John Edward Cooper’s Notes

Day 2 [was Day 3]
Today we will explore the western side of the island. In the morning, we will depart the hotel. Heading towards the charming Ribeira Brava, a small town set in a steep valley carved out by the ‘wild river’ that gives the settlement its name.
We then head on to the fishing village of Madalena do Mar, where we see a small banana plantation; much of the work is still carried out by hand.
We then ascend inland and head towards Paul de Serra plateau, here is the flattest part of the island, some 5,000ft above sea level, it is a landscape likened to the North Yorkshire Moors.
Then it will be time for lunch in the tourist hub of Porto Moniz, a small town on the north side of the island, which is blessed with natural saltwater pools and a host of restaurants. Here you will have the opportunity to have lunch and explore the town at your leisure.
After lunch, we make way via the village of Seixal to see one of Madeira’s most famous waterfalls - the Bridal Veil - cascading down the side of the mountain into the sea.
São Vicente will be the next stop, a small village nestled deep in a verdant valley, a place that is believed to be the volcanic birthplace of the island.
Our last stop will be at Cabo Girão, Madeira’s highest cliff top and one of the highlights of the tour, experiencing the views from the transparent viewing platform, 1,980ft above sea level, extending over the cliff edge is truly exhilarating

It was dark when Janet got up at 7am. It was still dark, when she vacated the bathroom at 7.20am and I got up and used it. Shaved in the woefully dim bathroom twilight. There were delays because of this and that, not least getting the shower to work so I wasn’t frozen or scalded; so we didn’t go to breakfast till 8.13am. I had corn flakes followed by bacon, sausages (small but, unusually for overseas hotels, quite “sausage-like”), and baked beans. The so-called orange juice looked OK, but tasted like water. When we got back to the room at 8.38am I was anxious about being late. But in fact we did board the coach a little before 9am. Michele introduced herself more fully over the PA. She was, in fact, new to Madeira; she’d previous worked for many years in Italy.… She introduced “Maria”, who would be our local guide for the week, and the driver— I wrote “Davidi”: whether it was that or not, I don’t know; and, anyway, she quickly anglicised it to “David”. He would be our driver for the whole week. Because of the fewness of our number (only 12), she wouldn’t be assigning seats and rotations (“two forward on the left, two backward on the right”) as would frequently be done. So Janet and I moved a few rows back; on subsequent days, we’d occupy the back row: Janet was able to sit in the middle seat and stretch her legs out; I was able to bob up and down to take photos.


Today’s route, as plotted in Google Maps
Click on image to enlarge

As we proceeded, Maria pointed out hillside terraces with bananas growing on them. She spoke of the Madeiran “micro-climates” at various levels: suitable for bananas here, vines there, etc. She told us of the network of “levadas” (irrigation channels) supplying the farms and plantations. Out of a population of ca.250,000, she told us, about half live in Funchal. We’d be visiting a banana plantation, then would go inland and upward, and over to Porto Moniz. First stop was at Ribeira Brava (“Wild/Angry River”), though the mere trickle running through the gorge when we were there belied the name. Janet and I visited the local parish church of São Bento (St. Benedict), before having refreshments at an adjacent street-corner snack bar. “It was overcast, but very warm,” Janet wrote in her journal.


Tuesday 20 September 2022 09:33:56
Approaching Ribeira Brava


Tuesday 20 September 2022 09:40:12
Ribeira Brava


Tuesday 20 September 2022 09:41:46
Church of São Bento, Ribeira Brava


Tuesday 20 September 2022 09:43:46
Church of São Bento, Ribeira Brava


Tuesday 20 September 2022 09:46:40
Church of São Bento, Ribeira Brava


Tuesday 20 September 2022 09:47:16
Church of São Bento, Ribeira Brava


Tuesday 20 September 2022 09:48:08
Church of São Bento, Ribeira Brava


Tuesday 20 September 2022 09:55:20
A Parada Brava, Ribeira Brava


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:09:46
Ribeira Brava

From there we went some 7 miles west to Madalena do Mar, where Maria conducted us upwards through a banana plantation. Although one might refer to a banana “tree”, they are, in fact herbaceous plants. All that we see above ground grows from a rhizome. It fruits once, then dies, but the rhizome remains and produces new shoots. Some of the bunches were covered with blue plastic bags (supplied by the government, I think Maria said), to prevent infestation by insects etc. and to improve the condition of the fruit. I wondered, though, why most of the bunches remained uncovered. Quite early on, a black-and-white cat started shouting at us in the manner of Squeaks next door back at home, and he followed us. He’d lost most of his hair from the right eye to the right ear, perhaps from fighting. He was very friendly to us, though.


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:29:52
Madalena do Mar, banana plantation


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:32:12
Madalena do Mar, banana plantation: heavy bunch requiring support


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:32:34
Madalena do Mar, banana plantation: bunch with a flower below it


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:32:34 (detail)
Madalena do Mar, banana plantation: bunch with a flower below it


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:33:58
Madalena do Mar, banana plantation: Maria points out a new shoot from the banana rhizome.


