LN894 17/03/2016

This was our second day in the Azores.  Some people hired cars or went on tuk tuk rides to see a bit more of Sao Miguel, the island where we are moored up.  Others went for a wander to see a bit more of the town.  A few of us caught a bus out to Furniss, aptly named because of the hot springs there.

The scenery we passed was beautiful – rugged coastline, lush green fields, colourful houses with sweet little wooden shutters on the windows in blues and greens which reminded me of a house near where I grew up.

The bus ride took about an hour and a quarter or an hour and a half and dropped us off in a national park with a lake surrounded by mountains/hills in a way slightly reminiscent of the Lake District, but with lots of interesting trees we don’t get in the UK.  Apart from the man with the digger and the park rangers who you could have been forgiven for thinking were trying out for Formula One, it was incredibly peaceful.

We found a number of chainsaw-crafted sculptures created during a competition in 2012 – Gandalf, a wolf to represent the wolf cubs (Scouts) who are responsible for looking after a section of the woodland; an owl; a frog and many others. After a swing on a swing seat which brought out the inner kid in us, we headed off for some lunch and a swim in the hot springs.  One of our trio, Sandy, ended up looking like she was auditioning for “The Lion King” after getting the orange pigment from the springs smeared all over her face.  If only we could upload photos…

Nat, after a day out with Becky and Sandy