Jardim do Mar is not actually listed in our guide book, but our guide book has picked the most touristy spots on the island, only, so we are happy to leave the guide a bit behind. Why exactly Jardim do Mar became a destination, we cannot say. But lunch time was approaching, we weren’t hungry and decided to go somewhere close for a stroll first.
We are exploring the southern part of Madeira now. On Christmas Day, when most everything is closed, we somehow end up at a place named Boa Morte — “the Good Death”. It is a small village, placed high up on the mountain side. A trail goes from here: we can either follow the levadas to the next village, or we can walk down the steep mountain side through narrow streets down to the city — Ribeira Brava — “the Wild […]
We thought about making this travel blog nearly a year ago, when a combination a cheap flights, available days off and the urge to go somewhere we hadn’t been before took us to Morocco. Later on that year, we felt the same urge again. This time we were in Iceland, looking at snow-capped volcanoes in the sunset. And soon we are heading to Madeira. This time, we finally did it, so welcome to our travel-blog. (Past journeys may well be […]
Before arriving on Madeira, we had heard about Poncha – the local drink that seems to be enjoyed pretty much wherever and whenever. And during our first evening on the island we got a taste of the stuff; it was being made fresh at stalls in the capital, Funchal, at what they called the festival of light (though it did not actually coincide with the night of the winter solstice, which the little heathen in me would have appreciated).
It is difficult to state whether Ponta de São Lorenço signifies the beginning or the end of life, the universe and everything. On the Eastern Madeira tip, the landscape changes dramatically. It is a bit like going from the jungle to the moon.