We finally made it to the island of Madeira. Our trip to this autonomous region of Portugal was canceled two years in a row due to covid. It was worth the wait! We timed the visit to see the annual Flower Festival in the main city of Funchal. The pageantry was even more impressive than we expected. Like all of Portugal, the people of Madeira make you feel truly welcome. After a few days in Funchal, we moved outside the city and spent five fabulous days exploring this gorgeous and diverse island. Two of those days were spent with a private guide who took the four of us off-roading in an open Jeep to locations rarely seen by tourists. That was a special treat!

Funchal:

Over 40% of the island population lives in Funchal.
Children place flowers on the Wall of Hope.
Birds are released.
The charming Old Town
Jacarandá trees.
Dozens of painted doors and windows in Old Town.
The teleférico (cable car) provides great city views.

Flower Festival Parade:

It doesn’t get more wholesome than this. The parade is over two hours long and has over 1500 participants in stunning, detailed costumes. All ages and abilities participate, but the children are especially adorable. It is a feast for the eyes. We found it to be very impressive and well-organized for an island with only 250,000 inhabitants. So glad we finally got to see it!

Reserved bleacher seats come with hats and bottles of water.

The rest of the island:

We moved to an apartment in Ponta do Sol for the remaining days of our visit.
The Jeep tour begins.
Val making us his special ponchas at a visit to a honey farm.
A road and stairs at the same time.
The old road and the new road (tunnel.)
Trying homemade "basement" wine at a small bar.
With the different altitudes and sides of the island, we experienced all kinds of weather in a single day, or a single hour.
There are dozens of hiking trails that follow the levadas (irrigation canals.) Some go through small tunnels.
Our guide, Val, had unmatched driving skills. This is a two-way road.
Rum made from sugar cane.
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Pure magic: Getting above the clouds while avoiding busloads of tourists.
"Pride of Madeira" - about to start blooming all across the island.
Two days of driving on our own started with crossing the mountain in dense fog.
Lunch at a butcher shop recommended by our guide.
Made-to-order skewers of meat & sausage roasted over the fire.
Fabulous. Four of us finished almost all of it.
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The runway is on stilts over a highway and the ocean. Cross breezes can make landing quite challenging and requires special training.
Ponchas we made from scratch. Life is good.
Even with all we were able to see and do, we look forward to our next visit to get to know beautiful Madeira even better. Paradise is just a 1.5 hour flight away.
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