Madeira, Portugal

The islands of Madeira, Portugal, also known as the Pearl of the Atlantic, are located 280 miles off the African coast, but more than 600 miles from Portugal. This cluster of four lush, green, tropical islands, two inhabited and two uninhabited, may remind you of Hawaii. Madeira and Porto Santo are the two inhabited islands in the archipelago, and offer great hiking, whale watching, water sports, volcanic cave expeditions, and much more. Founded in 1420 by three Portuguese explorers, they named the islands Madeira, meaning islands of wood, due to its dense forests. The capital of the islands is Funchal, located on Madeira.

The Botanical Gardens located high in the hills above Funchal, are exquisitely enticing. Established in 1960, this twenty acre garden has more 2,000 varieties of plants. Here you’ll find succulents, tropical and medicinal plants, fruit trees, stray cats, and expansive views of Funchal and beyond. You can reach the gardens via cable car or taxi. Admission is free, although a donation is greatly appreciated.

Another must see on Madeira is the small village of Monte where the famous toboggan ride originates. The term “toboggan” doesn’t really accurately describe the contraption you’ll ride in, it’s more like a glorified wicker basket.

Ernest Hemingway had this to say about the experience: “it was the most exhilarating ride of my life!” We opted to take the cable car instead of the toboggan, since it took us directly to where we wanted to go – the center of town for lunch.

There are loads of great restaurants in Funchal, and we picked a good one; Realmar. Everything was delicious and the waitstaff were friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.

And as usual, just wandering and taking photos always appeals to me.

Have you been to Madeira? If so, what was a highlight for you?

As a side note, theTravelsketcher and I learned something interesting this week about WordPress. He posted a blog to a site he hasn’t used for several years, beenthereeatingthis, and I attempted to leave a comment, but my comment disappeared immediately after I hit “reply”. (I have had this happen on other occasions when I leave comments on other blog posts). He searched around a bit, and found my comment in the “pending” folder in the comments dashboard, waiting to be approved. Once he approved it, and it was then visible to all. I checked my “pending” folder, and found some comments that also needed to be approved.

Neville Update: this is a National Geographic moment, so if you’re at all squeamish, please accept my apology and skip the next photo. After being a house cat for many years, Neville loves being able to go outdoors now, and he has certainly channeled his inner hunter!

As always, I would love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment.

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia