R. Doug Wicker — Author

In the above photo you can once again see the two distinct twin lakes. Green Lagoon (Lagoa Verde) lies to the left, and Blue Lagoon (Lagoa Azul) to the larger lake to the left. But I came here for the real scenic beauty, and here she is:

There is much of interest to photograph in this twin lake, and I found the Blue Lagoon the more fascinating of the two:

I think part of this had to do with that interesting peninsula jutting out into the blue waters. Zooming in on it there appears to be a road along the right (eastern) perimeter, and a small building and a garden to the left just before the trees:

Up here on the lookout you’ll find something else to image with your camera. That would be the lush vegetation and colorful flowers:

On Monday I promised you a view from that road that separates the Blue Lagoon from the Green Lagoon. Our tour guide took advantage of a narrow pullout at the west end of this narrow crossing and pulled our van over at this point. From here we got out and I snagged one last image of the Blue Lagoon, but this image was taken at a lake level:

No. That’s not Ursula and me in the photo above. That’s some friends we met on the cruise, and they had neglected to take their camera. As such, I volunteered to take some photos and email them the results. The location for this shot is the Coal Peak Viewpoint (Miradouro do Pico do Carvão). And the views from way up here are quite nice:

And in case you’re wondering where this is, we’re on the western portion of São Miguel Island headed west toward the town of Sete Cidades. Still showing off Coal Peak Viewpoint, let’s swing around and see what lies in the other direction:

And just a very few minutes west of this viewpoint you’ll come across a rather picturesque structure cutting through the countryside. This is the Coal Aqueduct (Aqueduto do Carvão):

The aqueduct was a pleasant surprise, and only around three or four minutes west of the Coal Peak Viewpoint. The dilapidated structure is covered in green, and red paint inside the archways offers up a great contrast to the surrounding vegetation. Let’s move for a closer look:

Time to get our bearings as we continue westward. Nothing like road direction signs to gussy up your photo album and help you later to remember where you’ve been:

But before we get to Sete Cidades, there’s one more photo stop we simply must make. Lagoa das Sete Cidades (Lagoon of the Seven Cities) is another crater lake set within yet another volcano. Or, actually, in this case it’s a twin lake — Lagoa Azul (Blue Lagoon) and Lagoa Verde (Green Lagoon). Here you can view Lagoa Verde, with Lagoa Azul beyond:

And, yes, that’s a road you see above separating the two lakes. We’ll be crossing that road in Wednesday’s article. Until then, let’s enjoy the flora up here at this lake lookout: