We missed the stop in the Azores but were delighted to arrive on the tenth day in Madeira. I woke early before sunrise to see the first bit of land we encountered in our long Transatlantic crossing.
As a member of Cruise Critic I usually join the roll call for my voyage so I can check out any important information regarding our sailing. One of the members scheduled a tour for Madeira and I quickly signed us up.
We all met on deck five at 8am and our group was the first group off. We had a very nice group of six. Two couples and two singles. Our driver Daniel loves his country and was a very enthusiastic and entertaining guide.
Our first stop was Camara De Lobos, with a beautiful view of the coast. We stopped a looked around the fishing village and saw a statue of Winston Churchill.
We traveled on to Cabo Girao also on the south coast.
A few kilometers ahead we stopped at picturesque Ribeira Brava before heading into the mountains.
We made several stops in the mountains and at one point we could see both the north and south sides of the island.
Large mountains loomed everywhere and long tunnels extended up to two miles through the mountains. Remnants of the old roads were still visible and they looked quite treacherous.
We stopped for lunch at an ocean view restaurant in Porto Montez. We ate fish and fried banana. It was delicious.
The north side of the island had beaches and man made tidal pools where people were actually swimming.
Heading back to port we stopped at several overlooks on the north side seeing magnificent waterfalls.
Our trip back to port was much shorter since we took a quicker leases scenic road. The entire trip was from 8:30 until 3:30, a long day with a cost of only 27 Euros per person.
#Madeira. #Salgueiro. #
thefouramigosblog 