First things first: a disclaimer. This trip happened more than two years ago, but since I decided to pretend I’m 18 and go back to university our life has been pretty busy. Now that the classes and exams are finally over, we are trying to catch up on the blog and gather our memories of all those trips that we were lucky enough to do in a couple of years. So, stay tuned, more stories to come!!!
I can’t even remember how it happened that we decided to go for the New Years Eve to Madeira. I guess the stars aligned well and we got lucky to get a 4 days escape alone, having part of the family joining us a bit later.
We had quite an early morning flight to this remote Portuguese island, having breakfast at the airport at 5:30 am and arriving around 9 in Madeira. We had a tiny delay due to circling above the destination before we could land as one passenger was not feeling well. We all saw movies with “is there a doctor on board???” but this actually happens in reality too.
Task number one: get gas for the following days to have something warm to eat. Shouldn’t be hard as there’s a Decathlon in the capital city. We grabbed a uber and went straight there, but.. Surprise!!! No gas… Now that was unexpected. Being 31st of December wasn’t playing in our favour either as so many places were simply closed. We tried to get an advice and wondered around quite some until we finally found some canisters in a gas station, but, of course, it was not suitable for our tiny hiking burners, and we had to buy the whole thing, knowing we would have to leave it behind once the trip is over.
Task number two: reach the starting point of the hike that we had in mind for the last day of the year. I don’t remember why we didn’t take a bus (probably the schedule was not suitable or there was no bus that day) but we called another uber to take us up the mountain. However, it was not as easy this time as it’s a long and not very convenient destination for the drivers. With a bit of waiting and some luck we managed and just before 12 am reached the start of the hike – Poiso. Hey, what a coincidence! It was right next to a restaurant that smelt soooo good we thought it would be a good idea to eat something before starting the hike. After all, the morning had been long, and we barely had breakfast. A sandwich with a grilled beef fillet, some fries, a cold drink and we were ready to hit the trail!
Day 1 – Poiso to Casa do Burro: 12,3 km; 691 m↑, 586 m↓
The weather was fairly good, pleasing us with some sunshine through the clouds once in a while. We started in a forest, but soon enough reached wide fields with some sheep roaming around and spectacular mountains in the background.
The path was easy, ranging between dirt roads, normal trails and a small section of road.
Couple of hours into the hike we reached an area with several attractions, like environmental education centre, fish tanks for repopulation of rivers, some PR trails and a couple of restaurants with such a tempting terrace that we had to sit down again and try the famous local drink – poncha. Highly recommended! Our favourite flavour was passion fruit.
After this delicious stop we resumed our hike with no clear idea where exactly we would spend the last night of the year. There were several options on our planned route, thus we decided to hike until our feet decide otherwise.
We started on PR11 that takes you to an easy walk next to one of the levadas (irrigation channels or aqueducts very specific to Madeira, with many trails passing by their side), but very soon diverted into an offshoot on a tiny path climbing straight up that you could hardly call a trail. This part of the hike was a bit wilder and more interesting, reaching higher areas of the mountains, although the visibility was getting poorer due to cloudy skies.
Eventually, we reached Casa do Burro, a lonely building with a picnic area and a water source. By then, we were so tired that we had to call it a day. The night was approaching fast, the clouds were getting lower and the place looked good enough to spend the evening (even with benches, table and some roof to protect from the rain). What else one might wish for the New Years Eve party?
As early as 7 pm we pinched the tent in complete darkness, with the fog so dense that turning on our headlights would only make the visibility worse. The temperature was dropping down fast and we ended up cosying up in the tent after having warm dinner. Despite all the intentions to wait for the midnight, after a full day of traveling and hiking with barely any sleep, the tiredness took over and we opened our eyes already in a new year.
Day 2- Casa do Burro to Casa de Abrigo (Pico Ruivo): 11,15 km; 779 m↑, 344 m↓
The morning was windy and rainy, so we cooked our breakfast without any rush, waiting to see if the weather would get better before packing our wet gear. Eventually, we had to move on: still a long day ahead of us, no time for whining.
First, we had to reach Pico do Areeiro (1818 m), which is one of the highest peaks of Madeira and… perfectly reachable by car. There is a bar with a terrace to have a light meal and a drink with absolutely outstanding views.
The hike to Pico do Areeiro was fairly easy, having to walk some on the road due to a closure of an official trail. Apparently, there had been quite a big rockfall not long ago, destroying part of the path.
The weather in these heights was much worse than the day before, so we really didn’t mind stopping for a bit, to warm ourselves up and regain some energy.
Our next destination was supposed to be Pico Ruivo (1861 m), around 7 km away.
Seeing with our own eyes the mountains we’d need to cross, we realized it wouldn’t be an easy walk. And it wasn’t. Especially morally as we were going down. And down. And deeper down… while knowing that we had to end up on the highest peak of an island! The weather was not helping either. But the views!!!! The section between Pico do Areeiro and Pico Ruivo is one of the most beautiful mountain hikes we’ve done. It felt like descending to another world, with its own microclimate and life, completely cut out of the rest of the world, surrounded by sharp-ridged mountains. Yet it wasn’t a difficult hike from a technical point of view as the path was mostly paved with rocks, forming steps to climb or descend, with security chains to hold where needed. It also passed through several carved-in tunnels that added charm to the hike. Absolutely gorgeous. Just don’t forget to take your headlights!
