29.11.2020
88 km North Coast
Leaving Seixal behind I had to take the expressway, because the old Antiga ER 101 was closed. Near the Fajã das Contreiras I turned on it, but parked right there. Another geocache was placed near one of the old road tunnels. There was a parking lot with a viewpoint close to the entrance of the tunnel, but I did not dare driving that far … half the road had been washed away by the sea … I was not sure how old this landslide was … and also … the stretch of the old road between São Vincente and Porto Moniz is now a one way street from East to West …wrong direction for me as well, because I was at the Western end of the tunnel here …
I walked the couple hundred meters to the tunnel entrance. The road was fairly overgrown and a small stream crossed it as well. But I reached the tunnel entrance without problems and as easily found the secret box.
From the viewpoint I had a good view along the coast towards Seixal and the East. The rain seemed to follow me now …
I left the expressway at the next exit to Ribeira da Janela, but I did not drive up to the village. I rather stayed by the coast. Only a few houses clustered in the narrow valley above the mouth of the river.
I parked the car and went for a walk to the coast. The Central Hidroeléctrica na Ribeira da Janela – a hydroelectric powerplant – occupied the opposite side of the river mouth and did not look too photogenic. It was a short walk up a path and a small tunnel through the cliff – then I reached the beautiful coast. From the small terrace the view was outstanding.
The beginning of the creation of the archipelago of Madeira would go back 20 mio years to a first submarine volcanic eruption at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Then more eruptions took place until the volcanic part exceeded the surface and became a small island which got bigger with time. The island of Madeira is thus the mountain top which rises to 5000m – but only 2/5 of it are above the water. Today, 3 complexes of reliefs are distinguish – The central volcanic massif with the highest summits of the island – The Western set separated from the volcanic massif by the valleys of Ribeira Brava and São Vincent and dominated by the Paul da Serra plateau – The oriental zone which ends with the headland of São Lourenço in the East.
The islets Ilheus da Rib and Ilheus da Janela here off the coast looked actually like needles of soaring rocks protruding from the ocean, against which waves were crashing vigorously. From the side however I could see that it was long. It reminded me of Hvítserkur that we visited in Iceland – which is a volcanic dyke that had been eroded by the sea.
On the lookout platform a geocache was hidden, I searched for a bit. No other people where around, so it was no problem … but somehow I was not successful … maybe I was searching halfheartedly, because the view and the waves distracted me.
I walked down the pebbled beach to get closer to the waves. A couple of other tourists showed up to take photos of the waves as well. It was awesome how they crashed fiercely over the rocks. Once we even had to hastily retreat because one exceptionally big wave came dangerously close to our feet. I did not want to have wet trousers again like on the first day in Jardim do Mar. And also here it seemed more precarious than the tiny surge over there.
While being mesmerized by the waves I mentally collected answers for an Earth Cache which was dealing with those little islands. I had the necessary photos and would handle the questions when back home. Now I had to immerse in the view for a while longer.
Walking around the corner of the cliff along the river mouth back to the car I got sidetracked by a Seagull sitting on the rocks. It seemed to be going on about its Seagull business … but what was it doing? When I inched closer it flew a few meters on … it looked as if it was dragging something in its beak and was actually not able to fly off … neither was it going to give it up and viciously defended it whatever it had to against other Seagulls.
I used the zoom on my camera to be able to see what it was … I was intrigued now … and then I realized … it was a dead rat! Oh gosh! Now I saw why the Seagull had a mighty hard time to gobble it down … it wanted to swallow it in whole and it was fairly big …
Gulls are highly adaptable feeders that opportunistically take a wide range of prey – their food includes fish, marine and freshwater invertebrates, both alive and already dead, terrestrial arthropods and invertebrates such as insects and earthworms, rodents, eggs, carrion, offal, reptiles, amphibians, plant items such as seeds and fruit, human refuse, chips and even other birds. I remember reading an article that the seagulls in Rome are returning to natural status as predators due to the lack of food scraps during lockdown.
It took the seagull a good 10 min to swallow the rat in whole. In the end only the tail was hanging out its beak. Now what? The bird flew off over the river and I lost sight of it.
