An Edible Voyage

 August 2019 It quickly becomes apparent that Furnas is focussed around lunch.   Crowds begin to gather around the sleepy geothermal lake just before midday in anticipation.   Huge cauldrons of bubbling stew are hauled up from holes in the ground, slow cooked by the geothermal activity.   Each restaurant has their own hole, marked with a small flag, and it’s an early start for restaurant owners.   Taking their cauldrons down to the lake at sunrise, they are buried in time to allow around 7 hours of slow cooking before loading them in to vans to drive to their restaurant where lunch is served.    Quite the spectacle! The flavours of all manner of meats and root vegetable, including carrots, sweet potatoes, cabbage, taro root, pig ears, chorizo, chicken, beef, pork belly and black pudding, mingle together and are served with a selection of surgical-looking implements to attack it with.   The experience is definitely more enjoyable than the ...

 August 2019 Furnas has a lot going for it - volcanoes, geothermal lakes, and thermal baths to wallow in.   The town itself has a bustling main street and an array of restaurants serving the famous cozida, but if it’s morning coffee and baked goods you’re after, there’s a cute little bakery with bolos levedos, the local sweet version of an English muffin, fresh from the oven; espresso based coffee; and a tempting display of Portuguese sweet treats.   Of course there are the usual suspects, queijadas and pasteis de nata, as well as chocolate cake, orange queijadas and sweet bean queijadas.   With a couple of tables to enjoy your coffee and morning sugar hit, it’s a great place to watch the hustle and bustle of Furnas. Find it as Gloria Moniz on Rua Vasco Bensaude in Furnas.