Madeira - Day 5

What a relief not to find myself sharing my shower with a cockroach on our final day. Headed off very early to take advantage of the morning sun. Apparently it rains in the mountains early afternoon. We made our way to the much talked about Curral das Freiras. Again the mountain road was spectacular. We headed for the lookout, Eira do Serrado, which is high up above the village and looks down into the valley of the nuns (its famous name). Amazingly dramatic views, and just a short walk to the lookout point (Miradouro) from the car park. Wow!!!!! Glorious sunshine, beautiful views and fab company, couldn't be better! There is a cafe/restaurant, hotel, toilet and gift shop by the car park. Curral das Freiras is famous for its chestnuts; taste some chestnut liqueur, chestnut cakes, bread etc while your there. You can pick up some chestnut liqueur from the airport on the way home. There is a walk from this car park down to the village which looks like it has become very touristy. You can also drive down to the village, although there does not look as if there would be much parking down there. We would have liked to walk down but had other places to visit before the afternoon rain set in. We will definately do this walk next time we go. There is a market in this little village on a Sunday if you like hustle and bustle.

Seeing as we had glorious sunshine we decided to be brave and take another attempt to see the supposed breathtaking views of Pico do Ariero. WOW, WOW, WOW!!!! what a magnificent difference the weather had made. Not a cloud in the sky (maybe a few) We walked along a man made path that runs along the ridge to a lookout. Carried on for a while, probably walked a mile and then started to head back as the afternoon cloud and mist was due to arrive. We were very lucky we went when we did; as soon as we got back we couldn't see in front of our nose for the thick cloud and mist. This was certainly one of my most favourite, most spectacular views I have ever seen and recommend everyone to go and visit this (even if you have difficulty walking because you don't have to do any walking to be impressed by this, just simply get out of the car/bus)

We headed back towards home and made a pit stop at Monte seeing as it is such a quaint village. Had a relaxing walk in the gardens and had food. Perfect end to a fantastic day. Went back to hotel and went out for food and well earn't drinks.

Already decided to try to go back next year! If you like walking, gardens, mountains, historic towns, brandy, etc then you will love to visit Madeira! Book now! When we go back we won't be going back to Canico de Baxio or Hotel Tropical. Will think about finding something in Funchal. Something a bit more central with more options for eating and drinking out.

A word of advice, if you hire a car and you have to take it back with the tank full, keep an eye out for the petrol stations because they seem quite rare when you're rushing to find one on the way back to the hire car depot to catch you flight on time.

Madeia Day 4

A rather unpleasant start to the day; waking up to sharing a shower with an unwanted giant cockroach. We called reception thinking that they would send a muscular 6 ft man down to wrestle with it, a small young lady came instead. She shut the bathroom door and after 5 seconds there was a flush of the toilet and this lady left our room. She had gotten rid of the roach with her bare hands. Very brave if you ask me, needless to say I spent as little time as possible in the hotel room for the remainder couple of days. The roach was no reflection of the hotel as you can obviously get cockroaches in the poshest of hotels in this type of climate. We finally made an escape (still early) towards Serra de Agua and Baca de Encumada. The drive was another spectacular one. We stopped at Bacca de Encumada and could see all the way to Sae Vincente (North coast). This small place (lay by) was crowded with bus loads of tourists. Luckily the levada walk spotting many lizards basking in the sun and flowers in full bloom. We followed the trail for about a mile each way although if you wanted you could follow the path for miles if you have the time, but when you are trying to see as much of this lucious island in the space of 5 days it is near impossible to complete the full length of the walks. There are simply too many walks to do in 5 days. However at least there are always new walks to do every time you go back to this island on holiday.

We followed the coast road to Sae Vincante with breath taking scenery. The North of the island sees a lot of rain and therefore it is cloudy and quite dull but none the less beautiful! We stopped at Seixal beach- one of the first sandy beaches we had come across (apart from Funchal) both with black sand. Drove to Porto Moniz - A little resort full of rock pools which have been made bigger so that public can swim in them. There are a few cafes here and an aquarium.