Unfortunately it started raining again. I made it to the car without getting wet, though. I took the old road crossing the river on the old bridge. It led in steep curves up the cliff to a view point overlooking the river mouth with the power station and the rocky islands. Unfortunately, it was raining hard by now. I took the camera out for only one quick photo of the stunning beach and shoreline below.
Packing camera and mobile safely back in the dry car, I quickly searched for the geocache that was hidden strategically at the viewpoint. I found it and took it into the car to sign the logbook in the dry before I placed the box back in its hiding place. By now it was raining very hard.
From here it was only a few meter until I reached the expressway again and then a couple of kilometer to Porto Moniz. It was typical … all the time I had seen Porto Moniz in sunshine and when I arrived it started raining …
I had already planned to stay in Porto Moniz next week for a few days. Last night I had booked an oceanview room at the Aqua Natura Madeira for € 50 per night for 3 nights. So I was not going to explore Porto Moniz too much today, but I wanted to have a look. For now I was not impressed … it was pouring down with rain … I parked the car in the center and walked to the shore. The increasing rain was really annoying, so I ducked into the first snack bar. It was Olhos D’Água on the esplanada. In better weather I could have sat outside, but today I went inside. It was not very busy, just a few people.
Feeling like I needed to try something new again today, I ordered Caramujos for starter and then the fried Dorada with salad. My beer came quickly and so the cutlery set up. A set of pins was delivered as well … Hmmmm … pins? …
Soon my Caramujos arrived! … Caramujos are a species of snails from the sea. Served as starters, they are a Madeira typical delicacy. After being cooked with vinegar, salt and garlic, then lemon is poured on them … And now I knew what the pins were for! … Haha! … To remove those tiny snails from the shells the pins were needed. Otherwise it would have been quite a Sisyphean task to do it.
The locals call this tiny sea snail Caramujo – it is indeed the Steromphala Cineraria. The strong, conical shell of this type of snail has up to 6 slightly arched whorls. While the inside is smooth and pearlescent-iridescent, the outside is characterized by the fact that it is a ribbed flat spiral. The case with red or purple-brown stripes reaches a height of 1.6 cm to 2 cm. This species occurs in the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira and Morocco.
I correct myself … It was quite a Sisyphean task to eat them! I spent forever to pick the tiny things out of the shells. They were good … but if they were worth the work … I do not think so. I think, I stick to the larger varieties …
Looking forward to the Dorada, I have to say, I got totally disappointed. I had especially ordered not a filet but the whole fish. It looked good … unfortunately however they had fried it totally dead. It was completely deep fried through … it was hard … shame … I am not sure, if it was a mistake or if it was supposed to be like that … Just remind me not to order it again …
The rain had subsided a little bit in the meantime and after I had paid my bill, I went for a walk around. I had a look at the Aqua Natura Hotel where I was going to stay.
It looked very good and was located directly at the shore. Then I took a photo for a Visual Cache at the Porto Moniz picture frame. With the wind and the drizzle it was not so fun.
For today I had enough of rainy Porto Moniz and turned East again. Since it was relatively early I decided to try another road into the mountains. In Ribiera da Janela I took the ER 209 which leads up to the plateau. Theoretically I could drive over the plateau and then via the Boca da Encumeada back to São Vincente … if the road were open … which it was not … But I could go up and have a look.
Ribeira da Janela is a small beautiful village with approx 300 inhabitants. The ravine Ribeira da Janela meanders through the village from Paul da Serra and flows down to the ocean. The valley cut by this ravine is one of the longest in Madeira. Forests dominate the Northern and the Western parts of the valley. It is a unique traditionally agricultural area mainly producing potatoes, sweet potatoes and grapes from the vineyards.
The higher I reached on the steep winding road the cloudier it got and the more the drizzle turned into rain. At a viewpoint overlooking the coast far below I stopped to find a last geocache for today. That was quickly done and also a photo of the view. Contemplating what to do next, I decided to call it and drive the expressway back to São Vincente.
Without detours, photostops and geocaching it was a rather quick drive back and I reached the guesthouse around 15:45. It was raining here as well. The 30 min parking spot in front of my apartment was empty, so I parked right there. Who was going to check parking in this weather?
Before I settled in the apartment, I went to the supermarket – Yes! It was open on a Sunday! I bought some cheese and a bottle of H&H Madeira Wine. I sat by the window drinking nice wine, sorting photos and staring at the rain. All of a sudden I noticed a police car stopped next to my funny little car … Oh shit … Maybe they had noticed the car had been parked much longer than 30 min in that spot already … The police man did not get out of the car, but I could see him noting down the car details … Oh well … He did not put a ticket at the windshield … maybe they would sent it to Europcar … Oh well … But I was not going to run down and talk to them with all that Madeira Wine inside me already … No no! … I am crazy, but not that crazy …
Instead I just lay low and watched them drive off eventually … Could they give me more than one ticket? If they came back and the car was still there? … Contemplating I eventually decided to run in the rain and quickly drive the car to the big parking lot around the corner. Better is.
The rain and cold wind sobered me up and it was only a matter of minutes and I was back watching TV – not the news but some movies. I put the heater on again, finished the wine and slept very late. The rain drumming steadily on the roof …
30.11.2020
113 km Central South Coast to Funchal
It was pouring cats and dogs all night and it was still going strong this morning. I was not really motivated to leave. But I got up and had my breakfast with a rainy view. Then I sat and wrote some and researched some. I still needed a hotel for my last 3 nights on the island and I wanted a nice ocean view for a good price. However, I was still not sure where I wanted to stay … Relatively close to the airport was a must … Sentido Galosol would have been perfect, but I did not want to stay repeatedly in a hotel … I rather wanted to try something new.
Around 10:00 I decided it was time to move and walked to the car in the rain. Next to the carpark by the mouth of the river there was an Earth Cache marked at the Capela de São Vicente – also known as Capela do Calhau – located in Foz da Ribeira de São Vicente. Its most striking feature is that it is embedded in a basaltic block. It was built approx 1694. This basalt block was formed by volcanic eruptions at the site. According to some versions of the story, the sanctuary was erected in the place where the martyr São Vicente appeared. The chapel was closed, but I took my photo and collected some details for the answers to the necessary questions.
I got the car and parked it in front of the guesthouse. In the pouring rain I carried my bags and suitcase down the stairs and stowed everything in the car. The apartment key I dropped in the mailbox as I had been advised by the landlord. All wet I was – first time today – and off I was. The next 2 nights I was staying in Funchal, so I took the VE 4 expressway through the tunnel to the South coast.
In Ribeira Brava I turned West on the VE 3 for one exit to Tabua. There I drove up towards the old more scenic route and then followed that along. The weather had improved considerably, the sun was out and there were only drizzle showers every now and again.
Eventhough I had driven this part of the road before – in the opposite direction, though – it was stunning as ever. Banana plantations lined the terraced slopes. Banana cultivation is one of the most significant and profitable businesses on Madeira occupying approx 700 ha.
The first Banana plants alledgedly landed on Madeira in the 16th century as a botanical curiosity. Later the first commercial banana species was planted in the mid-19 century. Today, that original variety of Banana represents 60% of the cultivated Banana on the island. The other 2 varieties which are produced, were introduced here in 1993.
I stopped by the roadside to take a photo of a Banana tree … but well … The Banana plant actually belongs to the herbaceous flowering plants. It is therefore not a tree but rather a giant herb like plant. The part one could call stem or trunk is really a succession of leaves grown together in a tight sheath. Specifically, the Banana plant is the largest known plant without a woody trunk or stem.
The term Banana is used as the common name for the plants that produce the fruit. A Banana is botanically a berry – produced by plants in the genus Musa. Around 70 species of Musa are known, with a broad variety of uses.
At one point I found an Orange tree plantation as well. Really! It was right by the road, it was small, but all fenced in so no dumb tourists like me could reach the fruits. I did not want to pluck any, I just wanted to take a photo.
In Canhas I turned off the main road – which was the ER 222 – and went up into the village. There was a secret box hidden by the side of the road. It was up a steep and narrow road and I had to park by a construction site. I found the container quickly and signed the logbook before turning the car around and rolling down the hill to the main road again.
A bit further on I veered off again – indeed I took the ER 209. It was the other end of the road I had tried yesterday from Ribeira da Janela. It leads right over the high plateau of Paul da Serra. At this point I did not know yet, that I would decide later to try for the mountains again. Now I was just after 2 geocaches in the village.
