Proteas Madeira Bloomscrolling February 2, 2025 I'm back in Madeira again and staying in Machico, a town I discovered last time and fell in love with. On Saturdays they have a small farmers market in the plaza near the beach. One stall had buckets full of these flowers that I later found out were proteas. They looked like artichoke blooms or something thistly at first, but the stems told me they were from a different family. The birds of paradise add a splash of color to the arrangement. Proteas and Birds of Paradise
Goodbye Madeira Welp, it's time for goodbyes, for now. It's been a great month, with some very memorable sights. The weather has also been so good it's almost too good to be true, but I can tell the seasons are changing. Temperatures are getting a little cooler, rain is more likely, although it remains sunny most of the time.
Cat III Along the Lido promenade, near the old coal warehouse, there's a feeding station for stray cats. Naturally, it's quite a popular place, and you'll find cats congregating around there in the morning, when the food is stocked up. Afterwards, the bushes behind the fence along the cliff ar full of cats soaking up the sun after eating.
Up Today didn't turn out as planned, but that's not a bad thing at all. The plan was to check out Caniçal, which is the next big town east of Machico. I liked Machico so much, I thought the city next door might be just as charming, and both have access to some good trails.
Beach Waterfall I only have a few days left here on Madeira and was taking a walk along Formosa beach this morning when I came across this lovely little waterfall cascading over the cliff and onto the beach. The walkway is elevated at this point, so the water flows under the path and into the sea.
Pico Alto Trail Another picture from Caminho Real de Monte, also known as trail PR3.6. About two-thirds of the trail is more or less stairs made from small stones. The last section before you reach the top of Pico Alto is a more traditional trail through a rocky landscape.