Madeira is a beautiful gem of islands about 500 miles off the coast of Portugal. Our first day on land and with wifi allowed us to get caught up on internet and the priority to find a place to store Adiona for 3 weeks. Grabbed a rental car and headed out on the twisting, turning and tunnel filled roads of Madeira driving north west to Calheta. This was the better option of a couple marinas. Once we got the marina sorted out it was time to explore Funchal for the evening and have dinner out. The town is very lively with lots of restaurants to choose from. We had a wonderful dinner on a rooftop restaurant with its own herb garden growing next to the seating area. The guy at the rental car place recommended that we try the Scabbard fish and Espedtada. The waiter recommended the Limpets as an appetizer and some white wine from very young green grapes. Scabbard fish is a really ugly eel-like fish… but the meat is very soft and tender. The beef is on a skewer and was incredibly flavourful and tender. The limpets were definitely different… they are a shellfish that you find attached to stuff (rocks, boats, etc) and you pry them off. Cook em up with some butter and garlic.. a sprinkle of lemon juice and chow down! Not sure if we’ll have them again, but… when in Rome…
The next morning Scott & Jason moved the boat to the other marina while I moved the rental car. Driving and navigating was definitely a challenge! Got lost a couple of times even with GPS!! But the scenery is incredible. Madeira is really a gem and we are glad we decided to stop on our way.
After settling Adiona into her home for the next 3 weeks, the rest of the day was spent touring the north west end of the island. Tons of banana trees literally growing everywhere possible on the south side of the island… and lots of grapevines and sugar cane on the north. Seems like every bit of land that can be cultivated is used for something. Ended up at some amazing pools created in the lava rock! Incredible… wish the weather was warmer to enjoy those! The north side of the island is very rainy and rugged with lots of ship killer shoreline. Very rainforesty with incredible plants growing everywhere… bird of paradise & huge hibiscus growing in the wild. Apparently there are something like 300 varieties of flowers here.. and each part of the island the vegetation is very different. Everything from ferns to cactus, eucalyptus trees, pine trees, cedar… bamboo… Found a cute little cafe to stop & have a snack… they were closing up so we ended up with huge pieces of cake, coffee & complimentary flaming shooters !! Quick drive home “through” the island in a long tunnel… the shortcut. We would do the long way another time.
The next day after a slow start in the am, Scott and I set off to explore the south side of the island… taking some of the “local” roads. Really beautiful… lots of rugged cliffs.. beautiful homes perched on the tops of cliffs, bananas literally growing everywhere and anywhere… stopped at a picturesque little fishing harbour for lunch, souvenirs and a walk about. Then off to Funchal to ride the cable car up & check out the basket toboggans. Cable car was ok.. nice view over the city, but we ended up with a better view from the top of the island the next day in the rental car. Watched one couple head off in the basket sleds… looked like fun, but a bit of over-priced “touristy” stuff.
Met one of our fellow marina slip renters Christiano who does whale & dolphin watching tours who gave us some info of a ship chandler to check out. So off we were to another local boat store to look for batteries, dive tanks, compressor and dive gear. Great recommendation and very helpful staff. In fact all of the islanders have been very friendly and will go out of their way to help you out. Once that was done it was off to the east end of the island, checked out the other marina there (the one we are at is a better choice) and then the north side & across the top back home. East end is more desert-like and rugged… then when you head north it becomes more lush and rainforest-like. Stopped in —- had lunch and a quick tour of the local rum factory and added to Adiona’s liquor cabinet. Off to Santana to see the triangle houses, then across the top of the island back home. The island really has a huge variety of landscapes… everything from desert, to rainforest, grasslands, cedar and ferns, to pine forest. As you drive further up it changes.
We truly did get to see a big part of the island, but now it was time to get Adiona ready to be left alone for 3 weeks. Our last day was spent cleaning, securing lines and making sure she wouldn’t sink at the dock. Early to bed that night for a 2:00am wake up and drive to the airport. It was really weird packing up to go to our other home… only the clothes on our back.. our computers, Christmas presents & souvenirs… 2 carry on bags (one of them full of empty large duffel bags). Kinda different… but nice !!