Madeira 2022

Arrival on Madeira. We caught a 30 Euro (return) flight to Madeira (1 and 3/4 hrs) from Lisbon with TAP (Portuguese national carrier). We stayed at the Saldhana Ibis hotel in Lisbon and filled up at the breakfast buffet. Sheila made some take-away sandwiches, which we would later eat on the flight. TAP has cut back on their free in-flight offerings. A glass of water was free, but that is about all. Once we landed, we went to the Madeira Rent counter to complete the paper work on our car rental. We got a little confused on the elevator, but eventually found the rental car park. We were allocated a Renault Captur which turned out to be a skookum vehicle. I did however need some coaching by the attendant on how to use reverse and to turn the parking brake off.

We didn't realize it at the time, but the drive from the airport to Funchal and then to our apartment (near Formosa beach) on the expressway would be categorized as "easy" (a green run in ski terms). There were plenty of tunnels and roundabouts, but it was smooth sailing including a stop at a Continente supermarket on the way in. Paula, our host, met us outside the apartment and completed an induction on codes, keys, etc for our unit that would be home for four nights. We went down to the beach and checked out our pool, but got a little confused on the way back and tried to get into the wrong apartment building. From our unit, we could hear the surf. In Europe, garbage collection often occurs at night and we could hear that too on our first night.

25 Fountains Levada Walk & Monte Palace gardens. We had come to Madeira for the walking trails, but on our first full day, it was the driving that would provide the excitement. We set Google Maps for the trail-head and anticipated a straightforward drive along the VR1 followed by a drive up the hill to the trail. We drove through a long series of tunnels with roundabouts between most of them, turning us in all directions and then up a series of narrow winding roads, littered with parked cars, no shoulders but with deep ditches. It was exciting. In 45 minutes, we reached a large car park (no fees) with a handful of cars already there. The drive might be categorized as "expert" (black diamond).

The walk itself was pleasant, slightly underwhelming but with a couple of waterfalls including the namesake 25 Fountains, where a number of springs emptied into a pool. We returned with a couple of Dutch guys and most of the ascent was getting back to the parking lot that was full with hundreds of vehicles on our return. The walk was about 10km round-trip, with 350m ascent. We drove east on the plateau to Bica da Cana and walked up to a viewpoint where we could see the central peaks of Madeira. For some reason, Google Maps didn't want us to continue on the same road down, so we took an alternate route, and drove through thick fog for a couple of kilometres. We made a stop at Decathalon to purchase replacement insoles for Sheila as her Scarpa trail runners offered little cushion.

One of the iconic images of Funchal is at the Monte Palace gardens, that most people access via a gondola from town. We opted to drive up there and we were in for another driving treat, going up some very steep, narrow roads. Fortunately, the roads were quiet and there was plenty of free parking at the gondola station. The gardens were quite interesting and our drive back down to Funchal was exhilarating as well. At one point, we rejoined the VR1 expressway where there was no merge lane and the highway traffic emerges from a tunnel. The Captur was up to the challenge. We made a quick stop at a Pingo Dulce supermarket after a long search for parking and then retreated back to our lovely apartment.

Royal Way (PR12) and Old Funchal. On our second full day in Madeira, we walked a portion of the PR12, Caminho Real Da Encumeada (12km, 500m elevation gain). The drive to the trail-head was less challenging than the previous day's. There were 3 vehicles at the small car park when we arrived at the trail-head. The PR12 was one of the trails that was commissioned by the king and ancient stone work is visible throughout. We followed the PR12 until it plunged down towards Achada as we walked it as an out and back. We ran into a trail runner an hour after we started and then a few more people later. We hadn't realized that the PR12 provided access to the summit of Pico Grande, and we didn't go for the steep hike up because clouds were already forming late morning. On reflection, the PR12 was a good choice to walk the central highlands without the crowds.

After the walk, we drove to the port of Funchal and left the car in a public underground parking to have a look around old Funchal. A cruise ship was in and the first thing we noticed was the difference in body shapes from the cruise people and the walkers we had been encountering on the trails. Old Funchal was a pleasure to wander and then we retreated to our apartment. I started to develop flu symptoms and crashed out on the couch I wondered where it would lead to..