The first one was down a very narrow residential lane. I was hoping for no traffic, but I should not have worried. This time of the morning everybody was probably out at work. At the end of the lane I turned the car and then saw the secret box already from afar. Might it be that it was visible or maybe it was the cacher instinct again … a swift grasp and I had the rather broken box in hand. I had to donate a page out of my notepad otherwise I could not have signed it. I hid it properly again and went off to the next box.
By the side of the road I passed some Sugarcane fields. Sugarcane is a tall perennial grass in the genus Saccharum that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2-6 m tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sucrose, which accumulates in the stalk internodes. It is native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of India, Southeast Asia and New Guinea. Sugarcane accounts for 79% of sugar produced worldwide – most of the rest is made from sugar beets. The Persians and Greeks encountered the famous “reeds that produce honey without bees” in India between the 6th and 4th centuries BC. They adopted and then spread sugarcane agriculture. Merchants began to trade in sugar, which was considered a luxurious and expensive spice, from India. The archipelago of Madeira was officially discovered in 1419 – although it was well documented long before that – see the island’s presence in Portulano de Dulcert in 1339 and the reference to the Fortunate Islands or the Purpura Islands in the Roman period. The cultivation of sugar cane was already established then. The sugar industry was an important contributor of Madeira’s economical life. Madeiran sugar was omnipresent in European markets during the 15th and 16th century. Hence this allowed the islanders to collect enough funds for the building of churches and palaces.
Sugarcane is nothing new to me. I have fond memories of our tour through Cuba in 2013. Cuba had been once the world’s largest sugar cane exporter. We encountered it there on every corner – mostly in the form of rum and sugarcane juice! When I travel India, sugarcane juice is one of the best thirst quenchers if I need a quick pick up along the road. And in Thailand we even chewed pieces of sugarcane as sweet snack.
It was only a kilometer or so up the road near a junction, where the next geocache was hidden. It looked like a village center with a couple of bars around here. I just hopped out in the starting drizzle and quickly found the secret box. Now, with no plan for today other than arriving in Funchal in the afternoon, I sat in the car and studied the map for a while. A sign ahead was pointing to Paul da Serra … Well, let’s see where this path leads …
The narrow road was winding in sharp and steep serpentines up and up and up. There was very little traffic, but every now and again a car was coming down and also heavy trucks. It rained again. I was driving through an Eucalyptus forest. Huge trees lined the road on both sides. The asphalt was covered in leaves and branches blown down from the recent rain storms.
The patchy colours of the trunks after the outer bark had peeled away, had deepened to a rich green, gold and copper after the rains. But as pretty as it looked and as great the lingering Eucalyptus scent was, Eucalyptus is a right pest on the island. The trees need up to 500 l of water a day, its roots dig almost 20 m deep into the ground and literally dig the water from the surrounding flora. That means that the local laurel forests, a world heritage site on Madeira, dies a slow death.
It became foggy the higher up I reached, but it had stopped raining. There were no secret boxes anywhere near the side of the road, though. But I kept driving up. The hope was that I would push through the clouds and make it to the plateau in the sun … I was not that lucky …
Reaching the high plateau of Paul da Serra in the fog … I saw not much. It is the largest and most extensive plateau of Madeira with approx 24 km² and an altitude average of approx 1500 m. Paul da Serra is a high moor landscape with supposedly breathtaking views and an almost Scottish charm especially in the fog. I still do not know why …
The ground cover was composed of underbrush, like Ulex Europaeus – Gorse, Furze or Whin – a species of flowering plant and the heather species Erica Arborea and Erica Platycodon – a heathland form of trees up to 9 m high. Only robust plants and grass can withstand the harsh climate on this high mountain plateau.
I drove to the junction in the center of the plateau and turned right onto the ER 110 towards Boca da Ecumrada. Maybe I could get through there? Or at least for a bit to find a couple of secret boxes along the road. It was rather windy up here now, but it was not raining. Visibility was very low as I was seemingly in the clouds. There was a lot of water everywhere beside the road.
And then the water was not only beside the road but flowing straight over the road … I could not see the end of the flood and I was not sure if that was normal.
