Madeira 6 - Monte, Funchal

Our last day in Madeira will be spent at the Botanical Gardens at the top of Monte and the rest of the time in Funchal.

Monte - Botanical garden

We can finally sleep tonight, too, because we're in no hurry. We don't head out until after 10pm and our first stop is Marcao dos Lavradores, which is the largest market in Madeira. It's worth a visit just because it sells some really exotic fruit that I've never seen in my life. Janet bought a Monstera, aka Pinaple Banana, aka Pineapple Banana here. It was expensive as hell. One piece cost about 12 Euro and the taste was really something between banana and pineapple. It was also very sweet. The next hall sells fresh fish, with the tuna steak sliced right in front of you. Then on the top floor you'll find a souvenir shop where we bought everything we needed from magnets to a local hat.

Funchal - Rua Doutor Fernão de Ornelas

Funchal - Marcao dos Lavradores

Funchal - Marcao dos Lavradores - Monstera

Funchal - Marcao dos Lavradores - Fish section

Madeiran

We leave the market and head to the cable car station that will take us to the top of Monte. Here is a large botanical garden containing all the plants that grow in Madeira. You will also receive a voucher for a Madeira wine tasting with your ticket. Exactly the same one we bought yesterday at the Continente, so no surprises there. The grounds are huge and we spend just over an hour here.

Monte - Botanical garden

Monte - Madeira wine

In addition to the botanical gardens, the top of Monte offers another attraction. This is the biggest tourist attraction here in Madeira in the form of a ride in a wooden sleigh, pushed by two Madeiran men called Carreiros do Monte. The price for the ride 2 km up the hill was 20 Euro per person. In addition, you have to climb the hill back up or order a taxi for another Euro. We'll skip this one with thanks, but we'll watch the fools who pay for it for a while. And there were a lot of them.

Carreiros do Monte

Then we go back to the cable car and go down to Funchal. There was still the idea of going to Machico for one last dip in the sea, but given what time it was and how long the bus would take to get there, we changed our minds and went for a walk into the centre, where Janet took me to the grubbing alley of Rua de Santa Maria. It's also known as the Zona Velha. It's a narrow pedestrian street full of restaurants and bars. I'm sure it's full of discos in the evening.

Funchal - Rua de Santa Maria

This concludes our exploration of Madeira and we return to the apartment. We'll have one last dinner and pack up completely, because tomorrow we'll be up early and won't be able to make it. We also have to finish all the wine we've managed to buy here.

The following day

In the morning we get up around 6:30, have breakfast and finish packing the last things. We're force-feeding the rest of the Monstera. We leave the apartment and go to the Promenade in Funchal, near the Praca Park, to the Esmeradlo. Where our aero express is coming from. Madeira is very difficult to leave. Especially when you know it's freezing and nasty at home.

I recommend leaving Praca for Esmeradlo because it arrived pretty full. It still loaded us, but at the next stop it didn't take everyone and quite a large group of people had to wait for the next bus.

It took about twenty minutes to get to the airport. There was hardly anyone at security, so it was quick. We bought Madeira wine and Poncha at Duty Free and waited for our flight. While boarding, I saw a plane standing on the tarmac that should have been in the air for half an hour. I'm beginning to suspect that we won't make our flight on time again. And so it was, about half an hour late. We have 45 minutes to change planes in Lisbon. It's going to be another drama. I am only comforted by the fact that the plane is full of Czechs, and it's not worth paying for accommodation and everything for that many people. Lisbon airport is a disaster again. They drop us off somewhere on the edge of the airport, there they find they don't have enough stairs, so we are still waiting for the stairs. That will add another half hour to our delay. In the arrivals hall they immediately call out that the plane to Prague is waiting and on the gate. Unfortunately, at the other end of the airport, again. Still, we're glad we made the flight, even though we're already imagining how we'd spend another free day in Lisbon. Anyway, instead we fly to freezing Prague. On arrival, to make matters worse, the cops enter the plane looking for someone in particular. Unfortunately, we're far enough away to hear what's going on. That was the last drama of our trip. Probably never again with TAP Portugal. We throw on all the warm clothes we have and go out to freeze in the nasty weather. We don't get to Boleslav until around midnight.

Madeira is a phenomenal destination that needs to be visited at least once in a lifetime. There is something for everyone. Motorists, runners, hikers, and even beach bums if they visit the island of Porto Santo, which we have already missed. At least we have a reason to come back.

Return to reality

Useful links:

Pelourinho Apartments by An Island Apart
More accommodation in Funchal
Cable car to Monte
Carreiros do Monte
Monte Palace Tropical Garden
Tap Portugal