Hello my dear friends, we are in a beautiful town of Furnas in the Azores. Today we had a chance to go for a very good walk to visit Caldeiras, natural volcanic hot springs where local restaurants and families cook their meals.
This is the road that took us there, 3-4 km one way, it took us 50 minutes to get there.
Caldeira do vulcao das Furnas, boiling pools and steaming vents offer a portal to Middle Earth. For decades, if not centuries, families have come here to cook the famous cozido nas caldeiras in huge pots buried in the volcanic sand; prized cooking spots are passed down from generation to generation. Holes about a metre deep are dug into the hot earth into which a container is lowered. Filled with different meats and vegetables, the pot is left to cook gently for seven hours. (Travel Guide, Azores, author: David Sayers)
They are located on the other side of the Lagoa das Furnas:
Here are the hot springs:
The most interesting sight in this area are these small mounds with names of different restaurants.
This is where local restaurants cook their food. They put two huge pots with meat and vegetables under the ground at 5am and then, around 11:30 and 12:30 they come to dig out the pots and take them to serve as the Cozido a Portuguesa to their clients.
This is their best known local dish:
It is called Cozido nas Caldei
Wow Joanna! Randy and I are so intrigued by your cool pictures! LOve Radek’s pic on the bridge! How tasty was the meal?
Enjoy your gorgeous weather, it is freezing back home!
Love, Christina and Randy
Thank you Christina and Randy, the food tastes good and is very healthy. Thank you for visiting the blog. You are awesome both of you darlings.
Co kraj to obyczaj… mozna roznie gotowac. Mam nadzieje ze bylo smaczne jedzenie.
Smaczne, ciekawa jestem ile porcji mozna w tych garach ugotowac. Postram sie dzisiaj zapytac.
Wow that’s really cool!!
That’s amazing that you got to see where the food was cooked. I love that they keep old traditions. You did a great job capturing the hot springs.
Thank you Katika. This is what I love about the Azores, they have many traditions and they keep them alive, not just for tourists.
So interesting Joanna and much better weather than we are enjoying(not).
Now that we are no longer travelling I love your osts.
Thank you Pam for your comment. Our spring will come one day. This island is a little pearl in the middle of the ocean. I cannot believe how beautiful it is. What a variety of thins to visit. Check the blog everyday because there is so much to show and talk about. Thank you and see you soon in our reality!