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:36:54
Madalena do Mar, banana plantation: controlling the water-flow along the levadas


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:37:10
Madalena do Mar, banana plantation: walking by one of the levadas


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:37:50
Madalena do Mar: vine


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:41:06
Madalena do Mar, banana plantation: old (left) and new (right) houses


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:41:06 (detail)
Madalena do Mar, banana plantation: (lower left:) a friendly cat who followed us


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:42:30
Madalena do Mar: old house, with an outdoor sink (under the stairs)


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:42:46
Madalena do Mar: bananas on sale


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:42:46 (detail)
Madalena do Mar: bananas on sale
(in French:) ONE BANANA
• TO GO TO DISNEYLAND
• TO HAVE A SWIMMING POOL
0,50€

I chose and ate a banana, leaving a €1 coin in the jar. Janet mentioned that someone took a banana without paying for it.


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:45:00
Madalena do Mar, banana plantation: bunch and flowers


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:52:40
Madalena do Mar, banana plantation: our feline follower

Our upward walk ended at a T-junction with a road with houses on it. Seeing electricity supply cables overhead, it reminded me of what had looked like a hydroelectric power station when we’d passed a gorge earlier. So I asked Maria: there’s some hydroelectricity, also wind and solar power; but there remains considerable reliance on gas and diesel. It was here that the coach picked us up. We headed inland over the upland moors of Paul de Serra, then descended to the north coast and visited Porto Moniz, with its natural lava pools.


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:55:42
Leaving Madalena do Mar: monorail banana transport


Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:55:42 (detail)
Leaving Madalena do Mar: monorail banana transport


Tuesday 20 September 2022 11:25:14
Paul de Serra: cows on the road


Tuesday 20 September 2022 11:25:46
Paul de Serra: cows on the road


Tuesday 20 September 2022 11:46:58
Porto Moniz

I scribbled “12:00–13:00” in my notebook, because that was the free time we were given in Porto Moniz. Regarding a location for lunch, I had one of my not-wanting-to-be-there, indecisive dithers, before following Janet to where she had gone: the nearby Restaurante Orca. Janet had a mixed salad with no dressing (“a really good mixed salad,” she commented, “which even included grated beetroot”) with a warm bolo do caco with nothing on it (they’re usually served with garlic butter), and a Coca Cola Zero. I had a hamburger (served, as typically, in a bolo do caco) with chips and salad and a small bottle of Mateus, and an americano coffee to follow.


Tuesday 20 September 2022 12:29:14
Restaurante Orca, Porto Moniz


Promotional postcard from Restaurante Orca


Tuesday 20 September 2022 13:13:42
Restaurante Orca, Porto Moniz


Tuesday 20 September 2022 13:15:42
Porto Moniz: natural lava pools


Tuesday 20 September 2022 13:16:32
Porto Moniz


Tuesday 20 September 2022 13:17:12
Porto Moniz


Tuesday 20 September 2022 13:17:48
Porto Moniz


Tuesday 20 September 2022 13:20:18
Porto Moniz

We then proceeded eastwards along the coast, stopping at a viewpoint just after the village of Seixal. It wasn’t the right season to see the Bridal Veil waterfall at its best. “We had some rain again,” Janet recalled in her journal, “but it was fine.” Fine, that is, in that it didn’t spoil anything. I could have hoped for better visibility for taking photos, I guess.


Tuesday 20 September 2022 13:51:08
Miradouro do Véu da Noiva (Bridal Veil Viewpoint): looking east


Tuesday 20 September 2022 13:51:44
Miradouro do Véu da Noiva (Bridal Veil Viewpoint): looking east


Tuesday 20 September 2022 13:52:02
Miradouro do Véu da Noiva (Bridal Veil Viewpoint): looking east


Tuesday 20 September 2022 13:52:38
Miradouro do Véu da Noiva (Bridal Veil Viewpoint), looking west: Seixal


Tuesday 20 September 2022 13:52:56
Miradouro do Véu da Noiva (Bridal Veil Viewpoint), looking west


Tuesday 20 September 2022 13:53:40
Miradouro do Véu da Noiva (Bridal Veil Viewpoint): swan’s neck agave (agave attenuata)

We continued eastwards some 3½ miles then turned right and entered a deep valley at São Vicente. I should mention that almost all our journeys this week included travelling through tunnels, so many of them that we lost count. En route, between tunnels, the old road skirting around the cliffs could be glimpsed.


Tuesday 20 September 2022 14:03:48
Glimpse en route of the old road

At São Vicente, we looked in the parish church. “It reminded me of that beautifully ornate church in Peru,” Janet wrote. Indeed, it independently reminded me of that same church: San Pedro Apóstol, Andahuaylillas (18 February 2015).


Tuesday 20 September 2022 14:11:52
Parish church, São Vicente


Tuesday 20 September 2022 14:13:58
Cemetery, São Vicente


Tuesday 20 September 2022 14:15:00
Parish church, São Vicente


Tuesday 20 September 2022 14:15:42
Parish church, São Vicente


Tuesday 20 September 2022 14:16:18
Parish church, São Vicente


Tuesday 20 September 2022 14:16:38
Parish church, São Vicente


Tuesday 20 September 2022 14:18:18
Parish church, São Vicente

This tile-work near the entrance, looked very typically Portuguese, as did the pebble-pavements around the church.