Paul da Serra is considered the most important area of the islands groundwater recharge and its planar structure facilitates the infiltration of a significant part of extensive rainfall, while slowing the runoff towards the sea. The rainwater is distributed via Levadas – irrigation channels or aqueducts specific to Madeira – and also directed to hydroelectric power plants. Today however, it had clearly been too much rain … I drove for maybe 100 m through the water, but could not see the end of it on the horizon of my visibility … and I was not sure how deep it was. The road was level now, but the wind was strong and it was only 6°C. If snow was coming I would be fucked, because I might not make it back down the steep road to the coast … so I rather turned around … getting out of the flooded part of the road.
Coming back to the crossroads in the center of the plateau I turned right in the spur of the moment onto the ER 209 to the Northwest. Whilst I am up here, I might as well check out the surroundings and down that way there seemed to be less water on the road and beside it.
Soon I reached the fringe of the laurel forest. There is one of the popular hiking trails beginning on the Paul da Serra plateau next to the ER 209 road. It ends at the forest building in Fanal. I was not going to hike all that way, but I sure wanted to maybe find at least one geocache up here.
As the road descended the fog got thicker. I found a parking spot next to the road, put all my clothes and my wooly hat on, grabbed the mobile and the small camera and was ready to do a little hike.
It was rather cold and windy up here. While it was not raining it was very misty and the forest was wet as well. The trail led through an original wooded area. It was very muddy there. I was however determined to find that one secret box.
The shrubs were mainly Erica Arborea – Tree Heath or Tree Heather – a species of flowering plants native to the Mediterranean Basin – North to Bulgaria and West to Portugal, the Canary and Madeira Islands, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. It is an upright evergreen shrub or small tree with a height in the wild of some 7-9 m, but more typically 1–4 m. It bears dark green needle-like leaves and numerous small honey-scented bell-shaped white flowers when blooming – it was not the time for that now, though. It is a calcifuge, preferring acid soil in an open sunny situation. I suppose, if it is not foggy and raining – like when I am here – this plateau would be a rather sunny place. Today there was no view whatsoever.
It was 7°C and I was cold. But I climbed through the bushes next to the trail looking under every rock for that stupid container … I was not successful … sliding through the mud trying to hold on to the bushes … it did not help … I did not find that box … I gave up and walked back to the car.
I decided to drive back towards Canhas where I came from. I needed to go to Funchal and not to Porto Moniz. So I had to backtrack. Hopefully, I would come back up here with better weather in the next few days. For now it was just miserable.
Coming down the mountain leaving the Eucalyptus forest I passed a funny looking open air museum. I had seen it already going up. It is apparently called Museu José Meigalão. It looked more like a funky shrine to Elvis and other stars to me from afar. I did not stop, though.
When I reached the main road again the sun was almost back and I turned West. Enjoying the magnificent views over the valleys, villages and the ocean I cruised along for a while before I stopped next to a small creek to find a geocache. The box was quickly discovered, but I lingered a while to look at the scenery. The water of the creek was all brown and muddy. I assumed it was not only bringing the water down from the mountains but a lot of that mud and soil as well. Those would then stain the ocean water close to the coast as I had seen in the last few days.
Near Arco da Calheta I turned up towards the viewpoint at Achada da Santo Antão. There was a paragliding base up there, but it was closed. The restaurant at the end of the road by the parking lot looked equally deserted. But the sunny view along the coast was stunning. From here I could see the mud the rivers were pouring into the ocean very clearly. The viewpoint was lined with a sea of red flowering Sword Aloe. Those seem to be everywhere and they are so beautiful.
There was also a tree which had – what I think was – Luffa growing in it. Luffas are members of the squash family and grow on long, slender vines that will take over any fence or support they are given or they find. The Sponge Gourd Luffa is cultivated and eaten as a vegetable, but must be harvested at a young stage of development to be edible. When the fruit is fully ripened, it is very fibrous. The fully developed fruit is the source of the Luffa scrubbing sponge which is traditionally used in bathrooms and kitchens.
