Madeira

Libby and I spent a week walking in Madeira just before Easter. We booked through a company called Inntravel which specialises in independent walking holidays. They provide maps, directions and arrange for your luggage to be taken from and to each overnight stop. The scenery was stunning - it is a relatively young volcanic island with very steep cliffs in places and hardly any beaches (and those that exist are of the black, volcanic sand variety). Weather was mixed with a couple of days of mist and low cloud but we did manage a few gorgeous days of warm temperatures - around 17/18 degs - and sun. We were walking in the north which often has a different climate to the south - the cloud tends to descend over the peaks around lunchtime and then engulfs the north, often with the south remaining clear. Of course, being an island in the Atlantic, the air is very damp and mist is often a problem. The photos above are: the view from the balcony of our first hotel room (top); the view from the highest point, Pico Ruivo (middle); and one of the incredible heather "trees" on the slopes of the highest peak (bottom). There are some interesting birds on Madeira. Unfortunately it was the wrong time of year for the most well-known of Madeira's breeding birds, the Zino's Petrel, but we did see the other major endemic, Trocaz Pigeon, and the Madeiran races of Chaffinch, Firecrest, Buzzard, Grey Wagtail and Berthelot's Pipit as well as Spectacled Warbler, Blackcap, Whimbrel, Cory's Shearwater, the Atlantis race of Yellow-legged Gull and Plain Swift. We soon got used to the daily 10-15km walks and enjoyed the contrast of the very scenic coastal paths and the internal walks through traditional Madeiran agricultural settlements and the native laurel and heather forests. Food was so-so (often a choice of fried fish or beef) but we were introduced to a great fruit with the English name "Custard Apple" - definitely recommended if you come across it...!