We arrived to the beautiful port of Madeira on a clear and sunny day right on time at 8am. I had arranged a private tour to take us up the mountains and over the other side of the island. It started in the south then we went west then north then back to the south where the ship was docked at Funchal (pronounced Foonchow), the capital. We had 6 other passengers that had asked if they could join us which worked well. Our guide, Miguel was there to meet us when we were left off the ship around 8.15am. I think we were the first passengers off the ship which was a first for this cruise and any other cruise come to think of it!!
We headed out in a very comfortable Mercedes minibus along the narrow roads hugging the coastline. The houses here are built up very steep mountains which are very close to the coast with the land being very heavily terraced so they can grow their produce. Some of these houses have NO road access so have to park their cars at the top and walk up and down the hill whenever they want to go out… sometimes over 400 steps…. Imagine that with groceries!! The people that live here are all very fit and healthy as the average wage is not very much at all so they grow most of their food. Our first stop was at a quaint fishing village at Camara de Lobos. The fishing boats were all very colourful and the fishermen were very loud. In the day they hang around playing cards as they fish at night. Next we visited the second highest cliff in the world… Cabo Girao. There was a lot of construction taking place at the viewing area at the top of the cliff as they are building a new glass platform that overhangs the cliff!! That would be scary!
We then drove to Ribeira Brava a very picturesque village at the base of some very steep mountains. At the top of the mountains we stopped at Encumeada for a view to the water on both sides of the island. It was noticeable colder at the top of the range which called for a glass of the local Porto (?) wine which is made of a lemon and honey mix. We then drove across the Paul da Serra which is a plateau across the top of the mountain range which then leads you to coastal town of Porto Moniz. This town was named after the original family that settled in the area. There are a number of lava swimming pools on the edge of the ocean that are free to swim in but not heated. This is where we had our lunch stop at a café overlooking the pools and the ocean. It was quite windy and not that warm outside. Our lunch was the local fish which is cooked and served with a banana that had a sweet glaze on it and a side salad which was quite nice. Firstly we had the choice of soup and we also were served dessert, tea or coffee and red and white wine all for 11 euros each. Not bad value. After lunch we then headed for a couple of waterfalls then made our way back to Funchal via a stop at a small village at the base of the mountains. This was the area that was greatly affected by massive flooding in Feb 2010 where over 40 people died and over 200 houses were destroyed.
Once back at Funchal we had a quick tour around before we were dropped off at the waterfront where we only had about an hour to roam around this beautiful capital. The day before they had a parade to celebrate a flower festival where they had a carpet of flowers running the length of the mall area. The flowers were still in good shape and it was certainly noticeably hotter here than up in the mountains. We managed to have a good walk around and really loved Madeira and would love to come back for a longer stay. It is only just over a 2 hour flight from London. We really enjoyed our tour with Miguel and would thoroughly recommend Happy Tours.
Tomorrow is a sea day and I intend to do our washing in preparation for our time off the ship which is approaching very quickly now.
Vigo is our next stop and our last before we arrive in Southampton.
Love to all. xo
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