A secret box was hidden a short walk up a path. It was not easy to find the right spot of the hide, but eventually I did … unfortunately there was no container anymore … it was definitely gone … but I logged it anyway …
I figured now it was slowly time to find a lunch spot. While I had a dinner date tonight, I still felt I could use some nice lunch with an ocean view. I drove down to Magdalena do Mar. When I had passed there on my first day, I had noticed a few restaurants on the seafront promenade that had looked promising.
Arriving in Magdalena do Mare I did a drive along the promenade to check out the possibilities and saw one restaurant with a sunny terrace and ocean view. I had to circle around and then parked the car at the end of the promenade at the large parking lot. Taking my bag with the cameras I walked back to the restaurant and enjoyed the seabreeze and the view on the way.
I found a nice table in the sun on the terrace of the Restaurante Cantinho da Madalena. I could sit in my t-shirt – the sun was so nice and warm and it was sheltered from the wind as well here. There was only one other customer – another tourist it seemed. The staff was very friendly and happy to have something to do.
Ordering a Coral beer I chose Amêijoas a Bulhão Pato – Clams cooked in garlic-infused olive oil with a hint of cilantro and fresh lemon juice. After yesterday’s lunch failure I was not put off of seafood … and clams I know and love. What could go wrong? Delightful in both simplicity and taste, this appetizer is named after the 19th-century Lisbon poet Raimundo Bulhão Pato, who is said to have described in one of his works how his cook made him this dish. Why the dish was named after him and not his cook … nobody knows …
Clam is a common name for several kinds of Bivalve Molluscs. The word is however often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have 2 shells of equal size connected by 2 adductor muscles and have a powerful burrowing foot. Clams in the culinary sense do not live attached to a substrate – oysters or mussels. In France I often ate them as part of my Plateau de Fruits de Mer … The French eat them raw with a dash of lemon or vinegar.
Well, I did not get disappointed today! The Clams were awesome. They were lipsmacking good and I ate them all up.
For main course I tried another Madeira specialty – Bife de Atum – Tuna Steak. Tuna fish is a valuable resource in the fishing industry of Madeira. In this dish, the Tuna is cut into steaks, seasoned with salt and marinated in a sauce called Molho de Vilão. This sauce is made with vinegar, olive oil, garlic, oregano and pepper. Traditionally it is served with Milho Frito – Madeira Fried Cornbread – a crispy fried dish, somewhat similar to polenta fries or cubes. Since I am not a friend of polenta and I rather try to stick to the essentials and low carb, I ordered salad with it as usual.
I did not get disappointed here either. The Tuna Steak was very good. While I have to admit, though … I prefer Tuna raw as Sashimi or Poisson Cru – the national dish of Polynesia … ohh … this reminds me again of my time in the South Pacific … Well, one can dream … and cook it in lockdown …
But do not get distracted … That Tuna Steak was delicious and I devoured it. After that I just sat in the sun – soaking up some Vitamin D – until dark grey clouds rolled in …
I paid my very reasonable bill and walked back to the car. I thought I could take a little detour to look for a geocache hidden by the village church before the rain hit. So I walked up the short way there … However, I did not even start to look for the box … it had a difficulty 3 rating … and there were just too many people around … I just walked past …
Instead of taking the shortest route back to the car – in light of the darkening clouds I should have – I got sidetracked by a path leading through a Banana plantation. The narrow concrete path led along a small Levada down to the coastal promenade.
It was less than half a kilometer through the plantation, but I was right in the middle of it. Banana cultivation is important to Madeira from an economic as well as landscape point of view. The island’s Banana plantations are mostly here on the south of the island. Madeira used to proudly export its bananas throughout Europe. Nevertheless, this is no longer the case. Sadly, only bananas fulfilling all attributes of the EU Banana – I think we all know the story – can be sold in Europe. Madeira bananas are mostly shorter than the standard requires – hence, these can no longer be sold outside of Portugal. However, nowadays locals are proud of their smaller, sweeter and tastier Bananas.
Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, but are cultivated in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit and to a lesser extent to make fiber, Banana wine and Banana beer or as ornamental plants … That reminded me again of my East Africa tour way back in 2002, when I tasted locally brewed Banana Beer in a village in Tanzania ….
