Madeira

Madeira is called the flower island and even if you think “I am a man, I don’t care about flowers” I invite you not to be stupid. You should visit Madeira between April and June when most of the flowers bloom as the vegetation is totally different from anything you ever saw in Europe. Being ignorant of this would be like being in Italy and not trying pasta, you can do it but you would be a nincompoop.

Who should not go to Madeira:

• people with kids, unless your kids are 16+ and love to hike don’t do it! The streets are steep and besides hiking there is not much fun kid activities to do
• people who love to chill at the beach in the sun. There is no beach and the sun likes to hide behind clouds, temperatures are around 21, 22 all year long(Madeira is also called the spring island as there are spring temperatures all year round)

Who should go to Madeira:

• people who love to hike 
• nature lovers 
• people who want to see things which are not typical for this continent(eucalyptus forests, rain forests, banana plantations, avocado, mango, papaya trees etc.) 

What to wear:

You should dress like a well prepared onion. Most of the times it's hot and you can wear a t-shirt and short pants, but those times when it's cold you will regret not being prepared. So think long pants with zipper which can be transformed into short ones, t-shirt, hoody, wind-stopper. Be prepared for rain!

How to get around: 
Ummm this is a though one. This was my first trip with a group and we went everywhere with our own bus and driver. This is a good option as the streets are very steep. Forget all the little islands you were on and thought they were steep, they are little babies compared to the steepness of the streets in Madeira. But if you feel courageous you could do a combination between riding the bus(there are buses to some of the important sights but not to all), booking a one day organised tour with a guide and renting a car for some trips.

What to eat: 

• Madeira is famous for madeira wine, so you should try that. You get for example a free sample when you visit the botanical gardens in Funchal or you could just buy some, you can get it everywhere.
• Another famous food in Madeira is the honey cake “Bolo de Mel”. It is made with sugar cane honey and spices, it can be preserved for a long time and is also typically eaten for Christmas. You can get that also in every supermarket, gift shop or bakery.
• Other typical food is the bolo do caco, a typical Madeiran bread, made from flour, sweet potatoes, yeast, water and salt.
• What you should definitely try is espetada, beef cubes grilled on laurel sticks. 
• Madeira is also famous for espada fish with grilled banana(strange stuff that grilled banana, I have to admit)
• You should try Poncha, a traditional alcoholic drink made with aguardente de cana (distilled alcohol made from sugar cane juice), honey, sugar, orange/lemon juice.
• Cakes!! Portugal has the best cakes don’t know why, just don’t think about it, eat them all.

• Also you should visit some markets and try the local fruits. There are the ananas-banana(left in the picture), the apple-pear(in the middle) and lots of delicious mangoes. Just try them out! Some of them you get underripe in the market and you can take home to eat in 2,3 days when they are ripe.

What to see:

Rabacal levada & 25 springs
Madeira is full of Levadas, irrigation channels constructed to transport water from the rainy north to the dry south. The Portuguese started building them in the 16th century and like our local guide says "they didn’t have drilling machines but they had slaves to build them". Not funny, I know.
Some of the best hikes in Madeira are along these levadas.   

One of the most impressive Levada hikes takes you through the Unesco protected laurel forrest to a waterfall and ends with a blue lagoon at the place called 25 Fontes(25 springs).

 

St. Lorenzo
The beauty of Madeira lies in the variety of landscapes you will see. Visiting some of the finest cliff scenery on Madeira, this walk explores the long thin peninsula at the eastern end of the island.

Levado do Canico - Camcha
Another beautiful levada walk is the Camacha - Levada do Canico hike(or the other way around which would be going up, like we did). The levada is not for all - there are no railings at all and sheer drops to the left many, many times. But it's certainly worth it as along the way you will get a good view of the island and also of St. Lorenzo.

Nun’s valley
This was my favorite hike because of the yellow flowers you will see in the pictures below. I am sure the sight is beautiful also without the flowers, but hiking for hours between those flowers was a delight for the soul and I never saw something so beautiful in my life.

Funchal 
Funchal is the main city of the island. If you do not want to visit the botanical gardens, for which Funchal is famous for, I guess half a day for visiting Funchal is enough. The city is small and you can easily cover it by foot.
To get to the botanical gardens you can take the cable car and have the added bonus of a beautiful sight of the city from the sky.

Another fun thing to do in Funchal is take the tobogan ride from the tropical garden to the city.

You should also visit the market in Funchal and try lots of fruits from the local fruit vendors.

Traditional houses in Santana

You could use another half of a day to go see the traditional houses in the village of Santana. There are not lots of them and there are not lots of things to do in the village, but they are beautiful and the symbol of the island.

Pico Ruivo
One of the most famous hikes in Madeira is the one from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo. Pico Ruivo is the highest mountain on the island with 1862 m. This was also the toughest hike on the island, but it is not very hard if you are not particularly afraid of heights or insanely strong wind. (You should dress for cold with hat and gloves! Although it is very cold for a short amount of time, let's say 20,30 minutes, you will regret it if you are not dressed properly).