Tuesday 20 September 2022 14:26:48
Parish church, São Vicente


Tuesday 20 September 2022 14:29:22
São Vicente


Tuesday 20 September 2022 14:31:50
São Vicente

We continued southwards, going through the long Encumeda Tunnel and coming again to Ribeira Brava; there, we turned left and not long afterwards stopped at the Cabo Girão Skywalk overlooking Madeira’s highest cliff. That is arranged in a semicircle, with access either end, initially via open mesh metal flooring, to the glass floored central part. I braved it, but wasn’t comfortable. It was raining moderately, but I didn’t take the umbrella out of my bag, nor the raincoat. Janet, meanwhile, used the €0.50 loo and visited the gift shop that one passes on entering the estate. I joined her there after visiting the viewpoint. “I bought some real Madeira Cake, which is nothing like what we call Madeira Cake,” Janet wrote. “Maria told us about it this morning. It is called Honey Cake, but is not made with honey! Instead, it is made using molasses from sugarcane grown on the island. Looking forward to tasting that when we get home.”


Tuesday 20 September 2022 14:43:04
Entering the over 3km-long Encumeda Tunnel


Tuesday 20 September 2022 15:14:10
Views from the Cabo Girão Skywalk: west


Tuesday 20 September 2022 15:14:32
Views from the Cabo Girão Skywalk: down


Tuesday 20 September 2022 15:15:14
Views from the Cabo Girão Skywalk: view east


Tuesday 20 September 2022 15:15:26
Views from the Cabo Girão Skywalk: lower view east


Tuesday 20 September 2022 15:15:48
Views from the Cabo Girão Skywalk: east


Tuesday 20 September 2022 15:16:02
Views from the Cabo Girão Skywalk: east


Tuesday 20 September 2022 15:34:46
Views from the coach on the way back to Funchal


Tuesday 20 September 2022 15:37:16
Views from the coach on the way back to Funchal


Tuesday 20 September 2022 15:47:36
São Martinho parish church

On the way back to Funchal, Janet recalls: “It rained like billyo but was dry when we returned to the hotel.” On our return to the hotel, we found the hairdresser’s shop all the way downstairs, and Janet made appointments for tomorrow and Saturday. “Then we returned to our room to dump our stuff,” Janet wrote. “We went to El Silêncio for drinks. I had Coke Zero and a sparkling water, and [John] had two beers. It rained briefly. It was still pretty hot. Fab!”


Tuesday 20 September 2022 16:24:30
Kapok tree, Funchal


Tuesday 20 September 2022 16:24:52
Kapok tree, Funchal: flowers and kapok seed-pod


Tuesday 20 September 2022 16:42:36
At Bar El Silêncio, Funchal


Tuesday 20 September 2022 16:42:58
Bar El Silêncio, Funchal

“We returned to the hotel,” Janet continued. “I sorted my bag for tomorrow and ‘my bits’ then we went for dinner.” Back in the room, before we went to dinner, I transferred three photos from the SD card of Janet’s camera to the WD Elements HDD (17:49), and 60 photos from the SD card of my camera to the same location (17:51–17:52). I also copied 17 photos from yesterday from the WD Elements HDD to “Pictures” on the Samsung computer (17:56), and did the same with today’s 63 (17:56).… I deleted all the remaining e-mails unread (18:12). Even that proceeded almost impossibly slowly. I played Solitaire (from 18:24) — lost 3; won 1; lost 1 — till we were ready to go for dinner.… I took with me, and consumed the rest of the contents of, the bottle of red wine I’d ordered yesterday. The soup was more appealingly red, or at least one was — “minestrone,” I scribbled in my notebook — so I had some. My scribbled notes also say “Pork”. So it appears that my appetite had improved. Janet didn’t note anything of dinner itself, but reported, “We were surprised to discover the new Prince of Wales (‘Wills’), working as a waiter. We wondered if Kate had chucked him out because he wasn’t king! Then we saw Tina Turner ‘floating’ around the buffet!” Back in our room [John] sat on the balcony and watched the sun go down whilst I had a shower, etc.” We returned from dinner, ca.7.45pm, and I sat on the balcony in the cool of the day. I kept seeing birds fly by to the west, singly, and in twos or threes, never in the opposite direction. When I came in at 8.40pm it was almost dark. At home, the bed magically becomes a vehicle in which we and the toys go on adventures. But here were two beds, so I asked Janet whom she would take with her, and whom I would take.



It seems that I had to take Jasper the bad golliwog before anyone else! Janet therefore took his sister Millie. “We were both in bed at ca.9.15pm,” Janet wrote. “This had been a really good day. The rest of the people in our group are pleasant, and we’re all around the same age. These small groups are better.”[i]…

[i] Better: i.e. than the larger groups in which we’ve travelled previously, some of up to 50 persons.

[Wednesday 21 September 2022]