When a Banana tree – well biologically it is a grass – is planted, it will have its first and only blossom after approx 8 months. The trees can withstand winds of a max of 60 km/h. The fruit arms get heavy – in the end approx 25 kg. That they do not give way under the weight, the fruit arm and tree are often propped up or attached to a neighboring plant. Then the plant gets castrated … the lower part of the flower which contains the male plant information and the first few bananas are cut off to strengthen the fruits.
After that a plastic bag is pulled over the entire fruit arm to protect the fruits against birds, insects and moisture. Eventually the whole fruit arm is harvested.
The so-called tree is then cut at about 2 m – the crown is crushed and remains on the ground as compost. The remaining trunk is still juicy and from this a young plant, which will grow next to it, draws nutrients. The time until the next harvest – again only one blossom – is much shorter than if the trees have to be freshly planted.
That Banana plantation was really cool, but I was not so lucky with the weather in the end … I did not make it the last 100 m to the car before the storm hit … When I left the plantation it started raining and I just made it under the next tree before the sky opened into a torrential downpour … It was pouring down like never before … I was relatively sheltered under that tree and dug out the raincover for my backpack … I had forgotten the detachable hood of my jacket in the car, but at least the cameras would stay dry … It did not look as if that rain would stop anytime soon. It was really dark … So I braved the elements and run the last 50 m to the car … it was somewhat uphill … I was absolutely drenched when I had made it … second time wet as a dog today …
That was enough for today. I got straight on the VE 3 expressway and drove directly to Funchal. I had put the address of the next hotel in my geocaching app and could so follow the route on the offline map. I thought I might get lost in the maze of the streets of the city, but that was not the case, I found it quite easily.
I reached Monte Verde Hotel – where I was going to stay the next 2 nights – around 15:00. It was located in a narrow and very steep cul-de-sac. But where to park? The alley was narrow and one side was already full with cars … could I even turn around on the end? … there was one short space next to a gate … maybe my funny car would fit there … it was small … I had to park it as close to the wall as possible, though … without as much as a scratch on it … Turning the car was tedious … it was not a 3-point-turn … it was more like a 10-point-turn … then I had to correct a few times and get the car as close as possible to the wall otherwise it would block the alley … and that all on a steep hill … Phew … I managed after a while …
I left everything in the car and searched for reception. Monte Verde Hotel was located in a residential area and I had booked a room with gardenview for € 20 per night. The garden looked nice. However, I had already decided to see about an upgrade to oceanview. How much more could it be?
Reception was empty … a sign stated … I will be back in a moment … Alright … I waited and checked out the lobby which looked nice. It was not one of the fancy chain hotels, but rather a nice and quiet family-run hotel.
After maybe 10 min a man showed up from the other side of the garden and apologized … he had not seen me … He was friendly and since I had paid online he got my key ready and only casually asked if I wanted to change for oceanview … Well, yeah! Do you have an oceanview room ready? – Yes, no problem! € 10 per night and you pay cash! – OK! But I left the money in the car, so I have to get it. – No problem! You want it? Here take the key! – Can I first see it? – Why? It is oceanview! Take it! – Well then …I get my stuff. What about parking? – You have a car? – Yes, and in the alley there is no space … – No problem! We have a garage!
He gave me the room key with a black thingy for the garage sensor. The garage was under the building and the gate was the one where I had parked the car. I went out and moved the car around again to drive down the very steep driveway. The sensor opened the gate and I drove in the very empty car park … no other car was there …
My room was on the 2nd floor and luckily there was – no elevator but – an in-house exit from the garage. On the way up I gave the guy his € 20 for the oceanview and checked about WIFI … it was only available in the lobby next to reception, the rest was turned off … not surprising … besides me there seemed to be only 2 other guests in the hotel. While the hotel was no fancy affair, my room was spacious and very nice. It was spotless clean, had a bathtub and a TV as well.
The best was the balcony with an amazing oceanview. Once I had carried up all my bags, I sat on the balcony in the sun and had one of the picolos I had brought along from home for celebratory moments. This was one of them! The sun was out and could see the ocean!
I had to hang up all my jackets to dry in the sun on the balcony as well. Having sorted some photos I went down to the lobby to use the WIFI to post them. Then it was already time to get ready for my dinner date. I had chosen this hotel not only for the reasonable price and walking distance to Funchal Center, but also, because my former boss Christian and his husband George – I may call them friends – were living not too far from there. I had a date with them at 18:00.
