Roads are crazy curvy here and narrow, so as a solo driver I'd be concentrating too much on not plunging over a cliff let alone taking in the view, so I'm taking a few guided tours while I'm here. Today's tour was the west coast of Madeira, famous for its dramatic scenery. As the trip runs 9a-5p I'm sure I'll get my money's worth!
Camara de Lobos, cute fishing village 4 miles down the coast, famous as the place Winston Churchill came to paint in 1950
Cabo Girao, apparently the 2nd highest sea cliffs in the world at 580m
Dozens of people were crowded onto the glass viewing platform, all elbowing for space to take pics/selfies of the view THRU the floor! Why not just look out over the railing???? Have to admit, it was kinda cool to look down and see the cliff below your feet
Ribeira Brava, little coastal village with a beach! Albeit a black pebble one, but one of the few on the island. This is a typical looking church, with fancy stone inlaid patterns in its courtyard, like all squares/sidewalks/plazas here
Being the first one picked up by the van, I scored the front passenger seat so was able to take a lot of scenery shots during the ride. Here we're heading up to 1000m, this is the typical island terrain: sheer. That's why Madeira is famous for it's terraces. If you want flat land to grow fruit or vegetables, you have to cut it out of the mountainside. And as it's a volcanic island, the soil is rich and great for produce
Well, saying all that about the steepness of the island, here at 1500m is the only flat area on the island, about 7km square. In 1964 they contemplated putting the airport way up here, but as you can see from this typical day, the idea never gained any traction. It's now an environmentally protected
area.
Love this photo. It's of the terraced hillside above Porto Moniz on the north side of the island
Porto Moniz. They've turned the volcanic tidal pools into swimming pools! Each high tide flushes out the old and brings in new, fresh water. Too cold for me but two of our group actually went in. I settled for a great seaside lunch with a couple of fellow passengers
Lunch with a view!
The north coast of Madeira reminds of Hawaii, so lush-looking! My guidebook calls this stretch of road "one of the most difficult but dramatic drives in Portugal, requiring nerves of steel....the adventure is surviving the trip"!!! Glad I'm riding shotgun.
This, and the next 2 photos, are of Sao Vincente. A tiny little place with a dramatic backdrop. Only spent enough time to pop into the church for a look and a 3 minute circumnavigation of town
And that was my day! I was pooped from all that fresh air so stayed in for dinner at my hotel's great rooftop restaurant. Vinho Verde with a view!
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