We booked on a coach tour which took us around the most scenic parts of the north and west area of Madeira island. We were picked up from outside our hotel and transported to the most amazing places. Throughout the tour we were given a lot of information about the area by the driver.The scenery was a mixture of unspoiled natural beauty with forests, sea, mountains , waterfalls and charming villages.
One of the pleasant small towns we stopped at was Ribeira Brava. Here we saw the lovely church of St Benedict dating from the 16th century. Inside there is a rich collection of scuplture and paintings. The wooden statue of Our Lady was made by craftsmen from Flanders. There is also a delicate wood carving depicting wild animals. The traditional blue painting on white tiles depicts Our Lady of Fatima. In the centre of the nave is a magnificent chandelier. I thought that the blue and white tiles at the top of the clock tower were most striking (excuse the pun!)
We were taken to a small banana plantation and, at the end. it seemed that there was nothing we didn’t know about the complex process of growing bananas! Many of the inhabitants have their own small plots near to their homes and the produce is sold to a cooperative.
We stopped at Cabo Girao, where you walk onto to a suspended glass platform overlooking the sea. At an altitude of 589 mettes it is the highest promontory in Europe. From there you have an unparalleled panoramic viewpoint.
We then travelled to Porto Moniz where there were volcanic rock pools with people swimming in the deep blue water. We were given time to explore the charming little town and have some lunch. We sampled the local Madeira cake and wine – both delicious! I could have stood forever watching the white waves crashing against the rocks in that intense blue sea. beautiful!
