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Sept. 22 – Flying Home

By on September 29, 2024 in The Pearl
“When we get home, home is still the same, but something in our minds has changed and that changes everything.” -Anonymous
Our trip home went much smoother than our trip over. We got up at 4 AM and left for the airport at 4:30. Luckily the airport is only a mile from our hotel. The hotel arranged for a taxi to pick us up and fixed us a box breakfast for us to take with us. This truly was a wonderful place to stay our last night in Madeira.

Check in at the airport was smooth, although they seemed to have a lot of security checkpoints. Customs coming in was a breeze. We upgraded again to business class which gave us plenty of room to rest on our seven hour return flight. We arrived in New York at 9 AM and had close to four hours until our flight to Ithaca. Getting through custom and taking the train to the next terminal was a breeze, but going through security took a while. JFK is huge! It felt wonderful to be back on the boat…so glad we flew to NYC.
I was tired and enjoyed my breakfast…I forgot to take a picture. We had a cheese omelet with mushrooms and tomato, fresh fruit and croissants.

We were back in plenty of time to have one last visit with Bob and Loretta before the boating season ends. 

Sept. 21 – Last Day in Madeira

By on September 28, 2024 in The Pearl
“Traveling allows you to become so many different versions of yourself.” -Anonymous  
We moved from our beautiful little bed and breakfast near São Jorge to a nice resort on the east coast near the airport. Our flight leaves at 6:40 (we hope), so we wanted to be close. We’re spending our last evening in Madeira at the Albatroz Beach & Yacht Club. It’s a pretty property sitting on the cliff overlooking the ocean. 

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Sept. 21 – Last Day in Madeira

By on September 28, 2024 in The Pearl
“Traveling allows you to become so many different versions of yourself.” -Anonymous  
We moved from our beautiful little bed and breakfast near São Jorge to a nice resort on the east coast near the airport. Our flight leaves at 6:40 (we hope), so we wanted to be close. We’re spending our last evening in Madeira at the Albatroz Beach & Yacht Club. It’s a pretty property sitting on the cliff overlooking the ocean. 

We had a slow morning enjoying the nice breakfast the inn serves then we packed and headed east. What a contract between today’s scenery and yesterday. The mountains on the north shore are very green and lush. The cliffs on the east coast are very dry and barren. For such a small island Madeira has a very diverse terrain. We stopped at a unique overlook on our way east. It’s called Guindaste Viewpoint. Their glass walkways protrude from the cliffs, offering panoramic views of the coastline. Wonderful views are not in short supply here…everywhere we look there’s some beautiful to see.

Guindaste Viewpoint.
Stan was taking a picture of me…taking a picture of him.

Looking down 85′ to the shoreline.

Looking east from the Guindaste Viewpoint.
Looking east to São Lourenço Point.
The landscape here is so dry. It felt like we had arrived on a different island. Pretty in its own way, but I like it a bit greener.

Looking west from the parking lot.

The Ponta do Ros viewpoint.

Looking south towards Caniçal, Machico and Santa Cruz.

Machico Beach is one of the few sandy beaches of Madeira, with sand imported from North Africa.

Machico is a pretty fishing town with access to the ocean with lots of cafés, shops and ocean tours for the tourist. It offers some of the most spectacular ocean views in Portugal.

We stayed in the Manor House that was built over 100 years ago.
The grounds were beautiful.
The pool.

Great views of the Desert Islands.

There are also two saltwater pools and access to the ocean.
We had a wonderful last dinner at the hotel restaurant. Stan had scabbard fish one more time and I had the octopus risotto.

Sept. 20 – Levada do Caldeirão Verde Hike

By on September 27, 2024 in The Pearl
“When was the last time you did something for the first time?” ~Anonymous
Today we finally made it to one of Madeira’s levadas. Levadas are man-made aqueducts and irrigation channels that date back to the early colonization of the island in the 15th century. They were built to supply water to sugar cane plantations. Today they are used for walking and are often surrounded by greenery and pass through different types of terrain. Madeira has around 200 levadas, totaling over 1,800 miles of channels that wind through the island’s landscapes. We chose the Levada do Caldeirão Verde which translates to Levada of the Green Cauldron. The green cauldron refers to the waterfall and pool at the end of the hike. Unfortunately we didn’t make it that far. The hike is beautiful and fairly flat since it follows the levada.

