Furnas is reputed to be one of the most active hydrologic areas in Europe. It is like a miniature version of Yellowstone in Wyoming but without a swarm of tourists. Steam and heat scorch the earth, leaving behind a barren landscape of hissing fissures of gurgling gray muck.
Cauldrons bubble and boil when groundwater seeps into volcanic vents. This pool is not bathtub-warm like Caldiera Velha. It would quickly scald anything touching it. Reputably there are benefits, however. Nearby spas use mud and mineral water gathered from these fissures for therapeutic purposes.
Local citizens harness vents for an interesting useful purpose. They’ve built shallow concrete cylinders into the geothermal basin. Cooking pots can be placed inside the chambers and covered with dirt. A few hours later the contents have become slow-cooked "cozido." This is a traditional stew of boiled meat and vegetables. We had some volcano boiled cozido at a nearby restaurant and found it to be quite tasty. In the photograph above there is an open cylinder waiting for its stew pot and behind and a little to the left is one that has already been covered for cooking.
More Options
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![[Top of Page]](../../graphics/menu_top.gif){kind=small}
![[Travel Menu]](../../graphics/menu_tvl.gif){kind=small}
![[Howder's Home]](../../graphics/menu_me.gif){kind=small}
![[Comments?]](../../graphics/menu_com.gif){kind=small}
© 1995-2007 All Rights Reserved. Last Updated January 7, 2007.
![[Furnas Steam Vent]](../../graphics/travel/portugal/sao_miguel_furnas_steam.jpg)
![[Geothermal Boiling]](../../graphics/travel/portugal/sao_miguel_furnas_boiling.jpg)
![[Cozido]](../../graphics/travel/portugal/sao_miguel_furnas_cozido.jpg)