Our last major trip of 2023 was to the island of eternal spring, Madeira. I'll jump right to the end. This island topped my list of top European destinations along with Switzerland.
Farol da Ponta do Pargo
Although we are flying from Prague, the journey to the airport is again a bit unconventional. Since we are invited to a family party in Ostrava, we are going to Ostrava the day before our flight and then to the airport in the morning. Even though our flight isn't until 7pm, we prefer to take the train from Ostrava at 10am. We know ČD and we don't want to miss our plane by some extra delay, which is quite common on Sundays. But as it happens, ČD Murphy's Laws are relentless. If you're in a hurry and running tight trains are delayed an hour or more, if you're not in a hurry and have too much margin the train arrives on time. This was the case with us, when we arrived in Prague on the minute. I should point out that I travel on Sundays quite regularly and I have never been on time. So we are thinking what to do with the remaining time. We decide to have lunch at Wenceslas Square.
After lunch we take the metro to the airport. There we wait for the check-in and in the departure hall I learn that the flight from Lisbon is an hour late and it is clear to me that this will affect our departure. Otherwise, we bought our tickets at the beginning of May through Pelikan at TAP Portugal, when a return ticket with a large carry-on bag came to 170 Euro.
The information about the delay was pretty poor at the airport, in fact there was no mention of it at the time of departure, and the only thing that could be found out was the delay in arrival from Lisbon. The plane finally didn't arrive until after 7pm and another tragedy began. They waited until half past eight to start boarding and then boarded for perhaps an hour. When I compare this to low cost airlines where it takes about twenty minutes, it makes no sense to me what the exclusivity is with these established airlines. Plus, the staff that did the ticket checking weren't the fastest either. Once it seems we're all on the plane, we're still standing around for another half hour. And we don't get off until 9:30, two and a half hours late. Since we had an hour and forty to change planes in Lisbon, I'm impatient to see whether the plane will be waiting or not. Fortunately, I am so tired that I sleep through this four-hour flight despite all the complications and turbulence. Once we land at the airport I check the status of the connecting plane on my cell phone and learn that it is in the air. So the whole plan for tomorrow is there, and for the first time we get to experience how to deal with a situation when you miss a connecting flight. Fortunately, they were ready for us at the tunnel exit and along with another Czech couple, we were met by a man who gave us replacement tickets, food vouchers and information on where to go to secure a hotel voucher. Once we get it at the last open buffet we use the vouchers to buy a late dinner and then get a taxi to take us to the hotel. We get to the hotel at 1am and go straight to bed to get at least some sleep.
Alternative accommodation in Lisbon
We have a taxi booked for 5:30. There is a crazy queue at the airport checkpoint, and we have to do our best to make sure that we don't miss this 8:00 flight. In addition to checking in, we still needed to spend the rest of the vouchers we bought breakfast with, and we had enough left over for a sandwich for lunch. At check-in, we were then among the last to arrive. In the meantime, we still had to write to the rental car company that we would not pick up the car at 8am but not until sometime around 12pm, and we wrote to the original accommodation we had already paid for yesterday that we would not be arriving.
Finally, the direction Madeira
Fortunately, the weather on the island was good, so we didn't have to circle the island and we landed without any complications. Cristiano Ronaldo Airport (the only airport named after a living person) in Madeira is known for its short runway and windy weather, so it's quite common to circle the island until conditions are right for landing. Otherwise, it's named after a famous footballer because he was born here and even has his own museum in Funchal.
Madeira - Cristiano Ronaldo Airport
At the airport, we look for an ATM and information about where and what time the aerobus leaves from. It leaves in a few minutes, so we skip withdrawing money and go straight to it. A return ticket costs 8 Euros and is paid in cash at the driver's desk. It's a good idea to find out the name of the stop as not all stops and when you sell the ticket it asks you where it's going, which of course we didn't know and prayed that it would stop where it was supposed to then. We took the bus straight to the rental car place. There is also an ATM at the bus stop, allowing you to withdraw to Revolut at no charge. This is covered by Multibanco, which allows withdrawals from all Portuguese banks. That's why, apart from the yellow ATMs, you only come across these Multibanco ATMs everywhere.
We collect the money and go to the rental car place. There the lady informs us that our car is out of service but that we will get a replacement and takes us to a competing rental company, or so we understand, since we didn't pay any deposit for the gasoline we were supposed to deposit in cash and for which we were looking for an ATM. We got a Nissan Micra and some advice from the handover guy on how to drive down the local crazy hills (put it in second gear and brake) and we were on our way.
Madeira - Our new travel partner
The first destination is the westernmost point of Madeira, the Farol Lighthouse. Since we got the car with an empty tank, we had to stop at a gas station after a road full of tunnels. The price of gas was similar to ours and varied only a few cents across the island. Otherwise, the infrastructure on the island is really enviable, even though it is not yet complete. Around most of the island is a circuit of a system of long and short tunnels, where around the capital, Funchal, there is a motorway type road (Rapido) and outside Funchal, it is already at the level of first class roads (Expresso). In the middle of the island, there is an extra tangent connecting the tunnels north and south of the island and it is unbelievable how much all this must have cost. But thanks to this road network, you can cross the island in an hour.
Madeira - Road type Rapido
Madeira - Road type Expresso
We stay at Farol for about half an hour and there is a nice view of the rock walls and the sea. We will take a short walk and have a snack. Otherwise, it is November and it is pretty hot at about 26°C, which is another benefit of Madeira, that it is always the same spring temperature all year round.
Farol da Ponta do Pargo
From the lighthouse we drive to the town of Porto Moniz, which is famous for its natural sea pools. There's still the original winding road from Farol, so although it's not far it doesn't go more than forty and by the time you learn to drive here you don't really get much of a three and you're mostly in two as you're either climbing or descending. The final ride is a descent from 450m to the coast. The serpentine descent thus offers countless views of the city.
The road from Farol to Porto Moniz
View of Porto Moniz
Descent to Porto Moniz
Free parking is available at the pools. If there's room. Otherwise, you have to go to the paid parking lot. Let's get our swimsuits, let's go. We're gonna walk around and take pictures first, and then we're gonna go swimming.
Porto Moniz
The last point of the day is the Fanal forest, which forms a unique backdrop. It is located at about 1100 m above sea level. On a few kilometres we will realise a kilometre elevation gain as we start from sea level. We will stay here for about half an hour, as we have to be in Sao Vicente by 7pm to take our apartment.
Ascent to Fanal
Fanal
We get in the car, I shift into second gear, and what we've just climbed, we'll drive down again. We'll take the Expresso, which will take us through the tunnel to Sao Vicente. We stop in the centre because we need to buy some food, but we can't find anything. Sao Vicente is quite a small town and the centre is empty. Since it's close to 7:00, we'll sort out the food later and go to our apartment now. This is out of civilization in the middle of nowhere, with the final drive to it being about a kilometer on a private unpaved road. Mainly because the guy told us that we didn't have insurance on the underside of the car and that we shouldn't do any off-roading with it, so here we have one a few times. Fortunately, no harm done.
Sao Vicente
Apartman Casinhas da Laurissilva
We check in, ask for a shop and go back to Sao Vicente, to the supermarket located outside the town. I buy everything I need, including port, and we head back. We make dinner and I am so exhausted that my eyes close with fatigue. For this reason, I go to bed immediately after eating so that I have enough strength for tomorrow's program, which will also be demanding.
Useful links:
Czech Railways
Pelikan.cz
Tap Portugal
Auto Rent a Car Madeira
Casinhas da Laurissilva
