This morning we did the last touristy “must do” and visited a Madeira Wine maker so by 11am I had seven and a half glasses of Madeira, the five given to me to taste and half of Gills. Drinking before lunchtime, my mother must be turning in her grave although she was rather partial to a glass of Madeira but normally at 5pm.
So what did we think of Madeira?
We came here after four weeks of poor weather at home, a last minute decision to find some sunshine. So what happened? The weather turned dry and sunny at home whilst in Madeira, though not pouring with rain or cold, was a little overcast and we did not risk going out without a waterproof. At this time of year the weather seems to be a bit unpredictable especially at the top of the mountains; locals say that if it is raining on one side of the island then the other side will be sunny which was true on some days but for perhaps half the time we were here the tops of the mountains were covered in cloud.
We were on the island for 14 days, two days longer than Churchill yet we found a 135 page book about his visit, I don’t think our holiday book will be much more than 20 pages. 10 – 14 days is about the right length of time, we have done all the must do sites and a good selection of walks all of which were fine.
In 2020 we spent five weeks on La Palma but did not get bored, I am not sure we would enjoy such a long stay on Madeira as there does not seem to be the variety of walking or places to visit, although of course on a longer stay you get into a different routine.
Eating out was fairly cheap and generally a good standard so long as we avoided the very touristy places. The soups were good and most had an egg in the middle which was quite a nice addition, they also have an unusual type of bread called bolo do caco which used to be made from sweet potato but is now mostly from wheat. It is like a soft ciabatta and is great as a sandwich.
We ate in a nice beachside restaurant in Ponta do Sol on two occasions (pictured in the banner), a good lunch with a few drinks costs £30-35 for two of us so cheaper than at home and sitting next to the sea is always a plus in my book so long as it is not raining.
Almost everyone speaks English, probably because few people speak Portuguese and all were helpful and pleasant. A few minutes ago I was looking for a bottle of the Madeira we tasted this morning in the duty free, the chap serving me was very helpful and did not try to sell me something else, I am not sure that would be the case in the UK.
Most tourists were German rather than English but that might be a quirk of the relative covid rules in each country at the moment. On most days there were two large cruise ships in port which probably accounts for several thousand visitors who are doing the “Madeira in a day” tours. The exception to this were the gardens where almost all the visitors were British.
We were lucky to be staying away from the main tourist area which seems to be a long line of concrete hotels with small pebbly beaches and not much to do in the surrounding area, we don't understand the appeal of them, unless all you want to do is drink in "English" bars (yes we did spot an Irish Tavern), and eat dull food then they are the places to stay. Our little bay, shown above, with 10 assorted restaurants and bars was ideal once the day trippers had got back on their buses. But of course the high number of tourists means the island is easy and cheap to get to.
The roads are quick and efficient but Madeira is not cycle friendly, almost all routes go through a tunnel and cycling through would be suicidal. Before our holiday I did look for electric bike hire companies, now we know why there aren't any.
Would we return? Possibly, Madeira would not be very high on our list of places to revisit but there is nothing wrong with it and with easy walking and low cost flights it makes for nice break.