Terra Nostra Garden Hotel, Furnas

Backtracking just a little, our base for the first 2 nights on Sáo Miguel island was the luxurious Terra Nostra Garden Hotel.  Normally location and somewhere small and friendly, or old and quirky, are what I look for in a hotel.  The selling point for this one was its highly acclaimed lush tropical gardens with a thermal spa at their centre, in the small village of Furnas.  ‘A very pretty village’, we were assured by our young taxi driver, who still lived there, with his mum.

It was late when we checked in and I was quite happy with my comfy bed, but was horrified to wake next morning to the sound of steady rain.  Glum faces tucked away, we tucked into a very grand breakfast indeed.  ‘It’s brightening up a bit?’  Hopeful words, but by the time we’d donned macs and gone out to explore it was torrential.  The thermal pool was getting fuller by the second.  ‘Well, we can still go in there…?’ met with a disapproving look from the other half.  So, we slipped and slithered around the uneven, mossy paths, dodging puddles and treacherous tree roots.  Rain dripping off your nose, and hood, doesn’t make for the best photos, and my camera was starting to be decidedly unhappy.  Still, we were surrounded by such beauty.  And it was lovely weather for the little ducklings.

We’re not Spa people, and nothing was further from my mind than sitting in the hotel all day.  Furnas had to have a cake shop, didn’t it?  It certainly didn’t lack for water.  The mill wheel was positively racing along!

Well, some folk are gluttons for punishment so, after squeezing ourselves into a cosy tearoom and, armed with a map, we set off to find Lagoa das Furnas.  Intermittent rain accompanied us on a road with hairpin bends, but when you could pause and look at the scenery it promised to be beautiful.  The levadas to catch the run off from the hills are a hint at how much rain the area gets. (thoughtfully, inside the hotel lifts, a 3 day weather forecast is posted, if only I’d been paying attention)  Not easy to read a map on a breezy lakeshore.

It was 2 or 3 kilometres to the lake from the village and, just as we were wondering about our sanity, it appeared quite suddenly around a corner.  A translucent, green beauty.  Wisps of smoke on the far shore caught our eye- the fumaroles.  Geothermal activity makes it possible to cook a Portuguese stew in the heat from the volcano in this part of the island.  Of course, we wanted a closer look, and before you know it we’d agreed to complete the walk around the lake.

The man in blue led the way intrepidly.  Some of the trees were swimming and at times it felt like we might have to.

But gradually the skies began to brighten, as we passed the woefully decrepit Ermida de Nossa Senhora das Vitórias.  Overhead we were unable to identify a beautiful yellow bloom, but then the shore was lined again with the blues and creams I found everywhere on these islands.

It didn’t all end in tears.  The forecast in the lift was perfectly correct, and the following morning the thermal pool looked magical with a haze of steam drifting in the sunlight.  Another unforgettable memory from the Azores.

81 comments

  3. Jo, I am glad you don’t let a bit of rain stop you from exploring. When travelling such a long way to see all these wonderful things you just have to soldier on no matter the weather. Great photos.

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  5. Oh you are the intrepid adventurer Jo. I would have gone back to bed.I am glad you didn’t as I did have fun discovering wonderful things along the way. I would have swum with you, M is too fussy…..a few leaves ppfftt I hope you had a hot bath afterwards, I am going to in a sec xx

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  7. At first I thought your day reminded me of my day in Sintra, but you didn’t have the heavy fog we had. Your photos actually turned out to be quite magical. I am most definitely a spa person, so I might have settled there on a rainy day. But you’re intrepid, so off you went, and I’m sure you’re glad you did.

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    1. I would have gone straight to the thermal pool, which intrigued me, Cathy, but Mick wasn’t so keen on brown water with bits of leaf and twig floating in it. Can’t please them all! I loved it, especially the morning after. I wish I’d taken my camera first thing because it was surreal, but I didn’t think, and afterwards the light had changed. 😦 Fabulous gardens, though!

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  9. Ah, yes! I remember it well.
    I had a similar experience in San Miguel many years ago but as I was only there for two days my optimism couldn’t match yours, nor am I as keen a walker. However, I survived it and did walk in the rain (which gave me an excuse to have my hair done in the Sam Miguel fifties-style) and the next day we crammed everything into 15 hours when we rushed here, there and everywhere. Still missed the lake as the mist was too heavy to see properly but I found the place incredibly beautiful and I could have wandered through the botanical gardens forever.

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    1. The gardens and pool were my sole reason for being there, Mari. They were incredibly beautiful, despite the weather, and the ducklings were exquisite. 🙂 🙂

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  13. I really loved this one. Walking in the rain has its pleasures – if you don’t have to wear specs, and I love mustiness. A walk after my own heart. Poland is in drought, the Wisła depleted, and I remember in Broken Hill going through the car wash just to get a brief deluge. You’ve given me inordinate pleasure.

    Sorry I’ve been a bit absent: kids and cohabitation (Joe arrived at the start of the week) have used up a huge amount of time, and a week semi-sick didn’t help.

    Warm hugs from here to you on our third child’s 41st birthday.

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    1. It’s pretty hot and sticky here too! I’ve just come from t’ai chi, in the shade of the park. Not sure whether the heatwave is following us back to the UK but I can certainly live without it for a whiie. 🙂 🙂 Most days recently have involved the beach. Sorry you’ve not been well, and I know that time you have with family will slip through your fingers in no time. It’s how it is. 😦 Wishing the birthday child a happy day, and sending you much love.

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  14. Always beautiful, lovely shots – and good on you to hike anyway! I swam in that pool too once…but didn’t get any younger (as they promised I would…) ; -D. I remember the rains, but usually we dried up quickly in the sun afterwards. That garden is wonderful – many tree ferns I remember. Ahhh, thank you again and again for taking me!

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  17. What a fabulous place to stay, an absolute gem even in the rain ive been out and about and away from the computer for a while so have missed out on your amazing stay in the Azores. I will have to back track and catch up with your adventures

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  18. I’ve swam in that “pool” at the Terra Nostra hotel (2nd photo top left).
    It rains a lot in the Azores, but the scenery is incomparable.

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    1. What’s a girl to do? It can’t be sunshine all the way. Though living here it’s easy to forget that. Thanks darlin 😍☔⛅💕 Will try to do a link up post of the walks in the next day or two xx

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