On Wednesday, we explored western São Miguel; today, from Ponta Delgada (pop 67,229 in 2021), we head east. After breakfast near the Jardim Padre Sena Freitas, we drive toward the Lagoa das Furnas, another of the island's significant, water-filled caldeiras.
Our first stop is between the towns of Vila Franca do Campo and Furnas. The Miradouro do Castelo Branco (date unknown) is on the western edge of the caldeira. The Miradouro is not on the road, so we park near the stone gate and walk along the ridge for a couple hundred meters.
The 'white castle' looks less like a defensive structure and more like a folly – an eight-bit game character with his arms at his sides. The crenellated roof terrace offers views of the southern coast and the Ilhéu da Vila Franca, the Lagoa and the town of Furnas to the east, and beyond them, the Pico da Vara.
Driving to the lakeshore, we enter the Mata-Jardim José do Canto (19th century). We remember this name from the Jardim yesterday in Ponta Delgada. The woods are beautiful and quiet, though the trees are water-logged. The picnic areas at the water's edge are flooded in glassy shallows; some of the trees lean leaning. The results are solemn and picturesque.
A bus-full of tourists (are they speaking Polish?) interrupts the silence. We decide to head into town for lunch.
Furnas (pop 1,399 in 2021) is built into a slope. The Parque Dona Beatriz do Canto runs along the base of the slope, parallel to a small stream; the stream powers the Moinho da Agua. The village is clean, well-kept, just adorable – does everyone repaint their house every year?
Furnas is recognized for two gastronomic treats: 'cozido das Furnas' and 'bolos lêvados'. The friendly waiter suggests we try everything. The bolos are filled with garlic butter and local cheese, just a bit sweet and crispy. The cozido is a mix of meat and vegetables (like a pot-au-feu or New England boiled dinner) cooked in the geothermal vents, so it's thoroughly cooked and pungent – a 'mineral-y smokiness'. The portion is enormous, which appears to be the practice on this island; the food is flavorful and filling.
We walk-off the lunch by heading up the hill to the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Alegria (Igreja Paroquial, 20th century). The church is well scaled and perfectly sited for the towers to remain visible all along the way. The interior features a cycle of stained-glass, with linear portraiture and designs reminiscent of Expressionism: two tall panels in each side chapel, an eight-petal rose over the entrance, and a triptych over the altar.
[cause of our joy – alegria]
Walking east from the Igreja, the land flattens out and the view opens to the walls of the caldeira. We pass the attention-grabbing 'Casa Invertida', which is actually clever way to hide an electrical substation. The streets are lined with tall palms and more pollarded trees (oriental plane-?).
The road bends downhill to a wide, cobbled square in front of a small garden. Steam rises between the trees.
The Caldeiras das Furnas shares a rise with the Jardim Público da Courela, at a fork in the stream to the east of town. Thick steam and sharp fumes rush from the bubbling puddles of the Caldeiras. Behind a squat wall of basalt, the plot looks like a malformed concrete work site. Each feature is encircled with rocks and identified with ceramic tombstones.
The garden setting allows these dramatic oddities to act like water features, without the ducks. The path bridges muds and plumes to the lovely grounds further east, all wrapped by the stream. The path doubles back into a sweaty gully of landings and enclosures which overhang more vents. This valley intensifies the temperature and the humidity.
As we descend to a lower level of the park, we see the colors of the runoff mix with the geology. Manmade channels direct the rusty liquids through a series of stepped pools. Bright ribbons parallel the stonework and cut through the ground-cover.
The locals are putting the hot streams to work – doing what, we're not exactly sure (cooking? farming? heating?). Other caldeiras present as holes full of hot, black mud, perhaps the source of all this basalt. With all the shapes and colors, it feels as much a Wonka-like factory as a playland or a sculpture park.
From Furnas, we drive to Vila Franca do Campo (pop 10,323 in 2021). On the EN3-2A roadway, we encounter the local 'romeiros' (pilgrims), who make a circuit of the island every year during Quaresma –
thus, they are the 'romarias quaresmais' (Lenten pilgrimages). They wear colorfully trimmed capes (top image), carry the traditional walking sticks, and sing hymns as they travel from church to church.
We do not mean to interrupt them, and have to crawl along behind before the spotter lets us by – an mazing tradition and an touching expression of faith.
In Vila Franca do Campo, we drive out to the Miradouro Ilhéu da Vila to get a closer look at the turtle-like silhouette of the Ilhéu da Vila Franca. The bright green mat of grass ends abruptly at a shelf of sharp, inky rocks, where the Atlantic foams white.
To the east, the Marina of the Vila extends to meet the ocean. In the center of town, the torre do relógio makrs the Câmara Municipal.
To watch the sunset, we drive up to the Miradouro de Nossa Senhora da Paz, then climb the stairs to the Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Paz (1764, escadaria 1967-68) – it's a miniaturized version of Bom Jesus in Braga, but with tiles instead of fountains. There is a parking area to one side of the Miradouro, though people seem to insist on parking inside the semi-circular platform. The views south to the island and village are fantastic.
The arched panels on the ten landings to the Ermida depict scenes from the lives of Jesus and Mary (bottom to top): Anunciação, Visitação, Natividade, Circuncisão, Entre os Doutores, Agonia no Getsêmani, Flagelação, Zombaria ("AVE REX IUDAO"), Via-Crúcis, and Crucificação. The "Flagelação" (2008) appears to be a replacement and is the only one made at the Viúva Lamego – the others are made at the Fábrica Sant'Anna Lisboa (1968).
A young lady climbs the escadaria on her knees. When we reach the top, her Portuguese-Canadian father explains her devotion, and we have a good chat about travel, and our shared search for peace and appreciation for beautiful places.
An older tile illustration in the stone frame above the portal of the Ermida shows "N(ossa) S(enho)ra da Pas". Five additional panels behind the Ermida (left to right): Ressurreição, Grande Comissão, Pentecostes (center panel), Assunção, and Coroação de Maria. These are also from the Fábrica Sant'Anna, so we assume they are also circa 1968.
Behind the back deck, the island's farmlands keep going. A group of lazy calves welcomes us to the rolling pastures cut with sandy paths, and a backdrop of forested volcanic mounds. Roosters and chickens cling to the upper walls.
To the west of the Ermida is a 'life-sized' stone cross, a necklace of white beads embedded around the base. The striking image of the Ilhéu da Vila Franca and the dark outline of the southern rim of the Caldeira Velha against the golden waters is a forever photo – the perfect end to a day filled with quirky locals, unique flavors, and epic sights.