We then drove inland to Rabacal which was very high up. Parked for free and walked down the never ending windy road to the start of the Risca waterfall walk. There are a few waterfall walks of varied lengths here. Be prepared to walk back up the never ending windy road to the car. Although if you cant face it, there is a mini bus that goes back and fore continually for a small price. Not sure if that service is available all year round. Again the scenery was amazing. I didn't think I would ever recover from the walk back to the top. We drove home, had food and collapsed after another fantastic day on the island to prepare for the finally day of adventures.

Madeira -Day 3 Afternoon

A few relaxing hours in Monte (mount).

What a relaxing retreat from the hustle and bustle of Funchal. Even though the quaint town of Monte is still in the city and only a cable cart ride away it is quite different. Full of cobbled streets, hardly any cars, lush gardens. We made our way up by cable cart (bought a return ticket including entrance to Monte Palace tropical gardens: an 18th century Palace with acres of luscious gardens). Cable cart has a 1508 ft evelation. Although quite expensive I think it is worth the money and experience. If you want a cheaper way you can either catch a taxi from the centre of Funchal or buses number 20 and 21 are frequent. Cable car journey will test your nerve if you have vertigo. As soon as we got to Monte we had lunch at the cable car cafe/restaurant, lots to offer there, but if your after something cheap, like we were, then thy do nice filling baguettes. There are more expensive restaurant style places to eat if you fancy something a little more special or sophisticated. Re-energised we took a walk up to the church and its gardens, very hilly and lots of steps. Monte is in a beautiful setting; Jardim municipal is a free garden that anyone can walk through and is by the main square, it is so green and luscious, definitely worth a wonder around. Next on our agenda was a trip to Monte Palace gardens, we spent a few hours wondering around. The gardens were amazing, although just remember if you walk all the way to the very bottom you still have to walk back to the top. Towards the bottom is a little cafe which is where we had our 3rd FREE wine tasting session together with some traditional madeiran honey cake (1euro). It is so peaceful and relaxing here with various species of plants and flowers. It is based on a Japanese theme with ponds and red bridges. Near the Palace itself is is the home to a very scenic large pond with swans, fish, waterfalls and fountains. Perfect spot for impressive photos. Do take you camera as you can take endless snaps. At the top are a couple of small museums one based on an African theme and one based on various rocks/minerals. Learn about the history of Portugal with a walk back in time to the 15-20th century. There are paths devoted to displaying Portuguese history including Portuguese adventures in Japan with an impressive display of ceramic tiles. There is plenty to see and do and explore here. I'd definitely recommend these gardens!

We descended down to Funchal by cable car and had a lovely late afternoon stroll down the harbour. A lovely harbour although not too much to do if you like a lot of entertainment on holiday. An alternative descend (part way) would be to go on the popular toboggan ride which is very popular but also very expensive. Walking and exploring the back streets of Funchal, we caught a real insight into the real atmosphere of a Portuguese citizen. We visited Blandy's Wine Lodge (a famous wine maker and seller in Madeira) and now a popular tourist attraction. It is free to look around the yard and to visit the bar for FREE wine tasting (4th free tasting). Alternatively you can pay to have a tour around the whole property and discover really how this fine Maderian wine is made. We would have done this if we had go there earlier. We will definitely take the tour when we return to this amazing island. We then easily caught the bus back to our quiet hotel resort.

