― Jack Kerouac, On the Road
We are on the road. We’ve hired a car and have a map and a plan. There is a sense of freedom in discovering Madeira at our own pace; driving across valleys and basins and hills and mountains. Our day trip is a circular route exploring the northwest of the island, starting from Funchal and heading to Sao Vincente, Porto Moniz, down to Rabacal and back to the hotel before night falls.
Getting out of the city is the hard part, but once we are on the highway our journey begins. Madeira is like no other island I’ve seen. Its volcanic origins means that it’s shaped like an iceberg as one book described it. And it is true. Nothing is flat. We drive up the steep curving hills, and again snake down winding slopes, cut across bridges that connect the hills and through tunnels that delve deep through the mountains. The scenery is stunning. The deep green and lush mountains appear one after the other.
We arrive at Sao Vincente in time for a guided tour of the caves that are 890,000 years old and made from a now extinct volcano which erupted. As we enter the damp and dark lava canal tubes, I imagine being Bilbo Baggins as he explores this labyrinth maze. The main tunnel is 1km long. I don’t want to get lost inside this mountain. Our guide informs us that the tunnels are formed from the lava forming a hard crust, the hot lava flowed underneath this crust. Then when the volcano stopped erupting, the hard crust was left and the tunnels were created.
The tour continues and we are taken to an interesting museum that is about the beginning of the world and the creation of Madeira. We then take a lift down to the centre of the earth and watch an equally dramatic 3D film which exclaims, ‘creation is a beginning without an end’.
Back to the car, we continue on to Porto Moniz for a spot of lunch. I have four large grilled sardines with rice and salad. It is delicious. We then walk down to the lava pools which are beautifully clear and have lots of fish.
Our journey continues to Paul da Serra, we continue up the hill side and turn the corner to see the stunning view of the valleys and mountains. Peaks of the hills are in the clouds. We get out and take photos. It reminds us of the rolling hills of Scotland, they are thick with a blanket of thistle, heather and bracken.
At the top of the hill we drive through the clouds. We are now on top of the island with beautiful panoramic views of the sea. We have left the warm tropics below and are riding on the craggy mountain tops where an eagle soars and dives and we see a herd of cattle standing by the roadside.
We feel as if we are on top of the world. There is fog and dramatic plunging heights.
We turn the corner and are above the clouds and are surrounded by enormous wind turbines that look futuristic.
The view is astonishing. It feels like we are in aeroplane seeing the world in all its awesome dramatic scenery.
My son has spent the whole afternoon asleep in the back of the car, missing the views completely.
Our trip to this island has been more than we had hoped for. This 'floating garden in the Atlantic' has captured our hearts.
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