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3D glasses provided!
Our engine troubles have brought us a bit of good luck; one of the mechanics that we’ve met generously loaned us his truck for the day and we were able to make a circumnavigation of Faial. The first stop on our trip was Capelinhos, where we visited the Volcano Interpretation Centre. The volcano, situated underwater just off the coast of Faial, was the last to erupt in the Azores and over a thirteen month period, from 1957 to 1958, produced enough lava and rock spray to create a large landmass connecting it to Capelinhos. The visit consisted of a somewhat silly 3D movie, a few exhibits, and a climb up the old lighthouse that was partially destroyed during the eruption. The centre was okay but the landscape was amazing and we even practically parallel parked the truck!
Our next stop was a Reserva Florestal Natural Parcial, a sort of national park, where we made friends with a cat that crawled out of the ferns between the forest and the caged deer. I was able to use Adam’s lunch to lure it in but we left it behind as we made our way to Faial’s largest caldeira (a cauldron like area that is left after the land collapses around a volcanic eruption). We made it to the top of the volcano without any problems, unless you count being lost the entire time. I was feeling confident in our abilities but Adam was a bit crusty as we were literally in the middle of nowhere, on a road that sometimes seemed more like a cow path, and our maps appeared useless because there didn’t seem to be signs. But we knew that we needed to go up and so up we went, for at least half an hour, in second gear. We suspected that we were on the wrong side of the island but when the road ended and we couldn’t drive any further we had reached the calderia. Adam was a bit surprised but clearly my keen driving skills were able to overcome the obvious navigational setbacks
Our next stop was a Reserva Florestal Natural Parcial, a sort of national park, where we made friends with a cat that crawled out of the ferns between the forest and the caged deer. I was able to use Adam’s lunch to lure it in but we left it behind as we made our way to Faial’s largest caldeira (a cauldron like area that is left after the land collapses around a volcanic eruption). We made it to the top of the volcano without any problems, unless you count being lost the entire time. I was feeling confident in our abilities but Adam was a bit crusty as we were literally in the middle of nowhere, on a road that sometimes seemed more like a cow path, and our maps appeared useless because there didn’t seem to be signs. But we knew that we needed to go up and so up we went, for at least half an hour, in second gear. We suspected that we were on the wrong side of the island but when the road ended and we couldn’t drive any further we had reached the calderia. Adam was a bit surprised but clearly my keen driving skills were able to overcome the obvious navigational setbacks