Gloriadventure

         Faro do Arnel (Nordeste)         Day 6 was about setting off to the farthest point on the island so far. Nordeste is a town situated, by no surprise, in the "Northeast" of the Sao Miguel island. We visited here the Lighthouse of Arnel or Faro do Arnel which is the oldest lighthouse in Azores, operating since 26 November 1876. Here we met the clearest and bluest water on the island, and also the hottest air.          To go to the lighthouse you need to go down on a winding and steep paved road. There is a parking lot where you can leave your car since going down by car "is not recommended". My boyfriend was not scared by this sign and accepted the challenge. I was too slow to stop him and once he entered the road there was no going back. The road was so steep that it was enough space in A SINGLE CURVE to build up a house. At one point we were heading to a curve where I could see straig...

     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 mostl...

     Today we began with a stop at a very popular attraction from Sao Miguel island, Our Lady of Peace Chapel or also found as Miraduro Nossa Senhora da Paz. It is a white chapel on a hilltop with panoramic views over the countryside and the ocean. The most impressive feature at this chapel are the stairs that took us up to it. These are decorated with mural artwork. The legend says that the chapel was built in 18th century because sheperds saw an image of the Virgin Mary in a cave so they build the chapel over the cave. It is still visited by many pilgrims until this day. We were lucky to come here early, because at our way back, the parking lot started to get crowded. Our Lady of Peace Chapel      On our way to today's hike we came across a park so beautiful that we considered it it worth to make a little stop here. It's called Jardim da Alameda, in Furnas. The garden offers a beautiful pyramid-like waterfall, a small aquarium where you can see different ...

     After Vista do Rei we got hit by a great painful muscle fever that prevented us from walking straight 😆 So we decided to go on a car tour and see the rest of the beauties from the West side of the island. The first stop was at Miraduro do Pico do Carvao where we admired the bright green fields which stretched to the Atlantic Ocean. Miraduro do Pico do Carvao     I n this area, along the road, we noticed many old towers and aqueducts and stopped at some of them to take pictures and walk among them. This tower can be found on Maps as "Torre". We also stopped at Aqueducto do Carvao which can be found between Muro das Nove Janelas and a parking lot where we left the car. Torre & Aqueducto do Carvao      On our way to Sete Cidades village, we stopped at another beautiful viewpoint - Miraduro do Cerrado das Freias - to admire again the mesmerizing landscape of the crater's lagoons. In Sete Cidades we enjoyed a cup of coffee at a nice local and...

               On the west side of the island, you can find the most beautiful hike on the island. The trail starts at Miraduro Vista do Rei where you can admire the magnificent view of Lagoa das Sete Cidades crater lake. Translated, it means "the King's view"...indeed a landscape worthy of a king's eyes. It goes along the western edge of the volcano on a dirt road surrounded by fantastic vegetation. Miraduro Vista do Rei                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 today, and Lagoa do Santiago and Lagoa Rasa, which we will be seing later, on the fith day.  ...

          In our first day on Sao Miguel island, we were not able to do much, but we did not waste any time. We arrived at noon, rent the car and went to the hotel.  City center by night           Jardim Botanico Antonio Borges           We found a nice Botanical Garden which also had a pub where we ate two tasty salads and two portions of giant pancakes.  Jardim Natural Food & Coffee         Jardim Botanico Antonio Borges is free to entry and has beautiful species of huge trees. It's not big, but has beautiful paths to walk on and which introduced us to the Azorean environment. I didn't even arrive well and I was already overwhelmed at the sight of a duck mom and her toddlers. They just had a bath in the lake. The ducklings were clumsy and stumbling constantly, following their mommy. It was such a precious moment to witness.      ...