Author Topic: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?  (Read 5072 times)

rural roamer

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #15 on: 13:12:30, 26/02/20 »
You say you don’t take food. But are you sure there will be places for you to buy / eat out each day in Madeira? If you’re planning on hiking across the centre some routes may be a little remote.


Update - Sorry meant to post this in your Gear thread on list of items, but was thinking of your trip to Madeira

fernman

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #16 on: 22:07:04, 26/02/20 »
I can't remember for sure as it's 16 years since my trip to Madeira, but I'm sure he'll be able to buy baguette-type sandwiches etc. from shops before his walks.

EDIT: Oh, he's given the same answer already, in Reply #11 on the List of items I take when hiking thread.
« Last Edit: 22:13:02, 26/02/20 by fernman »

gunwharfman

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #17 on: 12:03:06, 12/03/20 »
I'm just back fro,m  Maderia and had a good time, the weather was sunny and hot and the wine and food were worth it as well.

I stayed the first night in a dormitory hostel, 9 euros. Glads to leave though, the English 'manager' was 'outrageous and strange,' he kept holding court with everyone, smoked weed way into the early hours and drank a whole bottle of wine in about two hours. He also kept emphasizing his 'Remainer credentials' with that cheesy grin Paul Whitehouse face pulling. By day he was a guitar/singer busker and told me he had lived in Portugal and Madeira for 21 years.

I left at dawn the following morning and had a look around Funchal. Very nice, old parts, interesting architecture, other areas were wide boulevards, lots of eating and drinking places and easily recognisable tourists, people just mooching around, going nowhere with purpose. By midday, I wanted to hike so because I couldn't understand the bus system I caught the cable car from the seafront to Monte, a village halfway up the mountain that Funchal is built on.

From here I started to hike a footpath which just went UPHILL!!

gunwharfman

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #18 on: 12:22:59, 12/03/20 »
I didn't record the number of the walk but I think it was the PR3.1? I eventually came out on a road and the walk continued uphill, the road to the left was closed due to an earthquake rumble (6.2 out to sea, rocks had fallen onto the tarmac) the previous evening. I was strolling TO a bar at the time, but I still found it to be a very weird sensation.

The walk now was even better, a torrent of water was gushing from the mountains in a gully on the footpath right, I quickly took off my shoes and socks and dangled my feet in the cold water. Great pleasure!

I soon had to road walk for some distance and eventually arrived late in the day at Paseo, a crossroads, and a very nice restaurant. I could walk no further so I looked around for a place to Bivi. Decided two places, one near the restaurant, the other just inside a small wood and then went for a beer, had a meal and wine and finished off with a coffee and brandy!

After my meal, it was now late and dark I just headed to the area nearest the restaurant, just a patch of grass on a ledge down a slope from the road. I slept well.

gunwharfman

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #19 on: 12:34:41, 12/03/20 »
The next morning, got up and packed everything into my rucksack and stood at the crossroad to thumb a lift. I was heading for Pico Areeiro a visitor centre a few miles up the road and not served by buses. I waited for 10 minutes and no cars! Then a small VW UP appeared, my thumb went up and the car stopped. So lucky! It was a Mum and a daughter from Prague, within 20 minutes I was at the visitor centre. Had breakfast in the cafe there and then started to hike the PR1 to the Pico Ruivo. I soon found that this route was not only classed as HARD but for me, it became SUPER HARD! So steep both up and down and there was a lot of them, it was also in places very windy but I had a cloudless sky all day.

The Pico Ruivo became one of the hardest hikes I have ever done, 10.5kms of relentless steepness, many on steps carved out from the rock, many were man-made steps with a few steep metal ladders to worry about as well. It was exhausting, so much so that my heart was pounding and fluttering with the physical effort of it all. There were two occasions when due to the effort my body shook from head to toe, its the nearest experience I've had I think to know what dying would be like.

I eventually made it back to the start and then hitchhiked back to the restaurant area. A very demanding day!

gunwharfman

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #20 on: 13:05:38, 12/03/20 »
PR1, just after the start.

https://i.postimg.cc/xT0Q0LB9/IMG-20200309-115033.jpg

I'm just testing to see if the photo displays

gunwharfman

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #21 on: 13:07:33, 12/03/20 »

gunwharfman

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #22 on: 13:09:35, 12/03/20 »


Still trying, hope this is it?

gunwharfman

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #23 on: 13:12:20, 12/03/20 »


The best I can do, the photo does not seem to be the same quality as my phone download though?

gunwharfman

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #24 on: 13:15:47, 12/03/20 »


just before the end of the walk, by now late afternoon. When I arrived back at the visitor centre waitress gave me a free sample od local drink, loads of seeds in it, orange and highly alcoholic! Wow!

fernman

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #25 on: 13:17:32, 12/03/20 »
Fantastic report so far, GWM, I've enjoyed reading it and seeing your pics.

gunwharfman

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #26 on: 13:25:06, 12/03/20 »
I hitchhiked my way back to Funchal (with an off duty Uber driver, he didn't charge me) and found another hostel, this time a really good one, in the centre of town, 14 euros a night, stayed 2 nights in a dormitory but I was the only person in the room.

I then did a couple of more walks, easy ones this time and enjoyed the nightlife. I walked to the bus stop at 7 am, 5 euris to the airport and within a few seconds a small car pulled up and a man shouted: "Are you English?" I said yes so he said, "I can take you to the airport for 5 euros." I handed him the money and he took me to the airport departure entrance. Easy.

He worked at the airport and he told me he gets quite a bit of business if he keeps his eyes open for people like me, just standing around and looking like a tourist.

pdstsp

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #27 on: 17:54:59, 12/03/20 »
Looks lovely country for walking - and I bet it was nice to get some sun.

gunwharfman

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #28 on: 18:52:40, 12/03/20 »
It really was sunny, it was the same every day but the day I walked to Pieso was the hottest. Sleeping out was great as well, so clear and the moon was so big.

I forgot to mention that on the Pico Ruivo route, there are miners tunnels to walk through, five if I remember correctly, best to have a torch, otherwise pitch black!

I personally believe that Funchal suffers from vehicle pollution, at rush hour the smell of fumes was very strong. Quite a few beggers about as well, mostly seemed to be old people? There were also three stationary cruise ships in the harbour, one was called Mein Schiff 3. I don't think I could ever contemplate a cruise, watching people piling out from the ship, jumping on coaches to whizz here and there is just not me. There was also a few Tuk-Tuk's on the streets, the drivers busy driving tourists around.

For me, the worst bit of rudeness I saw and heard was whilst in a restaurant. 4 Canadian middle-aged women came in and one of them treated the waitress like dirt! She demanded the rarest of steaks and when it came it was not rare enough, she kept saying "I just want it seared, seared I said!" Then she picked on the rest of the food as well. I could see that her friends were embarrassed, one of the ladies looked at me and rolled her eyes up.

The speciality of the village of Monte is sliding down steep streets on a wooden sledge, it looked fun.

richardh1905

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Re: Madeira, have you ever hiked on the island?
« Reply #29 on: 20:08:17, 12/03/20 »
Sounds as if you had a good time! Lovely photos.
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