If I have to summarize in one sentence what I feel inside myself, on this island, I have no difficulty in doing so: it is impossible not to be deeply impressed by the gentleness of Madeira (and I am not referring only to its perennial spring). Today I chose to visit the southern coast of the island –http://portugal.rentalcargroup.com/Funchal_Downtown.htm – using a cheap and small cars Peugeot 107, which I booked for the duration of one week, the price of 170, 45 euro.
This morning I woke up early, I dived into the pool next to my room, and I laid my breakfast at the edge of that blue shell of the hotel – http://www.montecarlohotelfunchal.com/– waiting for the sunrise in your eyes closed. With the little Peugeot 107 rented, I walked the 30 km that separated me from Canical, a small fishing village to the east of the island, arriving 30 minutes after Punta de Sao Laurenco, a long promontory that stretches for miles in the Atlantic Ocean. The sun was still low on the horizon. Obviously, none of the pirates of the Barbary Coast sailing disturbed the charm of the flight of seagulls, but I thought with sadness – in an area called Tres Donzelas – the three unfortunate teenagers who, on a morning like this, four centuries ago had been kidnapped by sea pirates.
The second leg of my tour to the east of Madeira, Machico was the first capital of the island, a city full of history, with a beautiful beach of gravel and sand, stunning views and the possibility of fishing. As I was advised, I went to Pico de Facho, a vantage point surmounted by a lighthouse, and no longer by the torches that signaled the danger of pirates. When I arrived in Santa Cruz – 32 ° 41’15 .32” N / 16 ° 47’24 .59” W – I have observed the planes that carried other tourists, but I stopped because I decided to dedicate some of my time to a detour inland to Camacha, a quaint village full of willow trees, is famous for its production of wicker baskets.
Last leg of my morning was to Canico, a city full of hotels, which owes its name to the long reeds that grow in that place. The sea near this place is incredibly clear, and this is the reason why many marine divers return every year, in contact with manta rays and other fish. I have bought for you a braid of onions, a typical cultivation of this place, with the hope that you can at least imagine – cooking at home – the colors and scents of this corner of Madeira.
The first stop of the afternoon was to Curral das Freiras (The Valley of the Nuns), a village accessible by a scenic narrow and dangerous, but very impressive. I find it difficult to describe this place with the right words, but I’ll try: imagine a lost valley, filled with cherry trees and surrounded by mountains, where protected from pirate raids graze cattle and sheep. Going down to the coast, I arrived at the headland of Cabo Girao, with its famous lookout point high 580 meters above sea level – 32 ° 39’10’09” N/16 ° 59’31 .96” O – where I observed her bay, but the feeling of vertigo that I felt in those moments is still strong within me.
Ribeira Brava is really a small chest on the ocean, with plenty of shops and cafes, perhaps too crowded for my taste, and that’s why I went in the direction of Ponta do Sol Arriving in Calheta – 32 ° 43’18 .44” N/17 ° 10’41 .46” W – a small bay where in the past embarked sugar and timber, but I have not observed any cloud of Saharan sand carried by the wind, as I have said often that happens. Continuing Jardim do Mar, an ancient and charming village nestled into the sea and surrounded by cliffs, I was amazed by his very colorful gardens, banana plantations and vineyards, observing many surfers, cluttering the best point of the island , where to catch the wind, riding the blue.
Paul do Mar, a fishing village, but also a site for surfing. A small beach surrounded by mountains, and the voice of silence, punctuated only by the soothing murmur of the ocean. Climate and great place to take the sun – which I did – swimming and challenging high waves. I wanted to watch the sunset over the sea, so I went in the direction of Prazeres, choosing Chico Restaurant in Caminho do Lombo da Rocha, for my dinner of Filet de Espada with banana. Shakespeare speaks of wines from the island in his Henry IV, Falstaff is to be accused of selling their souls for a leg of roast chicken and a glass of Madeira. I ate and drank Filet de Espada Verdelho without selling my soul, but when I watched the sunset at the end of the meal, munching biscuits and drinking sweet wine Malmesey, all the temptations of the blue – the sea and the night – they were in my eyes, thinking of you.