PR1 Pico to Pico hike. The stable weather continued and the forecast was excellent for the high trail between Pico Areiro and Pico Rivo. We woke early (I had no flu symptoms) and were driving in the darkness before 7:00am. We were onto Google Maps and made a few adjustments to the drive up as we went (the algorithm sometimes tried to drag us off main roads through narrow short-cuts). We reached the parking area of Pico do Areeiro and nabbed the last spot as the sun was creeping over the horizon. The parking lot is only a few metres below the summit of the Areiro peak (1818m). There were 50-100 people spread all over the summit area for the sunrise.

Once the sun was above the horizon, most of the early crowd started walking the PR 1, however, it spread out soon enough. The PR1 is beautifully engineered, a great hike, even with the crowds. The trail is carved out of the mountain sides and it goes through a number of tunnels, emerging at the upper base of Pico Rivo. We carried on to the top of Madeira's highest mountain (Pico Rivo, 1860m) with fine views that we shared with a handful of people. As the morning progressed, walker numbers increased. The return walk was in some ways more enjoyable as we marvelled at the trail engineering, but we did often have to make way for individuals and groups on their way to Pico Rivo. The clouds rolled in an by the time we returned to our car, views were all but gone. PR1 Pico to Pico hike was 12km return with 850m ascent.

We made our way back to the Funchal apartment and I felt the flu symptoms creep in once again but they vanished for good the next morning.

Dragon's Tail & Santana. On our fourth full day on Madeira, it was over to the eastern end of the island to walk the PR8 - Ponta de São Lourenço, but it is easier to remember as the Dragon’s Tail. We packed up the car and left just after 7:00am for the quiet drive past the airport to the east end of the island. There were about a dozen cars in the parking lot, a mix of sunrise seekers and trail runners. The landscape was bleak, but punctuated by views of a spectacular coast line. The walk was 7.5km with a couple hundred metres of ascent. By the time we got back to the car park, it was full with cars spilling out down the road. We dropped in on a busy viewpoint before proceeding to Prainha ("little") beach for a swim.

We drove to the edge of Caniçal and over to Ponta do Bode for more views of the rugged coast. We then pointed the car to the north shore and drove through still more tunnels. We stopped in at the Santana Continente and checked into our chalet at "Casas de Campo do Pomar" in Santana. It was a simple but comfortable set-up and before we knew it, we had turned on the heating. We had teriyaki beef balls with broccolini for dinner.

Green and Inferno Cauldrons. The 55 Euro/night chalet was a cracker of a deal because it included a complete, filling breakfast. The owner baked items each day for the buffet. The staff spoke French so the accommodation attracted French nationals as guests.

We made the short drive to the PR9 parking lot (fee) to begin the Levada do Caldeirão Verde walk. The hike went up a steep valley on the greener north side of the island, following a levada to the Green Cauldron, a series of waterfalls. We then continued onto the Caldeirão do Inferno, another waterfall that was barely flowing. The hike was largely along an easy slope except for a climb up a series of stairs that brought us to another tunnel and through an impressive gorge. The steep walls of the valley and the beautiful rain forest combined to make this one of our favourite walks (20km return).

It was meatballs again for dinner, this time with peppers and tomatoes.

Lavano to Boca da Risco. We had another filling breakfast, this time with bacon and an omelette. As usual, extra bread and filling came with us for sandwiches. We drove to the edge of Porto da Cruz and parked the car along the road. It looked like we were the first walkers of the day. We walked a dirt road for a short distance and then continued on the Boca da Risco trail. It was 10km hike and largely 300m above the ocean with stunning views. There were a few other walkers but nothing like the busier Madeira trails. I preferred this walk over the more popular Dragon's Tail.

Back at the car, we visited Faial and went for a swim at the protected beach. We still had time, so we drove down below Sao Jorge for another short seaside walk. Later we wandered “downtown “ Santana. The hotel staff provided us with some breakfast materials that evening as they knew that we would be making an early start on our departure, very sweet.

On the last day on Madeira, we drove in the dark to catch our flight back to Lisbon.