Azores: the secret hot springs in the paradise beach

Azores: the secret hot springs in the paradise beach

One of the attractions of Sao Miguel is swimming or simply bathing in the island's hot springs.
Many tourists experience the Furnas and Caldeira Velha thermal pools.
These are within the subtropical cloud forest climate zone, with yearly precipitation ranging from 2,500 mm at Furnas (a central caldera, pools at 215 m elevation) to the 4,000 mm isohyet nearly touching the highest pool (400 m elevation) of Caldeira Velha (north facing slope).
As for ocean hot springs: Ferraria (just under 1000 mm at sea level) is the place that almost everyone will mention.
Located in the windy wild west people generally hang on to ropes because of the strong current.

The photo: Secret Ocean Hot Springs and the world's most exclusive climate
Pouring out of the sand of one of the paradise beaches of the azorean Riviera, one of the world's not only most unique but also mildest climates
Only 750 mm rain falls yearly on this beach, blessed with nearly 2,300 sunshine hours and perfectly protected from winter's unpleasant winds (W, NW, N and NE).
The beach doesn't appear in tripadvisor, same as the Riviera's other five paradise beaches, let alone these hot springs.

Location hints:
- somewhere between the CK Guesthouse (visible at the photo's far right), and the forest east of the Pestana Bahia Praia Nature & Beach Resort, which happen to be 2 of the top 5 places to stay in the Azores.
- only one guide will show you its exact location, and at least he is now on tripadvisor.

------- Mentioned in text
From the list of tripadvisor's "286 things to do in Azores":
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g189123-Activities-Azores.html#ATTRACTION_SORT_WRAPPER

Parque Terra Nostra, Furnas (includes the Azores largest hot water thermal pool)
#6, 2,332 reviews
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1190881-d554492-Reviews-Parque_Terra_Nostra-Furnas_Povoacao_Sao_Miguel_Azores.html

Poca Da Dona Beija, Furnas
#14, 2,640 reviews
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1190881-d2331746-Reviews-or10-Poca_Da_Dona_Beija-Furnas_Povoacao_Sao_Miguel_Azores.html

Caldeira Velha Center
#49, 809 reviews
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g616221-d2471358-Reviews-Environmental_Interpretation_Centre_of_Caldeira_Velha-Ribeira_Grande_Sao_Miguel_A.html

Caldeira Velha
#57, 695 reviews
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g616221-d8842354-Reviews-Caldeira_Velha-Ribeira_Grande_Sao_Miguel_Azores.html

Ponta da Ferraria ocean hot springs and spa
#18 of 64 Outdoor Activities in Ponta Delgada, 336 reviews
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g189135-d6211712-Reviews-Ponta_da_Ferraria-Ponta_Delgada_Sao_Miguel_Azores.html

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Secret hot springs belong to the one and only paradise beach appearing in this just published video (Oct 20, 2018), at 5.20: SailZen 2018 - Azores Sailing Charter.
Note: video ends with a Riviera's sunset over the ocean (occurs while days are shorter than nights), while the wild west (Mosteiros, where it occurs year-round) is the usual location for this type of final scene in Azores videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaOysgtuAAQ

Winter:

From Forest East of Pestana Bahia Praia Nature & Beach Resort to the islet

For the only guide wo will bring you to the secret hot springs, see AzorSea Adventures here:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g1190889-Activities-Vila_Franca_do_Campo_Sao_Miguel_Azores.html

Azorean Riviera's coastline: The Big Picture
ALL top 5 places to stay in the Azores are visible.

Top 5 places to stay in the Azores.
1 Hotel (Pestana Bahia Praia) and 4 B&B, alias what the Azores paradise really is.
All insanely priced, all 4 B&Bs within a 2.3 km radius of the marina of Vila Franca do Campo, the hotel 1 km farther.
West from the marina:
CK Guesthouse and Loft, 2 units on 6,000 m2:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8112877
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20172892
East from the marina and side by side:
Quinta Velha das Amoreiras, 3 units (Casa do Lagar, da Pipa and do Alambique) on 26,000 m2, pineapple greenhouses and banana plantation on its grounds:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5285440
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5285465
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5285290
Cristina's quinta, 2 units (Araucária and Casa do Arco) on 20,000 m2, probably the world's best bargain:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1366551
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1366377
Quinta de Milhafres, 2 units on 11,000 m2:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2844978
https://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/quinta-de-milhafres.en-gb.html
Photo of second unit:
https://s-ec.bstatic.com/images/hotel/max1024x768/657/65744738.jpg

Azores: top 2 "normal" (not hot springs) pools
Cristina's Quinta and Quinta de Milhafres, two of the top 5 places to stay in the Azores, don't have a private pool, they "just" share, together with Quinta Velha das Amoreiras (another B&B in the top 5) exclusive land access to a natural ocean pool.
But when it comes to exclusivity even this pool pales in comparison with what Francisco's 2 units share, at Ponta do Garajau, at the Riviera's eastern edge: not only the Azores but the world's most exclusive pool, considering it enjoys the world's most exclusive climate.
Ponta do Garajau units excluded from the Azores top 5 of list of places to stay because currently not available.
https://a0.muscache.com/im/pictures/18073997-1284-4dec-bc50-c8485a2529ae.jpg
Winter: