A last-minute plan was hatched to visit Madeira.
Being of Portuguese heritage and knowing Portugal quite well, I decided to venture out to its neighboring island as I had never ventured to this island and decided it was high time.
I have been to Tenerife, in the Canary Islands and when I landed in Madeira for the first time, it all seemed quite familiar. One of the differences is that Tenerife is 2,034 square kilometers, whilst Madeira is only 801kmsq in comparison.
I was excited to see what Madeira had to offer me the traveler.
Madeira is part of an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in a region known as Macaronesia, just under 400 kilometers (250 mi) to the north of the Canary Islands and 520 kilometers (320 mi) west of the Kingdom of Morocco.
I planned to see as much as possible, so committed to do a
- Hop on hop off bus tour
- Do the Palace Gardens
- Ride the Cable cars
- Do a full day tour – West Coast, next time East Coast tour
- Walk about town see the shops, museums and
- Walk along the Port side
- Experience food and drinks
So after a very long day - A train ride, 3 1/2 Hr flight, finally arrived in Madeira,
Weather at 19:30 was 23° fabulous.
Landed on the edge of cliffs overlooking the blue ocean.
The warm, subtropical climate was welcoming. I had to peel off my Antarctic expedition attire as I had just left Manchester in 6 Degree weather.
This island reminded me a lot of Tenerife.
It is also volcanic, green and rugged, with very high cliffs.
Tammy and I already walked the Marina tonight. Managed to get some Hot “Castanha's” (chestnuts) off a street vendor.
And climbed a few hills back and forth to our hotel this evening.
Hotel is great. Lovely accommodation, called Hotel Caju. It is central and walking distance to most things in the town Funchal.
My Typical Day began
- Did the hop on hop off Redline/Blueline 27Euros
- The cable cars up to the top to the Monte. 12.5Euros
- Did the Palace Gardens at the top, amazing landscapes gardens. HUGE! A further 12.50 Euros
- Then Tobogganing CARREIROS DOS MONTOS, down the mountain in basket type sleds the video I have put on YouTube. £30 for 2pax.
One of the ways to descend the mountain is either going by taxi or return with a return ticket down with the cables or the highlight in my opinion is experiencing
“One of the world’s 7 coolest commutes”
Racing down in wicker basket sled controlled by 2 hand and foot “CARREIROS”
A tradition carried over for 100 years.
A must to experience if visiting Madeira.
It was fast. Was steep. No steering wheel. Our eyes were Wide Shut
Madeiran peeps clearly love living life with a bird eye view on everything.
We travelled to the highest points.
We precariously hung over the edge on a glass floor at 580m and then as if that wasn’t enough - we went further to a height of 1700m above sea level. An excellent viewpoint on a good day with perfect visibility you would be able to see east to west of the island. (But not the day we visited)
Madeira is very mountainous Volcanic Island, with windy roads that cut into the hillsides with the most ridiculously low barriers.
We Travelled all over the west coast of the island viewing stops such as
- câmara de lobos (fishing village)
- Cabo Girao (2nd highest seaside cliff in the world- 1000m above sea level)
- Ribeira Brava
- Engumeada highest point of 1700m above sea level but the visibility today was poor.
- Paul de Serra (the plateau, the flattest area in Madeira)
- Porto Moniz (seaside natural rock pools)
- Seixal (seaside village with black volcanic sea sand)
- São Vicente (small village near seaside but tucked in the hills with a beautiful church)
Finally, from being 63miles out from Funchal we cut from North to South in record time (20mins) with the use of their cut tunnels through every single mountain.
And there were about 8 manmade tunnels that we entered and exited on our return to Funchal town.
Madeira has over 100 tunnels and vastly more bridges. The total highway network is of 140 km! All this on a relatively small island that measures roughly 57.5 km in length, 23 km in width!
PS: on the Vegetation in Madeira
From sea level to 300m above sea level - banana plantations everywhere
From 300m to 550m it’s all the grape vineyards
And vegetables
- anything above 700m is Eucalyptus trees and other plants.
The last day here. we had an Early breakfast, so we could view last few things.
Visited
- Blandeys (Home of Madeiran wine museum/cellars)
- Sé (Funchal Cathedral)
- Marcado dos lavradores. (1940 Farmers market)
- Pier edge
- Lunch at Beerhouse (harbour near the cruises)
Been Fabulous. Next time out to MAdeira - I will consider to just sit at a resort sipping on cocktails or lying on a catamaran for a change.
Madeira
17/11/2020 There is nothing more educational than experiencing and doing life yourself!!