It had been sunny for a while, but then there were frequent rain showers … According to google maps it was only 1 km to my friends’ house … all uphill, though … I waited for the rain to stop and then started to climb the hill. Half way up I had to pause and take shelter from another rain shower and on the next corner a car sped through a puddle and splashed me almost from top to bottom … wet the third time today … But I managed to be on time and had no problems finding their apartment.
I was so delighted to see them again. A really happy reunion. We go back a decade or so, but only really got to know each other when the two of them came to France for one of the French river cruises. Christian was working then as my boss, but still I could chew their ears off with all kinds of problems, no problems, stories, general blah blah etc. As cruise director sometimes you need a sounding board … preferably someone who understands the job and the issues you have. The best thing they convinced me to do then – and we were still talking about it now – was shelling out big for a dinner at L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges Paul Bocuse.
Just a couple of cruises before they visited, our excursion department had taken a new excursion – well, you cannot really call it an excursion – into the program – a dinner evening at Paul Bocuse in Lyon. It was … not cheap … and nobody of us had ever been there. The description was – to say it mildly – shite … and I had to sell it on board … how was I am going to do that? Now, Christian & George are foodies par excellence and they had come up with the idea to test it. Of course we would not get it for nothing, we had to pay. But with a little help from the local agency we got a slight discount and I decided go along, because it would be a once in a lifetime experience. I did not know anybodyelse who would go there with me …
And it was impressive to say the least! The food was outstanding, but the whole ambience there was magnificent. The evening itself was monumental. It left me amazed … the next cruise I sold 7 places to our guests and from there on most every week a table or 2 … Success!
Well, now here I was in their home. Christian & George have a beautiful apartment with an awesome view over Funchal. We chatted a lot about everything and had an Aperitif – Christian mixed a mean G&T! Shame, with all the talking I did I forgot to finish it … or take a photo of it …
Then Christian drove us to Restaurante Santo António in Câmara de Lobos. His car is as small as my funny little rental car … He said, only such small cars are practical on the island … The restaurant was a typical large local affair, but we were earlier than the locals – Germans eat earlier than Southern Europeans … But so we found a nice table. Obviously many tables had been removed to make more space in the new normality. Normally the room would have been jam-packed with tables and chairs.
The restaurant was specialized in Espetada Madeirense and Christian ordered in perfect Portuguese – I was totally impressed. We had Portuguese Vinho Verde and of course the traditional Beef skewered on a green laurel stick. That is what we came here for. They ordered Bolo do Caco – the Madeiran flatbread with garlic – as well as Milho Frito – the fried polenta type thing – and salad for me.
The food was so good – Milho Frito was nothing for me, but I reversed my opinion of the Bolo do Caco. The first time I had it the other day in Câmara da Lobos the other day it was not so good, but here I liked it. It was a lot better than the first time. But the Beef Skewer was just delectable. Cooked to perfection. It was so delicious, that George made Christian order an extra skewer so we can eat more. I tell you, I could live on that – I am a Beef person … So good. And I tell you, the Espetada I had in that small Café in São Jorge a couple of days ago had been as good.
We ate, drank and talked all evening. There were so many stories to tell. The main subject was the Trans-Sibirian Railroad. Christian & George had done it in summer – they even did the Circum Baikal steam train – while I did it in winter 2018 and they wanted to know everything about me scuba diving under the ice of Lake Baikal and bathing in the hotsprings with -18°C as well. We talked about Krasnoyarsk as well and it made me all want to go back and do the TranZip all over again … It was a fantastic evening with them. And after all that food, we even had Maracuja Mousse for dessert.
They drove me back to my hotel around 22:30. I talked all the way and think I got on Christians nerves, because he had to concentrate on the traffic. His google maps led him through some very hair-raisingly steep and narrow roads in the dark. But he found the right hotel. I told him, they can drop me on the main road, but he would not have it and drove right to the hotel gate in that narrow alley. I waved them good-bye. What an evening that was! Thank you again, my friends!
Later I sat in the lobby and did some internet, then watched a little TV, but slept relatively early anyway. Tomorrow I was going to explore Funchal.
