Levada Arch Madeira MadeiraAday Hikes September 27, 2024 There's a levada (small canal or weir for water) way up the hill from where I'm staying. I explored part of it earlier in the week. I wasn't too impressed but decided to take another look. As is often the case with such things, the path became much more interesting just past the point where I turned back before. The waterway hugs the side of a hill and goes through farms as well as some wide vistas of the ocean below. At one point, the canal is crossed by this rough stone arch that supports a path going further up the hill. Stone arch over a weir
Levada Bridge One of the top reasons I'm liking Madeira so much is that I can walk along the ocean one day and then hike up in the forests the next. All without a car or a long commute. I had planned on redoing this walk along the Levada dos Tournos today.
Spooky House The area where I'm staying west of central Funchal is very new, full of modern hotels and apartment blocks. But, as in almost any neighborhood around the world, there's always that one house. This place is probably close to 100 years old.
Sunrise with Cruise Ship Walked east instead of west this morning and caught the sun just above the horizon as a cruise ship was pulling into the harbor. When I was here in the spring, there was a cruise ship in town almost every day, but now that the season is winding down, it seems there's only one ship a week.
Camara de Lobos The “traditional fishing village” of Camara de Lobos is just a three kilometer walk along an ocean path from the apartment where I'm staying. Since it is so close to Funchal, the place is a bit more touristy that they would have you believe, but it still retains a lot of charm, and with it so close it makes a good morning walk before I get online for work.
Boys Will Be Boys It seems that every time I find myself along the ocean walk when the sun is out, I see people, mostly teenage boys, on the rocks below. They're usually practicing dives if they're not just sunning themselves. Today, I noticed several people (again, mostly boys) on these rock outcrops.