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Sept. 19 – Porto Moniz, Portugal

By on September 27, 2024 in The Pearl

“Life is better when it’s more important to know the tide than the time.” –Unknown

After our long day exploring yesterday we decided to spend today relaxing at the natural pools in Porto Moniz. The natural pools in Madeira are amongst the wonders of the island. They were formed over thousands of years when lava from volcanic eruptions solidified when hitting the cold water of the Atlantic Ocean. The natural saltwater pools are one of the most attractive and symbolic spots on the north coast. Since Madeira is  essentially the tip of an ancient volcano in the middle of the Atlantic the strong currents and high waves make it unsafe for swimming. The natural pools give visitors and locals alike a great spot to relax after a long day of hiking or sightseeing.

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Sept. 18 – Exploring the Northern Coast of Madeira

By on September 26, 2024 in The Pearl

“If you find yourself having to tiptoe around others, you’re not walking amongst your tribe.” -Tanya Markul 


We started our morning with breakfast in the yard of our Inn. The view, the service and the food was fantastic. It is so peaceful here. Today we drove west along the north side of Madeira. Our first stop of the day was at the lighthouse in São Jorge. It was very close to where we had dinner last night. From there we took in the sights wherever we could find a look out. The closer we got to the west end of the island the clearer the skies became. People have told us if we don’t like the weather where we are…just drive somewhere else in Madeira and you can find a little sunshine. It seems to be true. The clouds roll in and out very quickly.

It was a little chilly this morning. I took this picture when I came up to the room to get a jacket.

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Sept. 17 – Moving to the North Shore

By on September 25, 2024 in The Pearl
“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” – Anita Desai
Today we left Funchal to a place on the north shore. On the way we drove up to Pico Arieiro. It’s one of the most popular hikes on the island. It’s also one of the highest peaks in Madeira. Being at the top of this peak put us above the clouds. We felt like we were on top of the world. The full hike takes you from Pico Arieiro to Pico Ruivo is seven miles, but most of the trail has been closed since the fires in August. The hike is impressive; it takes you along narrow paths on sheer ridges, down mountain staircases and through rocky tunnels. We didn’t plan on doing the whole hike, but we didn’t even do what I’d thought we would. We had to park over 1/2 a mile down from the trailhead and viewing platform. Going straight up for that long was enough. Stan injured his foot earlier in the summer and hiking has been difficult. We enjoyed the view and time at the top and then returned to our car.

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Sept. 17 – Moving to the North Shore

By on September 25, 2024 in The Pearl
“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” – Anita Desai
Today we left Funchal to a place on the north shore. On the way we drove up to Pico Arieiro. It’s one of the most popular hikes on the island. It’s also one of the highest peaks in Madeira. Being at the top of this peak put us above the clouds. We felt like we were on top of the world. The full hike takes you from Pico Arieiro to Pico Ruivo is seven miles, but most of the trail has been closed since the fires in August. The hike is impressive; it takes you along narrow paths on sheer ridges, down mountain staircases and through rocky tunnels. We didn’t plan on doing the whole hike, but we didn’t even do what I’d thought we would. We had to park over 1/2 a mile down from the trailhead and viewing platform. Going straight up for that long was enough. Stan injured his foot earlier in the summer and hiking has been difficult. We enjoyed the view and time at the top and then returned to our car.

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Sept. 16 – Monte in Funchal, Portugal

By on September 25, 2024 in The Pearl
“The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.” –Unknown

Today was Stan’s birthday and it was probably our best day yet on the island. We took the Funchal Cable Car to Monte to visit the Monte Palace Tropical Garden. At the beginning of the 20th century, tourists reached the mountain by steam train. Nowadays, they make the same journey from a cable car. The ride from Funchal old town to Monte takes 15-20 minutes one way, which gave us plenty of time to enjoy beautiful views of the city and its surroundings. It covers a distance of 2 miles and makes an impressive ascent of 1,902 ft.

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Sept. 15 – Porto da Cruz, Portugal

By on September 24, 2024 in The Pearl
“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and start getting excited about what could go right.” -Tony Robbins
While we were in the planning and research stage of our trip to Madeira we watched several YouTube videos. One talked about the Santo da Serra Farmers Market held every Sunday. It looked like a great local place to check out. In reality it was packed with tourists. I guess everyone watches the same videos. The road was jammed with at least 20 large buses and 100s of cars. It’s a very small market with some great food booths and a few vegetables and fruit vendors. There was also a flea market across the street. Neat to see but definitely not worth being tied up in traffic. 

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