The climb up was very wet (it was raining again), steep in some sections and a bit slippery but took us less than expected. Although we wanted to spend the night on Pico Ruivo, we decided to stop a bit earlier, next to a hut that could give us some side shelter from the wind and rain (having a drink in a warm bar clearly influenced that decision too). Surprisingly enough, we were not the only ones spending our first day of the year freezing on the mountain. But the area was big enough to share and everyone could find a place to pitch their tent for the night.
Day 3- Casa de Abrigo (Pico Ruivo) to Colmeal: 11,5 km; 183 m↑, 1384 m↓
We started the day waking up early to climb the peek that was just 500 meters away to see the sunrise. It was an easy and straightforward hike to warm up our bodies in the morning. The clouds were covering the mountains a bit so the sunrise wasn’t as spectacular as it could be in such a beautiful place. Yet, we could still see Pico Areeiro few kilometres away with the sun slowly coming up behind it, and enjoyed these moments to the fullest with our mega cups of coffee. Although we were one of the first ones to arrive, soon enough more people were joining in and the peek got almost crowded for the sunrise.
Later, we descended back to our “base camp” to cosy up in the tent, have some breakfast and wait for the tent to dry out a bit before packing it in.
The objective for the day was simply to get back to civilization around Curral das Freiras (Nuns Valley) where we could get a bus heading to Funchal. We only had 1 more day before the rest of the family would join us, and as we still wanted to visit The Dragon Tail or Ponta de São Lourenço, we needed to rent a car.
First, we walked a bit on a ridge of the mountain before we could start our descent to the valley.
Later, the trail took us down mainly through the forests; thus the views were not so impressive anymore, having to cross a big section of Eucalyptus forest as well (which is not the most charming forest to be fair).
We walked down all the way to Colmeal and, with a bit of waiting, took a bus to Funchal. Although there is public transport all over the island, it really doesn’t go frequently, which was one of the reasons why we decided to rent a car for a day. At the end, when you only have so little time for your travel, you really don’t want to be wasting it waiting for a bus.
Back in Funchal we had a nice dinner and spent some time trying to figure out where to rent a car without a previous booking. Even on a low season, it wasn’t as easy as one would expect, but with a bit of luck we managed.
Day 4- São Lourenço: 5 km; 183 m↑, 249 m↓
As soon as the rental company was opened, we were standing at their door to pick up our car. Finally, being a bit more mobile we set out to explore another side of the island, stopping by on the way to visit some villages, have brunch and refill our food for the night.
Dropping the car in São Lourenço wasn’t an easy task as it was fully packed with tourists coming for a day. Thus, we had to park quite far and walk an extra walk just to reach the start of the hike. The initial kilometre was packed with people, but past certain point their numbers reduced significantly, allowing to enjoy the views without big interference. And indeed, it was a place worthwhile enjoying! The photos speak for themselves.
When going to the furthest part of The Dragon Tail trail we passed by a bar – Casa da Sardinha – (quite in the middle of nowhere) and thought it would be an amazing idea to have a drink afterwards. However, little did we know about its working hours, having to face a sad reality that the only liquids we had were the ones we brought in.
When walking through the trail we were constantly looking for suitable places to pitch a tent for the night. The area has one camping spot marked and it indeed was a good place to spend the night, but we had to wait for the day hikers to disappear before settling in.
With the sun finally setting down to the ocean and basically alone, we set up our tent and went down to enjoy the sunset with the lights of the city in the background.
Day 5- São Lourenço: 3,1 km; 143 m↑, 93 m↓
We woke up with the first rays of sun for the last hours of our little adventure. Getting back to the car was a nice and fast walk, with barely any people in sight, thus looking significantly different compared to the night before.
10 in the morning we were back in Funchal, having coffee with Portuguese pastries and charging the car before returning it. It was a mini escape trip but a very beautiful one.
A couple of hours later we were in the airport meeting the rest of the family and picking up a bigger car to move around for the next couple of days. Even though very civilized and much more touristic, the rest of the trip also gave us some beautiful moments exploring Funchal and all corners of the island, walking in levadas, getting back to Pico do Areeiro, watching sunsets and even doing a small banana hike.
We loved Madeira so much we wanted to go back there for our family holidays with all our kids (as only the youngest one travelled to meet us this time). However, we had no idea it could be so complicated. We booked the trip for Easter holidays, but our inbound flight got cancelled due to a strike of the airline staff, forcing us to replan our holidays and spend a week in Lisbon instead. We rebooked everything for early June and once again, having arrived at the airport and queueing in line to check-in our luggage we learnt that the flight had been cancelled due to sever winds that impeded the planes to land in Madeira, forcing us again to replan our holidays and go to the South of Portugal instead.
Madeira is quite famous for being difficult to reach, as its airport has a fairly short (although now a bit extended) runway which makes it difficult for planes to land in certain weather conditions. Actually, it is quite fun to see the planes land as you watch them from the beach or simple on a road that goes all the way down below the runway. So, if you ever plan to visit this gorgeous Portuguese island, be mentally ready for surprises and unexpected changes of your plans!
Let's go wild! 