Above the clouds.
Pico do Areeiro, mountainous central Madeira.
We had an easy sail south to the main island of Madeira and tucked in under the dramatic cliffs of Sào Lourenço. The anchorage was described as being prone to swell, but we had mild weather and the couple of days we stayed there were quite comfortable. The next morning we took Dingbat (the dinghy) in to the beach and hauled her up on the rocky shore. It was the last time we used the yellow dinghy wheels; they did not survive the relaunch.
Anchorage off Sao Lourenço with Ilhas Desertas in background.
We took our lunch and hiked the beautifully maintained trail to the easternmost tip of Madeira. The geology was incredibly dramatic. The hike, although popular, never felt crowded.
View from easternmost tip of Madeira.
There are very few anchorages around the coast of Madeira due to the very steep shoreline. We really did not want to be tied up to an expensive marina, so we made our way to the town of Machico and checked out the fishing harbor. The cruising guides indicated the bay was subject to swell, they did not mention the harbor was as well. Helacious was too large for the pontoons so Initially we rafted up to a catamaran against the harbor wall. There was some surge, but the other boat took the brunt of the movement. It was only when they left the next day that we realized how tenuous and unsafe it was to be directly tied to the harbor walls. Within 5 minutes we had untied our lines and headed out to the bay where we set anchor. To mitigate the swell we put out a stern anchor so we faced the incoming waves. Much more comfortable.
Machico, Madeira.
We rented a car for a few days and took off to explore the island. Our first day out we left Machico in heavy cloud and climbed to the center of the island for a hike recommended by Justine and Phillip, setting out from Pico do Areeiro heading toward Pico Ruivo. This hike involved some dizzying vistas above the clouds and trails that ran through tunnels inexplicably passing through the mountain. It seemed like an awful lot of work for just a footpath.
The weather above the clouds was sunny and warm, the views and scenery were just incredible. We hiked to the low point and through all the tunnels, then reversed our steps and made the steep climb back to the start.
Starting out at Pico do Areeiro.
Along the way we met these very bold birds, the Red-legged Partridge. They were completely unfazed by the passing hikers, and frequently held up the trail as they hopped along.
Then we arrived at the first of the five tunnels. We donned our headlamps and headed in. They were quite long and drippy in places, you could see the pick axe scars from when it was carved out of the mountain by hand. Just incredible to think of the work involved, and why?
The clouds were beginning to move in so we turned around and retraced our steps. The climb back up to the summit was not quite as bad as we had feared, and we got back just as the clouds closed in. Perfect timing to end a most perfect day.
We were not alone in the bay, our neighbors were the french family on Nansen that we had met previously in Porto Santo. The girls had performed a trapeze show for the cruisers. We got to know them a lot better over the couple of weeks we were in Machico. They were a very adventurous family, prior to traveling on a boat they had cycled through South America on tandems with the girls, the youngest at the time was only 5 years old. We left them with an additional crew-mate, one of Helen’s crochet creatures.
The northern coast of Madeira
We had the car for a few days so our next outing was to explore the northern coast of Madeira. The road makes its way along the coast, following the valley sides where possible, and where there was no route along the coast, they simply carved into the mountains and went through tunnels, some were miles long. The coastline was spectacular, villages squeezed in to the few flat areas. Terraced fields climbed the hillsides towards the interior.
We found ourselves in the small town of Seixal for lunch. They have a couple of natural swimming pools, similar to those we had first seen in the Azores. After lunch, a tasty mix of steak, rice, french fries all topped with a fried egg, we walked off the calories through the backstreets and alleyways.
No trip to Madeira would be complete without exploring the levadas in the interior of the island. These are walkways along the side of irrigation canals. We selected Levada do Caldeiráo Verde that ended at a waterfall and began our walk. The nice aspect of these trails is that there is very little climbing, the paths are relatively flat as they follow the gentle slope that keeps the water flowing. The challenge was the narrow ledge we walked upon, along with the steep drop off down the mountainside. As in other cases on Madeira, when faced with a wall of rock, they simply tunneled through, the levadas were no exception.
Our final trip in Madeira was to the capital city of Funchal, we caught a bus from Machico. It was unfortunate that we arrived the same day five cruise ships docked in the harbor. We have got so used to the quiet and calm of small fishing villages that when we do visit a city it is rather overwhelming. We spent the day walking around, visited the fort, the fish and vegetable markets and had a lovely lunch out. We enjoyed the painted doorways in the old part of town along Rua de Santa Maria. We bought our Madeira souvenirs, a pottery sardine and small watercolor and headed back to Helacious, exhausted.
Funchal spreading out along the southern coast.
Black Scabbard fish, a lot tastier than they look.
Farmers market, Funchal.
Our time in Madeira inevitably came to an end and we spent the last few days provisioning for the passage south to the Canaries. The lady at the meat counter, protected by her chain mail glove, prepared us some delicious ground beef. And then the weather was right, we left Machico, sailed out past the airport runway clinging to the hillside and spent an overnight at the uninhabited Ilhas Desertas before finally leaving Madeira waters. What an unexpected delight this island group was, so much variety packed into a small island, and the people were all so friendly. We would love to return someday.
The Ranger station on Ilhas Desertas, the hike on the island was taken out by the rock slide behind the buildings.