The most beautiful island in the world.

Our tour of Madeira began in a misty rain in the port city of Funchal and within ten minutes our bus was climbing, climbing and climbing. 

The guide explained that Madeira had very few beaches because the island was of volcanic origin and had very steep slopes and cliffs on all sides that continued several hundred and even thousands of meters below the surface of the ocean.

  Agriculture on the island is tropical, conducted on very steep slopes or on a seemingly endless series of terraces; consists mostly of papaya, bananas and flowers below an altitude of three thousand feet and above that, one finds the vineyards of Madeira.

The narrow road wound up and up with steep drops on one side and rock walls on the other.  Being somewhat uncomfortable with heights, I was a glad I was not sitting in a window seat!  After forty five minutes we stopped at a lookout point above Funchal that provided 360 degree vistas for photo opportunities and of course, your choice of cafes for an espresso or cappuccino (café solo or con leche).  The clouds had lifted just enough that the sun was starting to burn through, it was spectacular!

After this quick pit stop we returned to the bus to continue our climb to the far side of the island.  This part of the trip was even more harrowing as we climbed ever steeper and steeper terrain on the winding narrow roads.  Needless to say, my knuckles were white for the next hour or so.  We finally arrived at Cabo Girau which, we were told, is the second highest vertical drop to the ocean in the world at 580 meters.  Great!

Marilyn of course, loves this and I cringe as she leans over the edge of a frail looking railing to take pictures.  The clouds here are actually below us clearing only from time to time allowing one to take dizzying pictures.

  I’m uncomfortable getting within ten meters of the edge as the walkway also slopes steeply to the edge.  Thank God that finally ended and we got back on the bus to continue what for me, was becoming the bus ride from hell!

Down, down, down the inland switchbacks we went until, you guessed it we stopped at another viewpoint where you could see the nearly endless series of terraces dropping down to the sea.

  By now the clouds were clearing and we stopped again at the lovely seaside town of Camera de Lobos where Winston Churchill liked to sit and paint during his vacations in the 1950’s.

Back to the bus; next stop, Funchal.

The May sun shone brilliantly as we dismounted the bus in Funchal for our visit to a local bodega to sample the wine named after this lovely island.  You may recognize the name Madeira as a type of wine.  Madeira is a very sweet wine that has accompanied European sailors for hundreds of years.  While neither of us particularly enjoyed the cloying sweetness of the wine many of our fellow tourists sampled and sampled again; you get the picture.

After our visit to the bodega we had some free time to wander the picturesque city of Funchal and view the remains of the flower festival, do a little shopping or just enjoy the suddenly beautiful weather. 

We chose to wander a little, eschewing the short bus ride to the ship, stopping at a local café in a small park for a beverage and to sit underneath the flowering trees.  Our wandering path down to the port took us through a beautiful park with a statue of Christopher Columbus (Cristovau Colombo) overlooking the entire harbor area.

  Lizards that the island is also famous for were sunning themselves on the rock walls, the flowering plants and trees were a riot of color and fragrance, this was altogether a very pleasant finish to our visit to Madeira.

This small, charming island had, in one day, become one of our favorite islands in the world and we can’t wait for a return visit.