Hey Actifitters,
Our third day in Madeira started very early as we wanted to catch the sunrise at Pico do Areeiro, the third highest peak on the island at an altitude of 1818m. We arrived there quite early, still in total darkness, so we could pick a good spot. It was quite cold and windy but the first light wasn't too far off.
Unfortunately it was too cloudy to get the great show we were hoping for. Not bad, but not so impressive either.
It's a very popular spot, good thing we were there before all these people.
Let's admit the sunrise was a bit disappointing, so we left to start the Vereda de Areeiro hike before the crowd.
Again I wasn't sure what to expect, but the vistas are just impressive.
And I guess the sun rising behind the Observatory was probably better than the actual sunrise earlier.
Normally this hike can be a long one, as there is a path to reach the other peak called Pico Ruivo. Unfortunately it is closed right now, making the hike a little short, but with a few steep inclines.
Tough choice again but I'll use this one for @bucipuci #Aroundtheworld contest:
I think part of the trail is called Stairway to Heaven, but I'm not 100% sure it's this one.
We went as far as we could go and turn around. There is an actual gate blocking the path.
It's a little strange to finish a hike by 8:30am, but the sun was now high above the Observatory and we were ready to get to our next destination.
Not before one last view of course.
It's probably a tourist trap, but we wanted to check out the Skywalk Cabo Girão. 580 meter drop off, the view is impressive!
The main interest is the glass floor, it can be scary for people afraid of heights.
We didn't stay there too long, but enjoyed these great views.
I guess the next stop was also a bit of a tourist trap, a waterfall you can walk under (even drive under in the past, but the road is now closed to cars). Again let's admit it, not so impressive.
But we walked along there, in the middle of the various crops. Lots of bananas!
It was still early but that's when the weather turned misty first, then rainy.
So we went for a late lunch to Calheta. Seems like a nice little city near the ocean, but we couldn't see much because of the rain. Then, without much else to do, we checked one of the cable cars not too far. Really impressive! So steep...
Along our drive, we had a nice view over Porto Moniz, with the natural swimming pools we went swimming in a couple days ago.
And we drove along the coast, stopping here and there, when the rain wasn't too bad. It's funny to find waterfalls right along the road.
We finally stopped in an interesting little bar, also along the road. They prepared our Ponchas from scratch, the best we had so far.
Much later, we tried to check the nightlife in Funchal. Well, there isn't really one! It seems people visiting Madeira are mostly hikers, so I guess nightlife is not what they're looking for.
Even if the plan was significantly reduced because of the weather, it was still a really nice day. And that allowed us to rest a bit so we can have a big last full day on the island.
As always, thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow.
[//]:# (!pinmapple 32.73528 lat -16.92881 long d3scr)
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