The next day, we got an early start to hike Pico do Ariero - a 7.5 mile hike along the spine of one of the tallest peaks in Madeira and a hike best taken on a clear, sunny day. We really only had one clear day in the forecast so we wanted to make the most of it. We drove up switchbacks for an hour to the trailhead and set off. It was pretty crowded, (I think it's the most popular hike to do there) but it was totally worth it. The entire trail is paved and consists of tens of thousands of steps.
Then it was time for a refreshing beverage and enjoying more of the view.
From there we drove directly north to Santana to explore more of the Laurel Forest of the island. We found the cutest little spot for pastries and cappuccinos before setting out on another little hike.
Then we walked around Funchal and explored more of the Old Town and had dinner. There was a festival going on as 3 big Fred Olson ships were in port for the Fleet of Funchal event for the first time, so everybody was out celebrating.
As sun set, the ships made their way out of the harbor to the open seas.
Eventually, we went back to our hotel and watched fireworks from the rooftop patio.
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| I wonder if Cristiano Ronaldo played on that field? He grew up here, you know. |
The following day, we walked down to the gondola station and took a ride up to the Botanical Gardens. We shared a cabin with 3 funny ladies from the UK that were scared to death of hights and it made for quite an entertaining ride.
For some reason, we didn't take the gondola back down into town, we ended up walking. The city streets there are soooo steep that it took forever and we were just trying not to go sliding all the way down. Our knees were shot by the time we got to the car. We were staying at a different hotel in a different area on our final night, so we drove over and checked in to a massive seaside resort.
Then it was time for more exploration...mostly by car this time. We stumbled upon Cape Girao - the highest sea cliff in Europe and the second highest in the world, measuring 1,902 feet above sea level with a sheer drop below.
We eventually found ourselves in Porto Da Cruz where we stopped for ice cream sundaes and watched the waves. It's a big surfing destination.
We found more tunnels from the old road saw waterfalls and stunning coastlines. There was so much mossy greenery on the side of the cliffs and the tunnels and water was just pouring off of the walls. It worked out nicely because we didn't have any windshield wiper fluid in our rental car and the sea mist would just coat our windshield so we could barely see. We'd just drive along the cliffs and the waterfalls would spray our windshield can clean it off for us!
We ended up in Ponta Del Sol and ate lunch under those little white umbrellas.. Check out this orange streak of stone in the mountainside. It almost looked like construction netting from a distance because it was so vivid.
We went back to our resort and then set out in search of sushi and finished off the evening with Creme Brulé and cappuccinos and a soccer game as a little bar on the strip. The next morning, we made our way to the airport to catch our flight to Sao Miguel, Azores!