We were super excited to fly into Madeira. Lisa got this great shot of the Dragon’s Tail as we approached the island.
We spent our first day in Madeira walking around old town Funchal and getting ourselves accustomed to the island. Driving in was very interesting. The island is extremely hilly, with very small streets and a lot of pedestrians. An automatic transmission may have been a better choice here than the manual that we reserved.
We stayed in old town Funchal. The marina nearby offered a stunning sunset.
The next day, we took the cable car to the Japanese gardens.
The cable car gave us sweeping views of Funchal.
Once we reached the top, we visited a botanical garden that featured a Japanese garden.
We wandered around the gardens for a good portion of the afternoon
We enjoyed a snack with a view in the garden café before heading out
We took the cable car up, and a toboggan ride down. You ride in a traditional wicker toboggan, pushed and pulled downhill by locals
Lisa found what would become one of our favorite restaurants in all of Portugal, Olivia. The dinner here was exquisite. It was so good, we came back two nights in a row.
We woke up before dawn the next morning to drive to one of the highest spots in Madeira, Pico do Areiro. Once we reached the top, we made the decision to turn around due to it being extremely overcast, windy and cold. As we made our way back down the mountain, the clouds started to part, and we were rewarded with a pretty stunning sunrise.
We pulled over on the side of the road to appreciate the sunrise.
During the ride back, we spotted a sign for a Miradouro and decided to make a slight detour to check it out. It turned out to be pretty spectacular, with a mountaintop view of the town of Curral das Freiras below.
It was also nice that we had this spot all to ourselves.
After a short nap (after waking up so early), we found a blog with a couple of driving routes around the island. We spent the day taking the first of the routes, which took us towards the western side of the island. This spot is called the Winston Churchill viewpoint, apparently because he came here at one point.
We quickly ascended through local neighborhoods, trying to stick to the route map. The next stop is another well-known spot in Madeira, the Cabo Girao Skywalk. It felt like you could see for miles from this elevation.
The cliff is a nearly vertical 580 meter (1900 feet) drop
Madeira is often compared with Hawaii, and it’s easy to see why. The climate and topography varies, but it is generally tropical with sweeping views and large mountains.
Following the road, we briefly paused at another stop with a cable car that went down to a beach. We made our way through the central part of the island to this miradouro on the north western part.
We followed the road down the mountain to the coast
The natural pools, in the town of Porto Moniz. The rocks form a naturally-protected series of pools that you can swim in, surrounded by some pretty violent waves.
A view of the town from the pools
We had planned on a sunset spot on the western side of the island. The area is another highly elevated (312 meter) cliff above the sea.
It is hard to tell how high above the sea we are
We found a local bakery around the corner from our VRBO that felt very authentic, and had some really tasty pastries. The brown cake here is a traditional cake called bolo de mel. It has almost a brownie-like texture and is delicious.
Our plan for the day was to take the second route we found on the blog, which went to the east and north east of the island. We took a slight detour to hike the Dragon’s Tail.
The hike ended up being very windy, and sand/dirt was flying everywhere. We decided to cut it short, but not before taking in some of the views.
Leaving the Dragon’s Tail parking, we stopped at another Miradouro before starting our drive.
The driving route quickly turned vertical
The vegetation definitely reminded us of Hawaii. Lisa spotted this really cool, vibrant plant
We stopped at a fruit stand near the Miradouro. We had tried the conical fruit in Funchal a couple of days prior. It was delicious. It was like a mix of pineapple and mango, in the form of a soft corn. We saw this plant growing all over the island.
We were quickly becoming spoiled with all of the viewpoints/Mradouros in Portugal.
Another random Miradouro along the road, with amazing views of the mountains and villages. This was on our way to the highest spot on the island.
Madeira might be one of the most photogenic spots we’ve been to.
In the town of Santana, there are still some of the traditional houses. There is a small group of them, most of which house souvenir shops.
The highest spot in Madeira is Pico Ruivo. You drive through forests and eventually above the tree line to get here. It felt very similar to driving up Haleakala in Maui.
It was very cold, and very windy here. There is a hiking trail, but we both decided against that.
We left the peak and made our way back into Funchal. We did get some really great views of the city and coast on our way back.
It was sad to leave Madeira, but we were glad that we gave ourselves plenty of time to explore here. It was a nice natural break from Lisbon, while still offering plenty of unique culture to experience.
Flying over the dragon’s tail on our way to Porto.
