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Go West, Pecks, and A Little North (2/20/26)

Today Bob and I took a full-day Discover Madeira tour to the west and then north of the island. We had a full van of a driver and 14 guests.

We learned a little bit about Madeira. First, bananas are a main crop, and we saw banana trees all over the terraced slopes of the island. The bananas are only exported to mainland Portugal due both to limits of production and EU standards for size, etc of fruit. Sugar cane is also a main crop, and we saw lots of eucalyptus and then laurel trees, one variety of which provides the bay leaf for cooking.

It is also an island of tunnels, with almost 200 on the island to facilitate transportation. We had 8 stops during the tour.

A photo from the bus to show the terraced slopes of banana trees
The red flowers are pointsettias

Stop 1: A viewpoint of the fishing village, Pico Da Torre

Pico Da Torre from above
Another view
The fun looking, curved plant is aptly named a Swan’s Neck

Stop 2: A pay to view stop at Cabo Girao. There is a glass floor viewing platform here.

The sign at the entrance
Looking down the cliff through the glass platform
Looking across the coast from the viewing platform
A view from the van showing a couple of the many tunnels

Stop 3: The small, pretty community of Ribiera Brava.

Looking back towards the town center from nearer the coast
The tourist office in a plaza near the coast
Natural beach umbrellas on the small public beach
A pretty church in the terraced town

Stop 4: We then drove to the top of the west part of the island to Fanal, which is a UNESCO site to help preserve the native laurel trees.

A view of us above the clouds
A caldera at the top of the mountain

Stop 5: A brief photo stop at the Ribeira Da Janela, as we came back down the mountain before reaching our long stop for lunch

The phot-op plaza

Stop 6: A 1.5 hour stop at Porto Moniz in the north of the island. This town is known for its rock with a window and its natural pools.

The rock with the window
The public natural pools
The black basalt rock and gorgeous blue water
Private natural pools in front of a brew house where we had lunch
Looking over the sea walk towards the public pools
A waterfall near the town aquarium

Stop 7: A photo-op of a waterfall near Seixal, also along the north coast

The bride’s veil waterfall
The view in the opposite direction

The 8th stop was another photo-op of a waterfall, this time near Sao Vicente

2 replies on “Go West, Pecks, and A Little North (2/20/26)”

Looks beautiful, lots of green Hope the weather is kind to you. Sorry to hear Bob is troubled with his hip, wishing him well with a steady wind at his back 😁👍

S.J.B

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It is a gorgeous island. The van tour worked well for getting us both out to see more of it without too much strain on his hip. We have an appointment with orthopedist when we get back to see what the diagnosis is.

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