«Did you see the Ronaldo statue at the airport»? This
was probably the most asked question when I told my friends about the
trip to Madeira. When thinking of Madeira, most people probably think of
pensioneers, flowers and – as I said before – Cristiano Ronaldo, soccer player and Madeiras most famous citizen with an almost more famous statue. I
didn’t know much either about the Island but be sure – you will read a very
enthusiastic post here!
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«I found him!!!», I heard my boyfriend
scream just minutes after we walked out of the airport terminal. He pointed at a little black statue and was laughing out loud. «Here he is!
Ronaldo’s ugly statue!». This statue had become famous just after it was inaugurated some years ago. Unfortunately not because of its beauty - on the contrary! The whole world mocked the little bust which had a very strange smile and didn't really look like its original. It was then built again and is now positionned at Madeira airport.
Some Selfies with (fake) Ronaldo,
then we started our Madeira adventure.
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| The famous (not so ugly anymore) Ronaldo bust at Madeira Airport |
With its 741 km2 and approx. 268'000 inhabitants, Madeira is quite small. You can explore most of the things in one week, but you have to be aware that the roads are very narrow, very hilly and sometimes very steep. We loved it to drive around - even if we felt bad for our little Peugeot 302, who brought us up and down the mountains bravely but with several effort.
In every direction the landscape
seems to look different – from the very rough North to the almost jungle-like
looking West to French Riviera-looking South, we experienced it all. I quickly
fell in love with this beautiful Island, its landscapes and its friendly
people. Here is a description of our trip to Madeira and what we did the
specific days. I hope it gives you some Inspiration. As always, you find some
practical tips at the end of this post.
We stayed in a hotel
called «Savoy Saccharum Resort & Spa» in Calheta. We really enjoyed it –
especially because we are not used to such luxurious places. To be honest: To
start the day with a glass of champagne is not a bad life, right?
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| The view from our hotel |
Day 1- Go West
We started to explore
Madeira by driving West. Our first stop was Paul do mar, known for it’s black sand beach. Not too cozy for relaxing at the beach, but still nice to see! We even stopped by a
banana plantation and were surprised that bananas grow there. We already felt far away from Europe, even if we weren't.
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| Costa Rica? No! Madeira! |
We continued driving and were impressed by the views. It was quite hard not to stop at every lookout-point ("miradouro")!
In a local restaurant, we ate
«Bolo do caco» (garlic bread) , a dish that would soon be my favourite Madeira
dish. As a vegetarian, it’s not so easy to find a big variety of food but to
escape salads «Bolo do caco» was awesome.
Our favourite stop of the day was
Ponta do pargo. With ist lighthouse
and the impressive cliffs, it was the perfect place to catch a first glimpse of
Madeira.
Next stop was Achadas do Cruz, a very cute little
village. Unfortunately it started raining and we didn’t stay too long. As we soon learned, the weather in Madeira can change very quickly and it can be different in every region. Knowing this helped us pretty much to plan our excursions!
We met some four-legged locals on the way...
... and were welcomed by a rainbow over the harbor of Calheta.
Day 2: Southern glory
The next day, we
explored the Southern part of the island and drove all the way down from
Calheta to Camara de Lobos. Even if it sounds like nothing, we drove the whole
day, stopped at a lot of miradouros (lookout-points), curved up and down narrow
streets and sometimes even through a waterfall that came down in the middle of the
street. If you feel nauseous very fast, Madeira is probably not the perfect
destination for you.
On the way we found some impressive (and a bit scary) tunnels. Sometimes you even had to drive under a little waterfall if you wanted to continue the street! I'm happy our little Peugeot survived and that we didn't have to give it back with a bump on the roof! :-)
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| Car wash anyone? |
We had a stop in Ponta do sol, a very nice town next to
the sea. With its beautiful waterfront and the old town with its cobblestoned streets and litttle
restaurants, it's a perfect holiday destination and it reminded us a bit of Italy or the French riviera.
Next stop was Cabo Girao, known for its steep cliffs. With a height of about 560 m, this cliffs are some of the highest in Europe. The view from there was amazing!
Our last stop of the
day was Camara de lobos. It once was
the favourite spot of Winston Churchill
who came here often paint. We had a wonderful lunch at the «Forma de acucar» restaurant
with a view over the little town.
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| A Coral beer and a "Bolo do caco" bread makes a perfect lunch! |
Day 3: Funchal,
Madeiras capital
This day, we explored
Madeiras capital city, Funchal. We had heard in advance that the city wasn’t
very nice, but indeed we liked it very much! The broad streets with a lot of
street artists and musicians, the colorfully painted doors at Rua de Santa
Maria, the small restaurants and taverns – it was a lovely day!
