Year-round sunshine and a warm welcome make Madeira a brilliant holiday destination
One of Madeira’s most popular tourist attractions involves hurtling down a mountainside in a wicker sledge, so it comes as a huge surprise to discover very few locals have actually tried it.
“Oh no, I’ve never done that,” is the refrain from every Madeiran I met. “But all the tourists should do it; it’s very safe and great fun.”
Hence why I find myself sitting in what’s basically a large basket while two strapping men, with what look like car tyres attached to their feet, begin pushing me and a friend down the main road from Monte to Livramento.
This is snowless tobogganing and my only complaint was we didn’t go fast enough after getting stuck behind an old couple who obviously didn’t enjoy the sensation, which is akin to being on a fairground ride. It is scary when you reach a crossroads and cars overtake you, but these guys do this every day and have a whistling system to alert one another and traffic.
“It’s best to go tobogganing in the morning,” advises Miguel, our driver. “They haven’t had a drink then!”
As well as being one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met – I was invited to a party on the plane journey over by a local – Madeira (pronounced Mad-aayra by locals) enjoys a warm climate all-year round. This temperate climate is responsible not only for an influx of tourists 12 months long, but its lush vegetation and tropical flowers.
Our base for the first half of our stay was the tourist attraction of Monte village, with its mountain-top church and the start of the toboggan run, which dates back to Victorian times.
We stayed at Quinta do Monte, which has 300-year-old eucalyptus trees in its gardens and beautiful flowers in an array of fabulous colours. There is a beautiful little chapel in its grounds too where couples can be married.
They do say you can also experience four seasons in one day, depending where you are on the island.
That proved to be true when we took a day’s island tour and went from glorious sunshine to rain then heavy fog in a matter of minutes. Take layers and plenty of them.
There are more than 250km of tunnels running through the island which means travelling from one part to another is very easy. The longest tunnel is the Encumeada at 3.1km and apparently if you take your foot off the accelerator the magnetic force of the mountain will make you stop, even though you are travelling downhill. You can travel from north to south of the island now in around one hour because of these tunnels, which were started in 1997.
“It used to take hours before then,” says Miguel.
It’s incredible to see houses perched precariously on the edge of clifftops and you can still the damage caused by the freak floods and landslides of February 20, 2010, when seven times more rainfall than normal fell in a matter of hours and caused 50 people to lose their lives.
Our island tour included a visit to the pretty resort of Camara dos Lobos (bay of sea lions), a stop at the highest cliff in Europe called cabogirao, which offers scary yet fantastic views down . . . you can even see little patches of garden at the bottom.
People walk the levadas, man-made water channels, of Madeira and Rabacal is where organised walks begin. Temperatures up here on the Paul de Serra plateau had plummeted to eight degrees, half of what they had been minutes before.
One striking thing you’ll notice on an island tour is the incredible gardening skills of the population. Inaccessible terraces are cultivated in what must be feats of engineering by their owners.
Faja dos Padres has nine beachside houses that can only be reached by boat or down a gigantic elevator built into the cliff face. Just standing on top of this cliff looking down is an awesome experience.
The change in weather patterns during my four-day stay was astounding. It went from glorious sunshine one day to clouds and rain the next, then sunshine again. We never knew what to expect. Even their winter is much warmer than a spring day in the UK.
Beautiful boca do grarra (mouth of the vase) lilies grow wildly on mountainsides and you see old women selling them all round the island for not very much, making perfect gifts.
Madeira’s capital is Funchal, which means fennel, and another good souvenir to take home is the boiled fennel sweets sold everywhere from markets to street corners. They are an acquired taste though.
A visit to Funchal’s market (Mercado does Lavradores) is a must and the different varieties of passion fruit (maracuja) from banana, tomato, melon, lemon, pineapple and orange-shaped and flavoured is incredible. Maracuja juice is sold everywhere too and is really refreshing served with ice.
Espada is the local fish which you’ll also see at the market. It tastes much better than it looks, thankfully, and is usually combined with boiled potatoes and salad for a delicious meal.
Madeira is of course famous for the synonymous drink and Blandy Wine Lodge in Funchal is famous for producing it. Tours of the cellars are available and the tasting afterwards is not to be missed.
Traditionally, juice from the grapes was transported from the north of the island to the south in 40-litre goatskins. This is where the saying “having a skinful” comes from as the men, known as borracheiro, were known to have sneaky sips on the way down . . . and who can blame them? Be careful who you call borracheiro though as it means someone who’s had too much to drink but also someone who’s very handsome.
You can also pick up a bottle of Madeira from the year you were born if you are lucky, although the price tag may be a little off-putting as some costs thousands of pounds.
Make sure you have a slice of Madeira cake too, not sponge-based as you would assume but fruity..
Madeira Story Centre in Funchal is a mine of information about the island, which grew out of a volcanic eruption.
We spent our last night at the charming Quinta das Vistas in Funchal, where a fabulous spa and outside pool allowed us to relax. Dinner at its restaurant, La Belle Terrasse, is highly recommended and really showcased what the island has to offer – all washed down with a delicious glass of Madeira!
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Weather for Northampton
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
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MichelleSnow
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 09:27 PMSounds like a great experience. You can also check out http:tobogganhills.com for a map of local hills, and add your own to the map for others to locate and enjoy as well. :)
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