Bananas Madeira MadeiraAday Hikes October 7, 2024 The levada nearest to where I'm staying isn't the prettiest of them. Much of it is a bit suburban, but if you walk west, it quickly turns rural. It's still not very pretty, but there are occassionally some great views down to the ocean, and there are lots of banana plants. It often seems like every tiny bit of spare land around here is used to grow bananas. Walking through the banana farms
Up in the Trees Having been thwarted last week in my attempts to revisit a couple of trails I found in the hills above Funchal, I finally found one that was open and provided a considerable amount of “tree time.” Like most of the trails around here, this one follows an irrigation weir, known as a levada.
Levada Arch 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.
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.
Funchal City Square I haven't spent much time in Funchal's old town on this trip. I got to know it well on my last visit but this time I'm staying far west of town. I thought I would spend some time there today, to check out some shops.
Machico Madeira is actually pretty big. Much bigger than I realized before I visited the first time. That means there's a lot to see, but it also means you have to figure out how to get there. The town of Machico wasn't even on my radar before this trip, but I heard about it and figured out how to get there.