Today was simple.. and perfect. We went to Parque Terra Nostra, which is a 10 minute walk from where we are staying. It’s a large botanical garden right in the heart of Furnas, and has geothermal waters throughout.

The entrance fee for an adult is €16 a piece, which is high, but considering how big this place is, and that it includes unlimited swimming in multiple geothermal pools, we have no complaints. Note that if you stay in the Terra Nostra Hotel you get access to the park, including when it’s closed to the public.

The centerpiece in many ways is the large geothermal pool. It is the size of a full pond and even with dozens of people scattered around it feels spacious. The depth varies from just under 5 ft to just under 6 ft, and the temperature varies as well.

I had read somewhere that it’s hottest in the middle where the source is, but as far as we could tell the source is two large spouts on one edge of the pool. They are way hotter than the water in the pool, but you can still stand/squat in front of them for a hot massage.

There are little gurgling warm water streams all over. Beautiful themselves, and they leave iron on rocks so the colors are outstanding.

Most water have koi fish in it and ducks on it..

We swam in the large pool and the smaller jacuzzis (smaller geothermal pools) when we first arrived, so we spent most of the walk wet.. then it started raining so we just stayed wet. The easiest way to avoid getting wet is to already be wet right?

This little island is only accessible via a series of unevenly-spaced stepping stones. I am really curious how many tourists end up in the warm waters with the giant koi and ducks!

There’s a small grotto tucked away in the overgrown vegetation. There must be hundreds of people milling about the park at any given time, yet due to its size and mazes of trails all over, you are often alone in silence with the plants and animals.

The animal sculptures/topiaries (the signs call them topiaries but they are clearly all sculptures with varying levels of moss and other plants growing on them) were low-key but fun.

Oddly enough, out in the middle of the park was a small AirStream RV/food truck selling fresh pastries and hot drinks. Just as it started to rain we got some snacks and hot chocolates and just sat in the rain.. warm and wet and care-free! Oh and they had my favorite queijadas!

This is the “Kissing Fountain”.. turns out that taking a picture of an exaggerated kissing motion while framing it and taking it as a selfie in the rain is harder than it sounds! 🤪

This whole park was actually created by a guy from Boston, Thomas Hickling.

Full circle and we’re soaking wet from the rain and back at the geothermal pools to warm up!

What a satisfying end to a beautifully wet day. Some of my fondest memories are when you stop worrying about getting wet, cold, hot, whatever whatever and just live in the moment.

To cap off our day we treated ourselves (yes I fully realize that we often treat ourselves!) to sushi in one of the best restaurants in the area, Terra Nostra Sushi.. yep, one of the restaurants at the hotel associated with the park. We walked to our rental to change then walked right back for dinner.

The fish was exceptionally fresh and superbly prepared. The sushi chef came out to talk to us, telling us it was a slow night so he had fun preparing the best parts of the fish for our nigiri and uramaki. It showed.

When we walked back the final time it was about 10pm. Furnas was totally quiet. Streetlights make it easy to walk and it feels totally safe. As we approached the entrance to our place, Savitri called out jokingly to the cats that often greeted us but were nowhere to be found. Just as we started to step into the doorway one appeared! It rubbed its back against us both affectionately/selfishly until we left. Sweet dreams!