Friday morning found us travelling over the flat plateau of the highest point in Madeira before dropping down into the Fanal rainforest a UNESCO heritage site found in the central northern part of the island. We began our hike of the Levada dos Cedros in the mist and light showers that remained from the hard rain which had fallen during the night.
The trail follows a winding Levada (one the drainage ditches dug to transport water across the island) up to its origin from a waterfall fed by one of Madeira’s many aquifers. Walking steadily uphill we followed a muddy trail through a forest composed of ancient laurel trees, cedars, ferns, and moss. Two hours of steep hiking took us by lovely vistas. The final push up hundreds of stairs cut into the mountain.
Once at the top of the climb we visited a grove of another type of laurel endemic to the Island – Ocotea foetens – commonly referred to as til or stinkwood. These particular trees are judged to be at least 800 years old – they loomed out of the mist as hoary giants towering over us and the grazing cattle that moved through the area during our visit.
One of Madeira’s well known volcanic saltwater bathing pools and lunch waited us at Porto Moniz, located at the northwestern end of the Island. The pools are spectacular as was my lunch of fish soup 🙂
Following lunch we began our trip back along the coast line to the famous black sand beach at Porto de Abrigo – known as Sexial beach. Breakwaters protect the area surrounded by high cliffs on one side and the Atlantic on the other.
A short drive took us to Ilheus da Ribeira da Janela, a breathtaking basalt rock formation just meters off the beach on the northwestern coast of Madeira. This is an amazing spot!!! and a must see if you travel to Madeira. It was a relatively calm day when we visited – in a storm it must be magnificent. The cornucopia of different rocks, often in high places (limestone/sedimentary rocks 100’s of meters above the sea) are a result of the formation of these islands which began about 100 million years ago. Massive underwater volcanic eruptions created enough material to push Madeira above sea level by the Cenozoic. The large limestone deposits, 100’s of meters above sea level in some cases, are the remains of massive coral reefs caught up in the rapid (in geological time) uplift of the new archipelago. Basalt (as seen below) is the most common rock here and creates some amazing formations. Intrusions (veins of rock throughout the limestone) are present in many places. Ground water is found in fractured basalt aquifers, while surface water from rainfall is managed via the numerous levadas built on the Island. There are massive sedimentary beds along some shorelines indicating substantial erosion off the mountains during periods of high rainfall. Every turn in the road here reveals something new.
The Faja da Areia is a small village home to ** hostels, restaurants and is the best surfing area in Madeira. We watched the waves for a bit before exploring the shoreline along a promenade that took us to our vehicle and the short drive to Sao Vincente home to one of the best bakeries in Madeira – the chocolate cupcake filled with cream cheese did not disappoint -)
The folks here have developed an ingenious way to utilize one of the very invasive broom/gorse species which some well meaning individual always seems to introduce to most areas. They make fences out of it – often it is a living fence to begin with and it is woven into an impenetrable wall before it is killed. An idea I will take home with me.
A glorious sunset ended the day. We covered a lot of ground today and an early night is planned. Our third day on Madeira will begin with a visit to a local market. Stay tuned!
