I decided to write 2 posts separately on Madeira mountains and Madeira coast. Actually almost every day I had both in one day. The great thing about Madeira is that the island isn’t very big, so you can get everywhere on the island by car or scooter within an hour and a half at most. It’s possible to swim at the sunny beach in the morning and then be freezing with your jacket in the foggy mountains in the afternoon. Also, the same thing can actually happen in one place within 30 minutes. It’s common to alternate between 4 seasons in one day. And I really loved that about Madeira. The unpredictability and the variety. Variety in everything.

DOWNHILL Pico do Arieiro to Funchal 

Before I dive into the beaches, I’m going to leave here the experience of cycling down from Pico di Arierio back to Funchal. Tiago loves bikes so much that he has gone to England several times just to buy the best bike at a cheaper price. The guys on the bus with us were jealous of his bike. He had 2, so I was able to borrow one including a helmet, which was great. Otherwise, everything in Madeira is terribly expensive and hard to find. We took a bus ride up into the mountains after work and then rode a little higher up the mountains. It was a beautiful sunset, but the trail was quite challenging. I fell down about three times but mainly because I always stopped and didn’t let the bike go. Within an hour or so, it started to get very dark and we had to walk quite a large part of the route. Still, it was one of the most beautiful sunsets in Madeira and I discovered that I enjoy road cycling more than downhill cycling after all.

BEACHES

Although I personally wouldn’t come to Madeira for the beaches ( both because of the weather and the fact that most of the beaches are pebble and not sandy), I visited a lot of them during my stay in Madeira. Especially after walking all day in the mountains or along the coast, I loved to take a dip in the crystal clear water. I was expecting the water to be very cold, but since I was here in September, it was nicely heated from the summer. I also swam in the rain and in huge waves a few times, which left me with scraped and shredded feet. But it was worth it. 😀

Praia Formosa & Camara Lobos

Immediately after arriving in Funchal I went for a swim at one of the few sandy beaches in Madeira, Praia Formosa. My accommodation was right next to it and for that I felt very grateful. The beach was quite far from the centre of Funchal, but that didn’t bother me at all because I didn’t go to Madeira for the city anyway, but mainly for the nature. From Praia Formosa, there is a beautiful coastal road that leads all the way to Camara Lobos, which is supposedly the most crime-ridden area in all of Madeira, but I didn’t find it that way. I loved it there, but maybe it’s just that I like the shady areas :D. The coastal path was my favourite route to run.

Prainha Beach

I went to this beach after that out-of-this-world psychedelic experience and I actually kind of slept the whole time. But it was great. When I woke up, there was no one on the beach, just one anchored boat. I took a meditation walk back and forth about 15 times and felt totally zen. In the present.

After the beach, I went to a religious festival in Machico. It was super local and there were a lot of really old people there. I had beer and chicken soup.

Seixal beach

Seixal is mostly known for its beach where people learn to surf. But I was blown away by the waterfall right on the beach, and the fact that all the rocks which surrounded Seixal were, like, “crying”. Water was just flowing everywhere. And it wasn’t at all clear to me exactly where it was coming from. There I thought it was really important to protect nature. That it’s not a given and that I wouldn’t want Madeira to be a dry island one day. And again, I saw the water as a metaphor. A metaphor that life goes on, that it will go where it’s supposed to go. That I didn’t have to be afraid and just let it guide me.

Praia do Porto da Cruz

Among the most beautiful places by the sea in Madeira I definitely consider the beach at Porto da Cruz. I have been there twice. Once for paragliding and the second time on my way to Machico. There are often a lot of people there learning to surf, but sometimes it’s just a quiet place to meditate. The beach is pebbly, but so are almost all of the beaches in Madeira.

I also tried paragliding for the first time in Porto da Cruz. I was invited by Nuno. He asked me if I wanted to fly with him and I thought, why not? It was really wonderful. Calm and relaxing. Seeing the world from a completely different perspective. And again, I loved the way Nuno did everything with enthusiasm. I was grateful that he offered me the experience. It was his first flight with an inexperienced flyer and I thanked him so much afterwards. He thanked me about as much as I thanked him because he was nervous about it himself. That was beautiful.

Paul Do Mar 
Paul do Mar (also known as Ribeira das Galinhas – Chicken’s River) is one of the most famous pebble beaches on the western coast and a very famous spot for young people to hang out or to learn how to surf-
I actually found this place by accident, when I was driving to Porto Moniz and wanted to see the supposedly most beautiful sunset in Madeira (that’s said about a lot of places, by the way, because sunrises and sunsets in Madeira are simply gorgeous). The drive there was very tricky, but I was kind of used to everything by now and I wasn’t at all worried about the curves and steep hills. I couldn’t manage to park in the town parking lot, but luckily some random woman figured it out and offered to help me park my car. I thought that was great. As soon as I got out of the car, I was approached by a local guy who was born in that place and has lived there his whole life. He was telling me a lot about his life and his huge passion to collect limpets. I haven’t heard the word limpet before but after this evening I knew A LOT about them. He was funny to talk to and showed me a cool place – Urbex at the end of town. An old house from a doctor who died. We swam in the sea there and I got a classic scrape on the rocks.
We had also some drinks (me wine and he non-alcoholic maracuja poncha) in front of the famous Maktub bar. Very young and vibrant place.

NATURAL POOLS

Porto Moniz

The natural swimming pools at Porto Moniz are formed by volcanic lava, naturally filled with crystal-clear sea water. I stayed right next to them, so I used to go swimming in the morning before they were open to the public. I saw a glorious sunrise and practiced morning yoga.

Seixal

Aside from the beautiful beach, Seixal also has lesser known natural pools that don’t get written about as much. I didn’t swim there though, as we only went there on short notice before our trip to the mountains.

COASTAL HIKES

Sao Lorenco Hike

Right next to Canical, the famous Vereda da Ponta de Sao Lorenco hike begins. The extreme eastern tip of the island consists of a long, extensive peninsula called Ponta de São Lourenço.This hike is completely different from the ones I’ve done before. There were a lot of people, but it was still beautiful. I didn’t have sunscreen, so I got a lot of sunburn. On the way back we discovered a beautiful beach with crystal clear water. I totally fell in love with that place again!

This was probably the freshest dip of the month

Achadas da Cruz

I only discovered this place thanks to Tiago, because I asked him where there were cable cars everywhere I could visit. In the end, we didn’t even go to the cable car because it seemed pointless. We walked the whole way up and down listening to psytrance and techno from a poor quality speaker. And we talked about everything.

Madeira’s coastline is incredibly steep and I was often shocked to see where people build their houses. I loved watching a slightly different sunset from every corner of the island, getting up at sunrise, and just generally taking in the splendor this island has to offer. For me, Madeira’s coastline represented the joy and laughter I needed after my often cloudy walk in the mountains.