More about Madeira

We walked through Santa Maria street late one night on our way back to our house. Even though it was late, there were lots of people out, and many sitting at tables still having dinner. Will and I both stopped often to photograph doors with intricate or simple paintings, poems and other embellishments.

We’d already eaten but there was a bakery still open at 11. I got a soft coconut cookie that hit the spot. The next night we returned to the painted doors street and sat down to eat at a restaurant table perfectly placed in the narrow street to people watch as we ate. The restaurant staff were efficient and friendly, carrying plates over to show each table the fresh fish of the day. I liked watching families and couples as they walked by inspecting diners’ choices; it was a challenge to figure out where people were from, especially with so many accents and languages floating around. Will had octopus one night- very delicious he said, too lifelike for me. The bolo do caco bread that comes with most meals is really good- somewhere between an english muffin and bread.

After all our good meals of the early week, we drove high into the hills to find our way to walk one of the many Levada walks. Levadas were contructed years ago as irrigation channels to distribute the water from springs and other sources from the top of the hills and mountains to lower parts of the island. The walks vary in hiking ability and intensity; we chose one that was moderate in it’s difficulty and would take us to a waterfall. However, the way to get to the trail was all downhill, so the return was a .75 mi of pretty much straight uphill. Good thing we’d done so much hill walking in Funchal to get in shape! The area we hiked in had a lot of eucalyptus and and the laurel trees of the Laurissilva Forest. In the past, much of southern Europe had Laurissilva Forest but now Madeirs is home to the largest remaining part.

There were so many cars parked around the top of the trail head; it felt a little like being in Acadia on a busy weekend. At the place where the 2 trails/levada walks begin, there is a stone house with bathrooms and cakes, ice cream, etc. And then on the trails, everyone disperses so it didn’t feel so crazy crowded as we thought it might. The fog from the ocean had risen up to cover the top of the hills where we began, making it dark and cold. By the time we reached the trail, the sun was poking through and it was back to being warm. There are many more levadas we’d like to explore the next time we head to Madeira.

We’ve begun a list of other hikes, natural piscinas and parts of Madeira to explore on our next trip there. The weather was so sunny and warm; but we we’re excited to have some time in Lisbon-another favorite place.