11-03 Funchal, Madeira (Portugal) Day 1

What a wonderful surprise the island of Madeira turned out to be.  It’s almost like a European Hawaii – mountains, valleys, flowers and water everywhere!  It is one of our most favorite ports on this cruise.

Madeira is known mainly for its wine – one of the oldest of all fortified wines.  Grape vines were introduced here in 1419.  It is a small island – only 35 miles long and 13 miles wide at its widest point, but travel time is much slower because the roads climb and drop from one ravine to the next.  The population is about 260,000, with half of that in the city of Funchal.   Funchal is the capital city of Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal, and is located on the southern shore of Madeira.

We did a private tour with the group we went to Florence and Lisbon with.  It was the best ever!  I’m including the name of the contact for this because 1) I don’t want to lose it and 2) I would highly recommend this guide to anyone going to Madeira.  It is id-taxi@hotmail.com or www.danielmadeirataxis.com   I would probably start with the latter because Daniel was our guide and had his own taxi.

We did a tour similar to one on the ship’s tours called Unforgettable Scenery of West Madeira.  Only we made many more stops along the way because we just a group of 8 rather than the large bus groups.  Our guide, Daniel, was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about his island.  Linda and Peggy (two of the women we had met and told us about their private tour group) had Daniel as their guide last year, but that time did the eastern part of Madeira – equally as good – just different – more coastal.

As we left the harbor area, we passed a replica of Christopher Columbus’ boat – the Santa Maria.  Very scary to think of crossing the Atlantic in such a small vessel!  Bananas are the main export of Madeira, and everywhere we looked (at the lower levels) there were banana trees growing on terraced gardens up the mountainside.  Sugar cane used to be a major export, but not anymore.  It was used for rum, molasses, and sugar.  There are only 3 sugar cane factories left and the work only requires one month a year.

Our first stop was the little fishing village of Camara de Lobos, made famous by Winston Churchill, who came here to paint.  The monument of the village is a water fountain with a sea wolf (seal) on it.  You can no longer find these seals in the bay.  They moved out to outer islands after the fishermen started killing them because they were eating too many of their fish.

Our next stop was a wonderful lookout point called Cabo Girao, the second highest sea cliff in the world at 580 meters high.  They are planning to build a glass walkway around this cliff during the next year.  It will make it even more incredible. If you looked straight down, you could see a black sand beach below.  Looking the other way, we could see the little town of Ribeira Brava, where the ship’s bus tours were stopped to have a snack. 

We next stopped briefly at Miradoura for another view.  The rock formations are such that one rick sticking out of the water looks like a submarine in a small bay area. 

Heading north across the island, we passed the area where there was a huge flood from the river running over its banks.  This was near the town of Serra de Agua.  The flood was in Feb. 20, 2010 – less than a year ago – and while huge boulders and flat areas without homes or gardens indicate the damage of this flood, the reconstruction work was amazing.  Where bridges had been wiped out, new ones have already been replaced.  Because of the valleys, the water came from both the left and right and there was no where else for it to go. 

Near this area, we saw a small village at the top of the mountain,.  The only way up or down was to use the 3,700 steps along side the hillside.  The villagers do this once a week to come to worship.

We then climbed (by car!) to the area known as Encumeada which is the only place to see views of both coasts from one point.  On one side was the small town of Ribeira Brava and on the other side was the town of Sao Vincente.  Clouds were coming in as we reached this high point, so it was tricky to take good pictures of both sides! 

All along the way we saw beautiful flowers and plants.  We learned that the lily of the valley plant has a long, straight, and strong stem that walking sticks are made from in this area.  And it is a great place for hiking, so these stems serve a good purpose.

We came back down to the little town of Sao Vicente and had about 15 minutes to walk around the area and see the church there.  It was amazingly ornate for being in such a small town.  All around the town were flowers and narrow streets – very clean.  We were surprised not to see many people, but our guide told us they were all at work.  This little town is between two mountains and most of the buildings were built behind rocks to protect themselves from pirates.

We continued to drive to an area with waterfalls, the most impressive being the one called Brides Veil.  However, there were taller ones that I thought were equally as beautiful.  In fact, the whole area around these falls was lush and green.

We stopped in the town of Porto Moniz for lunch at a restaurant called Salgueiro.  We opted for the fixed lunch which was delicious.  We started with vegetable soup, followed by the Portuguese fish (black scabbard) known as espada, served with cooked banana, ending with mango pudding.  And of course, we had the local wine.  The banana is not only served on top, it is also cooked inside the fish filet.

We had time to walk around and look at the pools that were made from the natural volcanic rock and sea. Not only were these interesting and unique, they were in a beautiful location.  Huge waves come pounding into this coastline which are made even more magnificent by the lava rock all around.  We could have stayed and watched the waves for hours.

But onward we went to the flattest land on the mountains – called the Paul da Serra Plateau.  The funniest thing we saw were lots of cows on the road.  They weren’t the slightest bit interested in us – and wouldn’t move off the road.  They were everywhere!

From the top of this plateau we could see both sides of the valley.  On one side our guide showed us the house where hikers meet and begin their long hikes throughout the valley.  If you look carefully, not only can you see the house, but above you can see the paths where the hikers walk.  What you can’t see are the paths behind the mountain and how deep the valley is.  This is truly a hiker’s paradise.  On the other side we saw the channel waters that they call Lavadas. (I have to look up the spelling of this when I get home.) They are concrete waterways that allow the water to come down the mountainside.  Hikers walk along these narrow channels.  I have never seen anything quite like this anywhere else.  I felt the water and it was clear and crisply cool. 

From there, we stopped to see the village our guide grew up in called Calheta.  He was so proud of his village (although he lives in Funchal now having spent about 20 years in S. Africa) and still hikes these mountains and guides visitors around them.

Next we drove across a huge flat field called Campo Grande.  The road has to be built a couple of feet above the field because when it rains, the field can look like a lake and flood over the road.  When we were there, it was just a flat field!

Driving down the mountain, we came to a pretty little town called Pont de Sol (sunny point.)  The road winds down to this town through narrow streets, right down to the water.  A nice hotel sits up on the rock above the town.  This is on the southern part of Madeira.

We drove back to Funchal after a long, but wonderful day.  On the way back to the ship, we passed the Reids Hotel which is famous for its lovely terraced gardens and grounds, as well as afternoon tea (which is a mere 27 Euros!)  The hotel building is 118 years old and was the first 5 star hotel on the island.

We were delighted with our guide and the whole tour!  What a GREAT day.  This island is an absolute jewel.