São Miguel Island, Azores — Lagoa do Fogo (Fire Lake)

We left Ponta Delgada behind, and as you’ll recall from Monday’s article, our van began some serious uphill climbing. We were headed into the clouds for a look at Lagoa do Fogo, which translates from Portuguese as “Lagoon of Fire”. Most English-speaking people call it “Fire Lake.” But before we would arrive there, we would be treated by some great vistas:

Fire Lake is a volcanic crater lake atop Água de Pau Massif, which is a stratovolcano complex running through the central region of the island. The elevation of the lake is 1,886 feet/575 meters, but the overlook is considerably higher as you can see:

Looking down, one is reminded to not take any unconsidered steps, lest one take a long, long tumble:

Now let us enjoy views of both the lake and the rim of the surrounding volcanic crater: