Pico do Arieiro

Today is forecast to be sunny and the view through the curtains confirms this. We get things off to a cracking start with a hipster breakfast of avocado, toast and poached egg. The two avocados that we bought at the market on Saturday have been delicious and cost about 42 pence each.
D is now getting to grips with navigating in Funchal and with only one slight divergence from plan we are on the main road up the mountains to Monte and then on beyond towards Ribeiro Frio. As we climb we see several kestrels hovering, searching for breakfast.  Our route breaks new ground when we turn off the main drag at the top of the pass and take the side road to the top of Madeira's third highest mountain. The road is not too bad, probably because the Portuguese military have a radar station up here, but somebody needs to do something about the parking.
We find a spot on the radar station's driveway and walk up to the top. It is currently rated as 1818 metres, 5964 feet in old money. The place is mobbed and there must be most of Europe's languages being spoken on this windswept patch of rock. When we left the car we opted to put fleece sweaters on and we do not regret the decision.
Lots of people come up here to walk the PR1 footpath that connects this, the third highest spot in Madeira, with the next two upwards. It is a 17km return trip and not on our agenda for the day, but we do opt to walk the first 700 metres or so to the Buzzards Nest viewpoint.
We are not alone. Ornithology gets a look in too as there is a cheerful robin singing by the side of the track and a couple of partridges skulking in the scrub.
The path follows a ridge line and has a few stairs but is well paved and maintained. The most vertiginous bits have hand rails.
The views from the lookout are stupendous although they make us realise why nearly everybody in Madeira opts for the south side of the island. We are enjoying blazing sunshine while the north coast is covered in cloud again.
We leave the intrepid types to their serious hiking and return to the car.  Fortunately we have not been blocked in are soon under way for our second target - Camacha. This village is famous for its basket weaving. The road down the mountain is being substantially rebuilt but is still in use. We saw this tactic used in rural Turkey for about half a mile. Here the works go on for several kilometres but nobody appears concerned as we weave through the machinery.
On the outskirts of Camacha we spot a Continente Supermarket and stop to buy lunch. Not our best idea ever as supermarkets here dont seem to sell ready made sandwiches or the like. We find a couple of sausage roll like things and an almond croissant and drive until we find somewhere to sit and eat them. 
This rather rare piece of level ground in Madeira is reputedly the site of the first game of football ever played in Madeira in 1875. Why it needed to be paved over is not explained. The building at the back of the picture is the Wicker Museum which went into Covid Quarantine in March 2021 and has not reopened since. Plan B is a trip to the beach, this time one of the ones to the east of Funchal. Looking down from above it looks idyllic but when we get to sea level the swell is livelier than we want to risk.
We have opted to eat out tonight and walk over to the old town. Basically this is a narrow cobbled street, packed with restaurants and restauranteurs touting for business. We pass a dozen until one catches R's attention. Only later do we spot that it is Grandfather's Restaurant.
 We enjoy the food, the waitress takes a decent photo and we note the lack of crabs on the menu.


Comments

  1. knownunknown8 February 2022 at 18:33

    Another fun day in paradise! Local breweries?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dave W9 February 2022 at 01:21

      Coral beer is pretty much ubiquitous on the island.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Episode Where the Sandal Needs Repairing.

Image
The post title is just for JS. The view out of the window this morning is somewhat dreich.  The forecast suggests showers on and off all day so we opt for a bit more culture. On yesterday's jaunt we passed the Casa Museo Frederico de Freitas and looked it up. The house was another traditional Madeiran Manor House that was occupied by the eponymous lawyer from 1940 until he died in 1978. To say that Fred was a bit of a collector is like saying Lenin was a bit of a leftie. This museum is rather like a Madeiran Burrell Collection in its breadth of subjects - paintings, furniture, religious sculptures, ceramics, silver, books and more.  One shelf in the library caught D's attention. At what point was Wales not part of the British Empire? Not to be outdone Madame Fred accrued a collection of over 2000 mugs, jugs and pitchers including examples badged for Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC. Sadly these were behind glass in...
Read more

Where Winston stood?

Image
Today threatens to be sunny without any danger of precipitation. Sorry to rub it in. We have a Saturday routine that dictates delivering our grungy laundry to the service wash facility, before attending the tent on the promenade for our weekly government funded Covid test. Once again we are greeted as family and the nurse wielding the nasal swab could well be the aunt who is normally hidden in the attic. Within an hour we receive texts and emails to confirm our negative tests. After a leisurely breakfast featuring freshly squeezed orange juice we catch a bus to the fishing port of Camara de Lobos. If you don't know what this means you have not been paying attention and need to go back to the start and read it all again. The bus drops us at a place that was allegedly Winston Churchill's favourite view of the town. We stroll down to the port through picturesque streets where the restaurants are starting to get ready for the day's business and groups of elderly jaikies are pla...
Read more

The Navy's Here!

Image
One of the things that we forgot to mention yesterday was the presence of Royal Navy uniforms around the town. As we strolled the promenade we spotted a slightly odd looking vessel flying the White Ensign. Later research identified H131 as HMS Scott, an oceanic survey ship. Has Boris declared war on Portugal to divert attention from something? Our plan today is to walk up to the fort that dominates the view from our balcony, Fortaleza do Pico. It is sunny and not very windy so the shorts are unfurled and the sun block applied. Just before setting out D checks the guidebook and spots the small print that states "Open Monday to Saturday".  Plan B is to visit Quinta das Cruzes Museum, described as a quintessential Old Madeira Manor House complete with gardens, open Tuesdays to Sundays. We find it without any difficulty and read the notice that tells us it is closed for maintenance until 8th February. Electing not to give up the height that we have gained we head east...
Read more