Blog 35: Exploring Madeira - Part 2
They say that you can have all types of weather in Madeira on the same day in different parts of the island! Windy, sunny, dry, wet, cloudy, hot, chilly - it will be happening somewhere on this small island surrounded by the Atlantic. And it's true that you can often see sunshine in the distance while it's cloudy above you and vice versa!
The weather is quite changeable too and so we didn't often have unbroken sunshine or continuous rain all day - but of course that can happen too!
A wonderful sunny walk along the north coast
One day Rebecca and I walked along a dramatic coastal footpath in the north of the island in glorious sunshine and clear skies from beginning to end. The views in both directions were stunning:
This is looking approximately west ...
... and this is to the east
A beautiful patch of wild agapanthus to enhance the view...
... and these look like succulents of some sort just growing in cracks in the rock face.
High up on the mountainside was this little sort of grotto and pond with water lilies growing in it and frogs croaking loudly as we passed
On the way back I made friends with Marley
The Levada do Caldeirao Verde
By contrast, and to provide a balanced account, a couple of days later we walked in torrential rain from start to finish!!
... with a few steep bits.
It rained relentlessly all day and the path was a quagmire!
We could still admire the wildflowers along the way...
... and say hello to this friendly and unafraid little bird...
... but the 'viewpoint' was a bit of a disappointment!!
...which entailed going through dark tunnels too low to stand up in!
But she got there - this is Caldeirao Verde
And at least she got to see a bit of a view!
I was relieved to find the quaint little cafe still open!
Nice weather for ducks! They even have a cute little house to shelter in!
Strangely we really enjoyed our walk despite the weather - at least it was warm rain!
The Ihlas Desertas
The Desertas Islands are a small archipelago about 4 hours sail from Madeira which are a protected nature reserve. You have to book in advance to go there and yachts can only anchor for one overnight stay. The islands are uninhabited except for the nature wardens who do fortnightly shifts, and occasional scientists doing research.
We had a lovely day for the sail over there...
...action shot - getting the sails set
...and cruising along
Suddenly we were surrounded by a pod of beautiful dolphins...
We anchored in this bay, somewhat protected by a low-lying spit of land.
We were allowed to go ashore but not roam far. Normally they offer guided nature rambles, but unfortunately there has been a recent rockfall which has blocked the footpath so we were unable to do this.
There are a number of rare species that are protected here - the wolf spider, Madeiran wall lizard and monk seals as well as some rare birds.
View of Astraia at anchor in the bay
The volcanic rock formations are pretty impressive and the geology starkly different from that of the nearby main island of Madeira
We would have liked to swim in to explore the caves, but it was actually very windy, although it doesn't really show on the photo, so we had to give that a miss too!
It's just a shame you only get one chance - the permit is for specific dates and once your time is up you have to leave!
It looks calm enough, but actually the wind and gusts are quite strong as you can see from the disturbance on the sea's surface and we had to check the anchor was holding several times throughout the night!
The next day we headed back to Madeira. It was lovely to visit Ihlas Desertas, and especially to see the dolphins, but a shame not to be able to see more of the island and its wildlife.
The trip back was rougher...
... and we were glad to get into the shelter of Machico
Here it was calm enough to swim around the boat and sunbathe on deck for the afternoon...
... as well as watching planes landing on the runway extension at Funchal Airport.
Landing and taking off at Funchal airport is quite exciting - the runway extends out towards the sea and is very close to both hills and buildings! Also it is often very windy in Madeira, especially at the eastern end of the island. Apparently pilots have extra training before they can land and take off here.
Underneath the runway extension there is a 'boat park' and a crane to lift boats out of the water to store them ashore under the runway during the winter - a good use of otherwise wasted space!
We then headed 'home' to Quinta do Lorde Marina ...
... and tied up alongside...
...before heading into Funchal by road for a delicious dinner at Principal Bistro...
... and to enjoy the Festival of the Atlantic fireworks display!
Prainha Beach
One of our favourite spots is Prainha beach right next door to the marina - it is one of only two beaches in Madeira with natural sand. Seixal in the north of the island has black sand, but Prainha's is just a sort of dirty beige!
This is a view from the scramble over to the beach - these trees are quite common here - I think the branches look like fat fingers!
The sea is very safe to swim in and cordoned off by buoys, and the cafe serves delicious lunches - my favourite is the local scabbard fish with banana.
It sounds and looks an unlikely combination but actually goes really well together and is delicious!
Porto da Cruz
More lovely scenery at Porto da Cruz on the north coast ...
...volcanic geology
...and dramatic outcrops
The vintage North Mills rum distillery is in Porto da Cruz, where they make rum out of locally grown sugar cane using traditional machinery.
The sugar cane juice is heated using ancient steam machinery of the 19th century.
This boiler produces steam for the grinding machines, pumps and stills. Wood and straw from the sugar cane crushing process is used to feed the furnace.
The Levada de Portela
Charles and I decided to go for a Levada walk and chose what we thought was a short-ish one. But I think they must measure it 'as the crow flies' because it seemed much further than 7km and took far longer than we thought it would!
Here we are looking relatively fresh at the beginning of the walk!
The walk follows a tree-lined path through native forest...
... alongside an irrigation channel, the Levada de Portela.
Masses of daisies ...
... wild violets ...
...and rare wild orchids.
This ancient gnarled cedar is a notable landmark mentioned in the guide book
One of the views along the way
At this point the levada runs steeply downhill - and so do we! There are almost 200 log steps here!
The beautiful view at our destination - Portela
We had only taken water with us, not a picnic lunch, thinking it was a short hike! So we were starving by the time we reached the village of Portela in the middle of the afternoon and tucked into the local cafe's speciality of steak sandwich with egg and cheese!!
And of course a refreshing local beer!
Ponta de Sao Lourenco
One of the most beautiful and dramatic walks on Madeira was right on our doorstep in the Quinta do Lorde Marina.
The day we hiked it was extremely windy, so much so that it was hard to keep one's balance at times!
Beautiful views along the way
Ponta do Castelo
Rebecca hiked to the top of this sheer sided peak!
A dramatic and unforgiving coastline!
Nearly there
A bit of a moonscape!
More dramatic cliffs
This is the narrow bit, with a drop both sides!
Volcanic strata
The summit beyond, with the cafe like an oasis in the foreground
Lots of erosion here
Another gorgeous view
The summit - this is as far as the path goes - you can see how windy it is by my mad hair! I didn't fancy getting any closer to the edge!
... and Rebecca & Caroline at the same spot a couple of weeks earlier!
We chose to take a boat back to the marina instead of retracing our steps.
... and to the Elephant Rock
Achadas da Cruz and Quebrada Nova
Faja da Quebrada Nova is an extraordinary little settlement in the Achadas da Cruz parish on the NW coast of Madeira, a tiny flat piece of land on the shore at the bottom of high, sheer cliffs. It can only be reached on foot or by the 6-seater cable car which travels down an almost vertical drop! It's not possible to build a road here and there has never been one!
You can just see the patchwork of fields and tiny houses from the top cable car station
The steep cable car ride is mildly terrifying!!
View from the cable car on the way down looking to the right
Getting closer - view from the cable car looking to the left
Once down, there is a network of pathways between small houses and plots of land protected from the Atlantic by stone walls and brushwood hedges made of dried sugar cane plants
Sugar cane seems to have been the crop that made cultivating this area worthwhile originally, and some vines have been planted too. But many of the dwellings are now used as holiday homes, while some seem quite run-down and not used at all.
The pathways through the village just stop abruptly at either end!
Cable car ride back up again - it's hard to tell from a photo how steep it is!
This is the footpath down to the village before the cable car was installed. It's a truly amazing place, quite cut off from the world.
And finally we made another trip into the capital, Funchal.
This is a typical street in the old part of the city
I liked this unusual parking meter disguised as bookshelves!
The late 15th century Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption is one of the few structures that has survived virtually intact since the early days of the colonisation of Madeira.
The Cathedral tower.
The front elevation of the Cathedral. The building was constructed using thousands of blocks of volcanic rock carried from cliffs around the island.
Inside the Cathedral is quite gold, but not too gaudy, and smells nicely of wood polish. The most impressive thing is the woodwork.
The roof is of cedar wood and features a Mudejar design originating from Spain
The Bank of Portugal building
Walking by the mid-16th century Palacio de Sao Lourenco, the city's first fortress.
An attractive restaurant with blue-tiled panels and some nice shady outdoor tables
One of our favourite places for dinner - Albatroz Beach & Yacht Club - which has neither much of a beach, nor a yacht club, but is decorated with a vaguely nautical theme!! It does have a good view of the Desertas Islands though and an excellent chef!
Heading for the Azores
And so finally we are going to leave Madeira and head for the Azores, which lie another 3.5 days sail away in the middle of the Atlantic.
Astraia leaving Madeira
A friendly pod of dolphins to send us on our way - they are busy leaping and diving to feed off a shoal of fish just beneath the surface.
Next stop - Santa Maria island in the Azores
What a wonderful colleciton of pictures Di! You all look horriby fit. Similar to climbing Ayres Rock - now called Uluru of course to be PC. When you say 'friendly dolphons' - can you take a dip with them? Liz
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