Levada Bridge Madeira MadeiraAday Hikes September 19, 2024 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. I discovered it by accident on my last visit and wanted to try a longer route I found on the map today. Unfortunately, the trail was closed just past the old bridge pictured below. Things not quite going to plan seems to be theme for this trip. Since the closure was less than a kilometer in, I decided to switch to another trail I'd done which was nearby. True to form, that path was also closed less than a kilometer in. However, a fork in the trail led me to the start of another, much longer, trail that I'll have to try while I'm here. Ponte do Pisão
Ocean Seems like hardly anything went to plan today, but it was all good in the end. Will retry a hike up in the hills tomorrow, but for today here's a photo from the oceanfront path that's just a block or so from my apartment.
Flowers Today's highlight are these flowers on a big tree I passed walking into downtown Funchal. It must have been flowering for a while, since some of the flowers have turned into "fruit" the size of an olive. I believe these will grow to be about the size of a tennis ball, if I'm remembering correctly.
Balcony View I just arrived back in Madeira, so it's start of my new Madeira-a-day challenge. I'm going to post a picture every day I'm here, for the next 30 days before I leave. The first picture is easy. I just checked in to the apartment I'm renting and this is the view from the balcony off the bedroom.
Birch Trail One of my favorite close-in hikes in up Holman lane and down Birch Trail. You can extend it if you want with several different options to get back to your starting point. In late summer, the light in the afternoon is always very beautiful.
Roots This was one of my favorite tree photos, with the dense tangle of roots holding the stump in place on a steep bank. This tree is along a trail in Washington Park near the Redwood grove which has since been closed.