Docked right on time, and then some issue with gangways, but we’re off the ship and headed into town by 8:20. We have a car booked and our plans are to drive at least halfway around the island to seaside town of Sao Vincente on the Northern side of the island. Ed has found a restaurant there for lunch, so we will leisurely make our way there along the coast.
Finding the car is easy – it’s closer than the city center, up the large hill that faces the pier. And we luck out and get the closest pier to town – so that saves at least 10 minutes in walking.
The car is ready, but we actually upgrade to a better car for 9 euros – and end up with a Volvo reminiscent of the one we had in Oregon and Washington. It’s a diesel, so its better on mileage, and it’s an automatic (which we didn’t have booked before). It’s cool too, because it shuts itself off instead of idling, then turns itself back on when you hit the gas. Neat.
We head out to the west of the island, setting our sites on the view point above Camara de Lobos. Just something I read about, and something to waste some time on the way to lunch. It’s a nice diversion with good views, up on the hills over the fishing village of Camara de Lobos.
We manage to make our way out of the viewpoint (these roads are tricky!) and back up onto the highway before turning off on local roads along the seacoast for our tour of Madeira. The scenery is fantastic. Craggy cliffs and mountains, lots of terracing cut into the hillsides.
We drive down to the beach area and around round-abouts and little villages, stopping occasionally to snap some shots.
We have to keep changing the destination for Alice so we can get all the way around the island without her usual tricks. We head to Ponta do Pargo to avoid going inland through the Nature Parque and somehow make it there with only one wrong turn. We’re at the westernmost point of the island, where a small little lighthouse stands guard over some spectacular coastal scenery.
Turning Northward, we start to climb up switchback little roads, through teeny villages and into a forest that reminds us of Asheville. Tall trees, winding roads, we could be on Town Mountain road if we didn’t know better. There are cows on the side of the road…
…and the feeling that you’re miles away from anyone and anything. It’s cooler up here too, and it’s been raining, which gives a really fall feeling to the air. We stop at a little picnic area for a break – too bad we don’t have picnic food, this would be the perfect place. It’s so quiet here, no one around, just us and the trees and the running water.
As we crest the end of the island and move toward the East, the trees disappear and we are rewarded with wonderful views of towns nestled down by the shoreline. It’s a beautiful day and the towns and villages look so lovely. In particular Porto Moniz, situated way down at sea level.
Turns out, that’s where we’re heading. We’re up so high in the hills, but the road winds its way down to the shore, and we drive through the little resort community and into the tunnels. We are now calling this the island of tunnels. They are everywhere. All throughout the island – obviously a better way to get around the mountains and hills are to go inside them – but really, there must be hundreds if not thousands of tunnels on this island. From Porto Moniz to Sao Vicente alone there are at least 20.
Ed successfully navigates through them all, as we stop along the way to take pictures of natural waterfalls along the side of the road and wonderful coastal scenes.
We arrive in Sao Vincente with the barest of directions. We make a couple of wrong turns but end up where we need to be for Taberna Sao Vicente – a popular restaurant that got good TripAdvisor reviews. There is parking right across the street, but as we walk up to the doors, we realize it is closed. And not just closed today, but shuttered up and closed and gone. Bummer! The For sale sign (Aluga se) should have been our first clue.
Luckily enough, the restaurant is located near the seaside promenade with other eating choices. It’s a short walk to the waterfront where we peruse a couple of menus and choose Vila Vicente Restaurant because the guy outside tells us the plates are big – not small, big! Ok! They have a lovely balcony overlooking the water, so how can we go wrong?
And we don’t! Ed gets the seafood soup as a starter – and yes it is BIG! – and then he gets the grilled espada (that ugly fish that tastes so good!) and I have the espada with banana (weird, but hey, banana!).
It is all totally yummy! And really quite inexpensive for being right here on the water. After lunch we walk around this little park by the car – great views.
Then back we head to Funchal. This time we take the inland route, through more tunnels and with lots of mountain scenery.
The whole place reminds us of Hawaii. The roads like the Road to Hana, the mountains like the big island, the tunnels and roads through the mountains like the Pali highway on Oahu. It’s very beautiful and very familiar somehow.
We zig zag our way through town, get turned around because we can’t take a left into the street where we need to drop the car, but finally figure out our way back and deposit the car safely. Then onto a pub for afternoon beverages and wifi – and back to the ship to begin our long stretch of 7 sea days!
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