Azores - Faial

We had a lovely walking tour of Horta, the largest town, in the morning. We drove to our first viewpoint high up for super views but already the cloud was coming and going.

Another delicious local lunch and then we headed up to the island's oldest volcano. High high up. We couldn't see a thing. They do an 8km walk around the Caldeira, but obviously not when you can't see a plant in front of your hand !

The cows, again far more than people, graze stress-free on the high grass. Hydrangeas are used as hedges and the blue is stunning. So, our drive was lovely even though we saw none of the crater.

Their second volcanic crater was also enshrouded in mist. But the newest volcano was clear and stunning.

Capelhinos erupted in 1957. Nobody was killed as the lava and ash covered kilometres of land. Houses were lost. The church was buried (you can just see the top) and the lighthouse was buried up to the third floor. You can see photos of the eruption in their museum.

But there is nothing like walking around on the ash and looking at the strange rock patterns. It just had to be my blip.

Anyone with even a passing interest in volcanoes or geology shouldn't miss Faial !