34 
FROM BERMUDAS TO CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 
town of Villa Franca, situated to eastward of Ponta Delgada; and eruptions are known to 
have occurred in the Azores as late as the year 1722. 
The few days of our stay were spent in excursions to the two most interesting districts 
in the island, the Val de Furnas and the Caldeira de 
Sette Citades. Both are extensive areas of depression 
surrounded by the walls of ancient craters, and seem to 
have been formed by the collapse of volcanoes, whose 
place, once the scene of the most fearful convulsions, is 
now occupied by beautiful lakes and fertile fields. Furnas, 
situated about twenty-seven miles eastward of Ponta 
Delgada, is noted for its hot springs, frequently resorted 
to for their medicinal qualities. The valley has all the 
charm of Alpine scenery, and the view from Gren’a House, 
perched upon the wooded slopes which enclose the Lagoa 
das Furnas, is most picturesque. I remember a Sunday 
afternoon on the terrace in front of this hospitable mansion. 
As if in harmony with the day, Nature had put on her calmest mood. Not a breeze stirred the 
leaves, not a sound came up from the little world that lay at my feet. All around, the hills 
seemed to doze in the golden sunshine. Below, cattle were standing in the cool shallow 
water. Above, a pair of hawks (azores) balanced their pinions in the light summer air. The 
lake itself, as it wound round the leafy promontories, seemed to wander into the bays to right 
and left as if in search of cosy nooks under the shadow of the tall cliffs. On one side 
rose a tall column of steam from a boiling pool, to remind one of the volcanic giant who for 
the present is slumbering behind the magic screen of this smiling landscape. Furnas is only 
a week’s sail from England. The climate seems perfect, the people kindly and hospitable, and 
there could not be a more charming retreat from the toil and worry of modern existence than 
a few months spent in this ancient crater of the Azores. 
GRENA HOUSE. FURNAS. 