Madeira -Day 3 morning

After a much needed sleep, we made an early start and caught the bus to Funchal. Probably best to catch the bus to Funchal as it is cheap and easy. The road leading down to Funchal can get busy and car parking is more expensive than the bus fair. We weren't too sure where the car parks were so asked the staff in hotel and they said it was much easier just to catch a bus. We arrived in Funchal by 10.30am. Not knowing where to get off the bus,we just followed the majority of tourists on the bus. Our first port of call was the famous Funchal Market. Luckily it was just where we got off the bus. It was here that we discovered many wired and wonderful types of exotic flowers, fruit and veg. There is also wine, leather, meat and a huge fish stall. The market was amazing, it was a true reflection of the madeira tradition and culture. It was here that we had our 2nd FREE wine tasting session (the stalls furthest to the right). The colourful array of bright colours are a fantastic sight. Everywhere we turned we were harassed by stall keepers tempting us to try their delicious fruit and veg. They cut it in front of us in their hands with a sharpe knife as if they had been doing it for years(probably had). After giving into temptation we realised that the stall keepers expect you to buy their products once you've tasted them. We chose self catering in our hotel and so bought some fruit (try the custard apples if your there and the exotic passion fruits in various colours). If you buy from there be careful not to be over charged as I think we were. Go to the stalls that have their prices marked on them! I think sometimes you see tourists and push the price up. Although the fruit was absolutely delicious and well worth trying. Just be prepared to say no or try haggling!If you having a trip to Funchal you must wonder round the hustle and bustle of the farmers market even if its just for the experience and culture lesson. Towards the back of the market on the right there is a shop selling all the wonderful bulbs and seed flowers native to Madeira including the popular and most loved Birds of Paradise. There are more fruit and veg stalls upstairs. At the very back of the market is a huge room devoted to the love of fresh seafood on the island. It is quite a famous fish market and worth the experience of popping your head in. If you don't like fish, you won't like this, but is worth the sight if you can hold your nose. Next stop was to a picturesque little town called Monte (next blog).

Madeira - Day 2

For our first excursion, we made a late morning start up to Pico de Arieiro (1,818m - the 3rd highest peak of Madeira ). It was a gorgeous sunny morning and we were looking forward to the spectacular views of Pico de Arieiro. What is it with the lack of road signs on the island?? Buy yourself a good road map if hiring a car here and be prepared to take a few accidental de tours. Once on the mountain road, we just followed the windy, sometimes narrow road up and up. About half way up there is an obvious vegetation change - it suddenly changes to a sub-tropical climate (jungle like). I wouldn't have been too shocked to have seen monkeys swinging from tree to tree. The further up we drove, the less we could see, we hit really bad fog/mist and rain. (we were in the middle of a cloud). It said that this would happen in the travel books but also said "at the top you will emerge above the cloud to find glorious sunshine and spectacular views." Unfortunately we got to the summit and still couldn't see 1 metre in front of us. I'm sure it would have been magnificent if we weren't emerged in a cloud. A word of advise if you are planning a trip here, leave early morning or late afternoon (to avoid the notorious midday rain)Very disappointed we left and made way North to Santana. Along the way we discovered a very pretty village called Ribeiro Frio by chance. This delightful spot surrounded by woodland is the home to a trout farm. It is free to have a look around. If you pass through here there is a restaurant and a few small shops. There is a levada walk situated at the bottom of the hill opposite the restaurant (on the left as you head down hill. We walked for about 30mins but you can go further if you wish. Even though it was still raining, the views were fab. In fact I think the rain added to the atmosphere. We carried on to Santana and found the traditional A-framed houses. There are a couple of tourist ones that you can pop your head into and take photos. These are worth the trip if you like to explore the culture and traditions of the island. The north of the island and the mountain ranges are the wettest parts of Madeira which is why Madeira has so many levadas (transporting the water from North of the Island down to the South). Levada walks are very popular in Madeira and there are plenty of them, they can offer some fantastic views and interesting walks. Good for exploring Maderias flowers and wildlife.

Day 1

Having survived Easy Jets very first flight to Madeira we were whisked off in a mini bus which took us to autoeurope - hire car company located just outside airport. No problems apart from a queue to collect car and also had our booking under 'Richard' rather than 'Christian'. We then made our way to the supposed 4* Hotel (Hotel Tropical) in Canico de Baxio - More popular with the Germans. A very limiting resort, not much life to it and not many things to see and do. The best way to get around the island is by hire car. If you don't fancy this, there is a bus stop just up the hill which will get you to most places(cheap) and frequently goes to Funchal. There was roughly the same amount of bars/restaurants as the duration of our short holiday (5ish). One restaurant stood out from the rest and was also one of the cheapest. A very peaceful ambient outside setting amongst the luscious plants. It's situated just off the road down the stairs (can't remember what it is called). This was our first experience of FREE Madeira wine.(believe you me there was plenty more to come). There is also a good Italian restaurant (bit more expensive) and a cafe/bar (cheap but good food). You must try the traditional seafood dish - espada (scabbard Fish) with banana; sounds weird but if you like fish, you'll really like this.