Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Funchal was our 3rd stop on the Amazon cruise in Jan 2020. The earlier stops were Porto and Rotterdam. Funchal is the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira. Madeira is situated off the west coast of Africa.

I went to Madeira in May 2019, and spent a week there. I went into Funchal a few times. I had really liked the botanic gardens and wanted to go back. I'd remembered to take my Giro bus card with me and was able to top it up just 2 fares, at €1.35. Took bus 31 up to the Botanic Gardens. Entry was €6. 2020 display -

I didn't spend too long in the park as the buses were only half hourly and I wanted to see things in town.

Back in town I went to Anadia supermarket and to Pingo Doce for an egg tart.

The river ducks were still there but hadn't any babies this time of year. However there were a lot of pigeons.

 I popped into the market and Christmas decorations were still up.

I went to the nearby Rua de Santa Maria, a small alley where most of the doors now have murals. There are many restaurants and cafes.

  

Along the water front

Funchal from the ship

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See the next blog on my Amazon cruise - Mindelo, Sao Vicente, Cape Verde.

Madeira north and west coast

Having seen the northeast side of Madeira, my next tour was to the northwest. The first stop was at Camara de Lobos which I had been to the day before. We then went up to Cabo Girao which is Europe's highest cliff and said to be the second highest sea cliff in the world, at 580 m above sea level. There is a glass skywalk. And of course a lot of visitors.

We continued on, past a fish farm in the sea, and our next stop was at Ribeira Brava. It was Sunday and there was a Mass at St Benedict church. During this there were several very loud cannon blasts from the hilltop fort opposite, and some more at the end when the procession came out of the church.

The sea front and hilltop fort-

On past Ponta do Sol. We then headed inland, through Carnas, and uphill to Paul da Serra, the plateau. It was a nice winding road, through eucalyptus forests and we saw the native plant, Pride of Madeira -

We entered the national park, Malhadinha, where cattle are grazed.  Paul da Serra at 1,300 - 1,500 metres above sea level is the flattest place in Madeira. There are wind turbines and solar panels. There was lots of yellow broom everywhere

To the north of the plateau is the laurel forest, or laurisilva. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as it is the relict of a widespread earlier forest. As we began the descent to the north coast we saw lots of bay trees. Stopped at a viewpoint of Relva do Jordao and could hear the river somewhere in the valley. There are lots of springs in this area.

Further down there were lots of white hydrangea alongside the road. We stopped at the Eira da Achada viewpoint

Next stop was Porto Moniz. This is famous for the salt water swimming pools formed by volcanic lava

The town and mountains behind

We then drove along the coast, through the small town of Seixal and stopped at Veu da Noiva viewpoint with a waterfall

 A bee in the Agapanthus -

Next was Sao Vicente. The graveyard was full of flowers -

 Young Jacaranda -

This is not a church. It is a clock tower and there are 4 clocks each showing different times - they were used to control the water allowed into the fields from the levadas

We took the old road back through the mountains to Funchal, stopping at Encumeada view point. There was a festival going on. You can see both the north and south coats, this is the view south -

Then it was back to Funchal.

Madeira Nuns Valley

Nuns Valley or Curral das Freiras is a small parish nestling between almost perpendicular mountains in the heart of the island of Madeira.

I went on a tour and before heading inland up to the valley, we went to Camara de Lobos on the coast, west of Funchal. It is a traditional fishing village and is very popular with tourists. It was the first place to be settled in 1419. Winston Churchill used to come here and paint.

Câmara de Lobos translates as ‘The Chamber of the Wolves’, as the area was once the habitat of the endangered monk seal.

View of the tall cliffs of Cabo Girao, which I visited later -

We then headed back towards Funchal and stopped at a viewpoint at Pico dos Barcelos. The footballer Cristiano Ronaldo used to live in a village near here -

We then started going uphill to the Valley of the Nuns. Went to eucalyptus forests. Stopped at Eira do Serrado and walked up to a view point over the Nuns Valley.

This is the part of Nuns Valley that we later went to -

Apparently the nuns ran away to this valley during the pirate invasion in the 1600s. There are no nuns there today. There is a new road tunnel linking the valley to the outside world.

Down in the valley, looking up at the Eira do Serrado viewpoint which is on the tip of the tall mountain on the left of the photo -