Madeira continued

 



We had hoped to do more hiking today but it was pouring rain. We had breakfast at a cafe nearby, then headed for Funchal, the city to see the old town. This side of the island is usually sunny and does not get a lot of rain. We went through a museum with the history of the island. The island was discovered around 1420. By 1490 it was a major manufacturer of cane sugar. Most of the work of the roads, terraces, farming, etc was done by slave labor. It was a very well to do island with lots of mansions and very rich traders. They were known far and wide for their sugar, and it was known to be better than any other place. We went to some shops and talked via translate app with the sweetest Czech lady who had a pottery studio. I got the cutest mug from her. We had delicious seafood for lunch and also took the tram up and down the mountain over the city. We grabbed yummy coffees and met the sweetest couple from Denmark. They were so friendly and we chatted about our travels. They asked if people had been rude to us in Barcelona, they had found Barcelona to be that way as well. They had lived in Lisbon 3 years and told us the best coffee shop to go to when we get there. We walked down to the wharf for awhile. Next we drove to some tunnels in the mountain with openings in the side to look down at the ocean below. Next was a market we caught on the way back to get fresh fruit and other goodies. They had huge bins of every dried fruit, nuts, flour, and spices. We wound our way back on the not main roads to our Airbnb. The best views are on the little winding roads that switchback up and down the mountains. The main roads are fast but its all made of tunnels. We stopped several times to see the views. We wound our way up at the top through the trees that made tunnels. The clouds were all around us and we drove through the fog. We ended the day with seafood by our Airbnb and listened to the waves crash beside us. 

Monday we got up around 5:30 so we could drive to the Stairway to Heaven hike which is made up of multiple stairways and is the highest point on the island. We didn’t make it to the trailhead because so many people had parked there. And guess what. It was pouring rain and very cold. We parked about 1km away and hiked up hill to the trail head. There was a lookout that viewed the mountains and the trail with the stairway. We stood there and looked at the narrow stone path and steps. It’s about a 40 minute hike one way. But the clouds were low and you couldn’t see very far in front of you. So much for hoping it would be a gorgeous sunrise. The clouds cleared just enough for us to see the next ridge, then it clouded over and continued raining. We decided it didn’t pay to hike it if you couldn’t see anything anyway. And not gonna lie we were not prepared for this weather. We drove down to the city of Funchal and had yummy avocado toast and pink hot chocolate in the cutest pink cafe. We then drove around the west?  side of the island. We hadn’t been on this road. We found a cute red and white lighthouse and saw some pretty lookouts. We continued driving around the island and stopped at a black sand beach. The sand was so pretty and soft. The waves were crazy and it looked like the surfers were having a good time. We got the best prawns at a little restaurant that is on the coast. They also have two huge free pools, on is freshwater, and one is filled with seawater as the waves crash into it. We hiked the Stairway to Heaven at Sunset and it was magical. So so beautiful. We got hot chocolate at the little cafe by our Airbnb after as we were quite cold after that.  

Tuesday we had breakfast at the same lil cafe outside our door. We then traveled around the other end of the island that we had not been to yet. Such beautiful winding roads with the best views. We went back to Funchal to pick up some pottery and go to a few shops and eat lunch before flying out in the afternoon to Lisbon, Portugal. 













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