The main tourist
attraction in Funchal is the cable car that brings you up to Monte, the hill
with the botanical garden. We were shocked about the prices for the cable car, so we decided to skip the nice view and just take the car. Once
crawled up the hill with little Peugeot, we took a stroll through the botanical garden. To be
honest, I was almost more impressed by the beautiful view over Funchal and the
sea than by the plants. The evening light turned everything in gold and we
could have stayed there for some more hours with a cold beer, just enjoying the
atmosphere. Unfortunately, we were torn from our dreams by the restaurant
owner with a rough «We close in 30 minutes».
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| Streets of Funchal |
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| Street art project "Portas abertas" |
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| The botanical gardens high above Funchal |
Day 4: Madeiras rough North
Next direction on our
list was North. It became one of our favourites. Different to the more
Tropical South that reminded me even a bit of Costa Rica, the North is much
more rough. We took the most direct way to the North – but direct doesn’t
always mean the fastest here. Instead of driving all the way along the
beautiful coast, we took the mountain pass road, drove up and down and our little, white
Peugeot endured this stoically. Just behind Arcos de Calheta, we were surprised by
an area that reminded us of Scotland – the Paul de serra plateau. It was
grey, foggy and instead of other tourists we just found some cows next or just
on the street. We really liked this special atmosphere!
After driving all the way down again (what little Peugeot did with joy) the sun came back and we stopped in Porto Moniz, Madeiras most northern point. The view over the ocean (much more waves here than in the South!) was beautiful and we couldn’t resist to hop into one of the «Piscinas naturais», the natural pools next to the sea (also called "lavapools" even if they are not warm). We were surprised how warm the water was!
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| Ilheus de Ribeira Janela stone formation |
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| Porto Moniz and the lavapools from above |
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| Let's have a swim in the lavapools! |
We also stopped at the grottos of Sao Vicente and took a little guided tour there...
... then continued and enjoyed the beautiful views of Madeiras Northern parts...
Day 5: Reet houses, hidden beaches and a spontaneous
hike – Madeiras East
Our last directions was the East, so we took the
«Scotlandroad» again and drove to Santana.
Even if this weren’t much kilometers, it took us quite a long time to get there.
Santana itself was very cute. They have some traditional «casas de colmo»
(reet houses) with little shops in them. Very touristy, but still very nice.
Santana was followed by one of the biggest highlights
of our trip. We drove to Ponta de Sao
Lourenco and found Prainha, a
little hidden bay with a beautiful beach and a cute beach café. Madeira isn’t
famous for its beautiful beaches, in fact there are not many where you can
really swim, so we were veeery happy to found one and enjoyed it accordingly.
We drove a bit further up and explored Ponta de Sao
Lourenco. We were so amazed by the landscape that our little pitstop turned into a
two hour-hike. I let the pictures talk here. Isn’t it beautiful?
Day 6 – So long, Madeira!
Sadly, we had to leave Madeira at this day. Even if we
had seen so many things and the Island isn’t that big, we had gotten into such
a relaxed mood that it was hard to say goodbye. The flight back to Lisbon was
without any problems, even if Funchal Aiport Funchal Airport is known that it has one of the most dangerous runways in the world.Watching YouTube videos
with the Keyword «Funchal Airport Landings» is definitely not recommended!
Madeira is definitely worth a visit and a good tip for
everyone as it is so versatile. I hope I will have the chance to go there soon
again, to say Hi to the (not so ugly anymore) Ronaldo statue again and to eat a delicious
«Bolo do caco»!
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Tips for a trip to Madeira
- What to eat and drink:
- In Madeira, you almost cannot miss the "Bolo do caco" (Garlic bread). Normally it is served as a starter even if you haven't ordered it. You smell bad afterwards, but at least you’re protected from Vampires.
- If you like fresh fish and meat, Madeira will be your island. For vegetarians, it's a bit more difficult but not too bad either.
- You just have to eat more "Pastel de nata", the yummy cream tart. It is so delicious and small that it’s not too hard to eat two.
- Make sure you try a Madeira wine and the local Poncha liquor, it's delicious! If you're ever in Calheta, make sure to have dinner at "Convento Das Vinhas". We ate there twice and loved it (great food, very friendly staff!)
- Madeira Weather: The weather in Madeira changes a lot and can be different in every region. The hotel manager gave us the link for a very good website with webcams for all the different regions on the island. There you can check the weather and then decide where to go. It's very helpful! --> Link
- Where to stay: We were lucky and found a very good offer for the "Savoy Saccharum Resort & Spa" Hotel in Calheta. It was absolutely fantastic! We loved the infinity pool, the large breakfast buffet, our hotel room with sea view and off course the Spa. Keep you eyes open for special offers, it's worth it!
- What to do: If you love hiking, Madeira is definitely your island! There are a lot of "levadas" where you can do beautiful hiking tours. It's normally very good signalized so you won't lost your way. Just make sure you're prepared for some rain! One of our highlights was the swim in the ocean in one of the natural pools in Porto Moniz. Otherwise it's nice to just drive around and stop wherever you feel like! :-)