa do Canario parking lot. Today we went in the same area as in the second day, in the West part of the island, at Sete Cidades Volcano. This area might host the best views in the whole island. Here are many beautiful trails that can be done; even though they are in the same perimeter, they all have their unique stunning features. And what is great about this is that two of the most well rated trails are here: Vista do Rei that we already done in the second day and Serra Devassa which we did today.
Before we headed to Serra Devassa, we made a "quick" deviation from the road to see Lagoa de Santiago, north of the main street. To get to this lake we went on an iconic road which you might recognize if you've ever used Windows10. I didn't know at that time why this landscape seems so familiar to me; the goosebumps were mostly because of its beauty. On its left side we also spotted a little bit of Lagoa Rasa. Both lakes together with Sete Cidade's lake can be seen from this very popular viewpoint, named Miraduro da Grota do Inferno.
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| The iconic road leading to Miraduro da Grota do Inferno |
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| Lagoa de Santiago with a little bit of Lagoa Rasa (top left) and Lagoas das Sete Cidades (top right) |
This large depression on the top of Sete Cidades Volcano has an almost circular shape of around 5,3km in diameter. This volcanic caldera was formed at the time of a very explosive erruption followed by several eruptions that took place inside the caldera. These last erruptions formed the Caldera Seca, Caldeira do Alferes, Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde which we've seen in Vista do Rei hike and Lagoa do Santiago, Lagoa Rasa. And with these two last lakes, we completed the geolandscape of Sete Cidades Volcano.
At the return, before we get back to the main street, we also made a stop at Lagoa do Canario which is very close to the parking lot if you want to go and see only this one. The path is well laid out and passes through a conifer park which serves also as a picnic area, so this lake is very accessible.
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| Lagoa do Canario |
Back on track, south of the street starts the main hike of today, Serra Devassa.
This is a circular trail which starts and ends at Lagoa do Canario parking lot. The paths are easy and well signposted. On the way there are various points with superb views over the north and south coast of the island, surrounded by the vast Atlantic Ocean, one of them being Pico do Paul. This walk took us on a stunning journey through the discovery of several lagoons at Serra Devassa, such as Lagoa Empadadas, Lagoa do Eguas, Lagoa Rasa, and Lagoa do Carvao.
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Pico do Paul
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The forest is the common denominator of all the roads that lead to these beautiful lagoons. Take your time and go to all of them because each of them is special and offers a different landscape. It's a great opportunity to appreciate the nature, while having a healthy walk where each break offers a different scenery to fill your eyes and soul.
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| The road through the forest |
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| The road down at the end of Serra Devassa trail |
This whole adventure took us 10 kilometers in less than 4 hours.
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| Trail map |
Pineapple farm 🍍
To spoil ourselves at the end of a successful day, we went afterwards at a Pineapple farm in Ponta Delgada, named Ananas Santo Antonio. At this pineapple plantation we had a guided tour where we learned many interesting things and the guide answeared all our questions as fascinated and curious kids 😄 In nature, the process of the appearance of the pineapple fruit can last up to 7-8 years, and besides this, the success rate is not so high. This plantation has a very interesting way of speeding up the process and having a higher rate of succesful harvest, everything remaining natural.
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| Trying out pineapple at Ananas Santo Antonio farm |
In the first step, the root with a bulb is planted in the ground which will grow 1-2 more bulbs out of it. It will be harvested in about 2 months and every bulb has grown its own root and each of them is now replanted at a greater distance from one another.
In this stage they fire up banana leaves and keep them covered to produce smoke and keep the greenhouse closed for up to 9 days. In this way the pineapple fruit will be forced to sprout faster as self defence system of the plant. It will be harvested after 6 months and will be replanted for the last time.
In the third stage, the fruit will develop its crown which is removed by the workers. This step will prevent the nutrients to flow into the crown and all the nutrients will remain in the fruit. This also makes the middle off the pineapple to be edible because it will not get hardened by the crown. After 17-18 months the fruit is ready to be harvested and consume with no loss of nutriens nor pulp.
So for a process that usually takes 7-8 years, this farm found a method to harvest the a full grown pineapple in no more than 2 and a half years, all by remaining natural.
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