Last days on the island



Morning view of Madeira beaches

Our last full day in Madeira we decided to rent the cab again and hike to the east point. While the Lavadas were less than spectacular, the hike and the views from the point were very nice. My thighs were killing me by the end, since we had just climbed the peaks the day before. 

Hike out to the Lavadas point

We were lucky again, to make it out early in the morning so we could beat most of the travel groups. Plus it got very hot as the sun got higher, so we were happy to get our workout in, our pictures taken, and meet Pedro for our ride back to the hotel.

I - O - W - A

For lunch we went across the street to Monumental Grill for lunch. We had gone there on the recommendation of the cab driver the day before and watched another couple get the rice and seafood dish. It was very good and easy to eat after the morning excursion.  After we went to the black rock beach down the harbor and then to Real Canoa for the second time. So amazing!



Seafood and rice at Monumental Grill



Black rock beaches

Video of the Mixed Fish on the Stone dish at Real Canoa restaurant.

Pico de Arriero

The cab driver we met up with on Madeira offered to drive us to any place we wanted to go during our stay on the island. He seemed very knowledgeable and his English was very good, so on our third day we booked him for a trip to hike Pico de Arriero (second highest peak) to Pico Ruivo (highest peak).

Unfortunately his van broke down the day of, and he had to reschedule us with a different driver. This new guy was fine, not as talkative, but he would take us to the peak and pick us up 4 hrs later on the other side of the mountain. We drove up to the peak where he explained how beautiful and lush the island used to be, before a forest fire burned most of it away. Great....

Past the burned fields and forests, through wild eucalyptus trees, everything ringed by light purple and blue agapanthus flowers, he kept talking about the forest fires. I was getting a little disappointed and worried that the hike, which I had only briefly researched, was going to be a bust.

Top of Pico de Arriero

But it was amazing. The hike and the views were breathtaking. These pictures really don't do justice to the distance you could see. Most views showed the ocean at the very end, with valleys and peaks between. The wildflowers were amazing, they even have my favorite flower, the foxglove, growing wild along the hills.

Valleys to the sea

Mike enjoying the view

Wild flowers, sheer rocks, and mountains

Portuguese bee, hard at work

We got to the mountain early in the day, trying to beat most of the tour groups that we thought would 'clog' up the trails. There was one group of Australians that we stuck with most of the hike. The 'Mike' from their group took this picture after both our groups decided to take the longer route around the mountain. It was a pretty steep climb. At this point all of us were very out of breath from the kilometers of stair stepping we had to do over the boulders and up the trail. The whole trip was about 12k from start to finish.

It was especially good to get out early so that the clouds, which come in from the sea in the afternoon, were not out, giving us a clear view.

Mist starting to roll in

More mist rising

Wildflowers near the top of the mountain

Burned trees from the wildfires

View to the sea and villages on Pico Ruivo

It was very interesting at the end of our hike when we got to Pico Ruivo. There was a small house and many people walking around, but we couldn't find the taxis. We figured it had to be there somewhere, but we just couldn't see a road! Finally we found a guide to ask and he said it was still another mile away, down another trail. We had to speed walk to make our pick up time, but we made it! 

Down and up and up and down



An amazing climb!

Portugal trip 2012

Walking along the ocean in Madeira

In the spirit of our yearly European trip, we (and by we, I mean mostly me) planned and researched, and reviewed and investigated places to travel to. We decided on Portugal. Why? Well we had always wanted to go to Spain, but that is in a lot of turmoil right now, however we had always heard that Mike's grandfather, Papu, enjoyed Portugal. This summer I booked most of the trip and got everything in order. As I will describe, we had some bumps along the way, but in the end we had an amazing time and ate some really wonderful food. We both agree that the quality of the food throughout the trip was very consistent and high. 

Sunset over the north side of Madeira island

The schedule was to leave from Chicago, where we would be the weekend before hand with family, and travel to Madeira, an island colony off of the north of Africa for 4 days. We would then go back to the mainland and stay in Lagos, on the south coast of Portugal for another 4 days. Finally we would stay in the capital of Lisbon for the remaining 2 full days.   

View from our hotel

The bumps started a day before I left to join Mike in Chicago. I received an email that the third party company I had booked our hotel through (at this point I didn't even realize I hadn't booked through the actual hotel) had gone into bankruptcy and if we wanted to stay an our hotel, we would need to rebook and repay the full cost. Needless to say, I was very upset. We figured it was best to agree to the charge and get the payment back through our credit card. Worst case scenario we would be out some money, but still have a place to stay when we arrived with an upgraded room (since the hotel was very apologetic about the whole situation) 

First walk along the ocean

We flew through CDG Paris to Lisbon, where we found out that our bags had not made the connection and wouldn't make the flight to the island. Ok, second bump. 


Getting ready for dinner.... with new clothes since our bags never made it

Arriving into Madeira in the mid-afternoon, we spoke to the cab driver who agreed to take us on some tours in the coming week. We found the hotel and attempted to stay awake after the overnight flight. Thank goodness Delta perks got us into Business Class so we could get some sleep. But still no bags. We walked around the area and went to a restaurant for dinner with a ok food and a great view. We got back to the hotel to... still no bags. By 11:00pm the front desk called and said one of our bags had arrived. Unfortunately for Mike, it was my bag that arrived. 


Overlooking Funchal

Downtown Funchal

The next morning we took a day trip into Funchal. We did a little shopping, took the cable cars up to a Tropical Gardens, missed the first scheduled cab back to the hotel (third bump), but discovered a wonderful shellfish called Limpets because of it. 

Tropical gardens

1000 year old Olive Trees

Pictures of our travels through Funchal: Gardens, Cable car, Horse Fountain, Painted Door



 

       

Bolo (fried garlic bread) - a staple of Madeira

Getting back to the hotel that evening.... still no bag for Mike. Uh oh, fourth bump. We decided to get him a bunch of backup clothes since we still needed to go to dinner and he had been wearing the same clothes for 50+ hrs. We were just hoping that the bag would come in time for our hiking trip the next day. 

We went to the mall across the street and 20 minutes later returned to the hotel with.... Mike's bag waiting for us.

Fresh Mussels

Grilled Sardines

Grilled Limpets

We went out to dinner at an amazing place we happened to walk past and look up on TripAdvisor. They had a Mixed Fish on the Stone dish that was so good, we went back two nights later. The 'stone' is basically a super heated cast iron block that they sear the fish on in front of you. We had the mixed fish, which included salmon, octopus, swordfish, cod, and other local varieties. A very good find and evening, for a semi-rough start to the vacation :)  


Fish on the Stone and Steak Skewer at Real Canoa in Madeira

Baking Bread

For the past few months, I have been keeping some yeast I portioned off from my mom alive in my fridge. This requires weekly feedings to maintain the freshness. We went through some french breads and rolls, but I finally found something that makes not only beautiful, but really delicious bread.

The Dutch Oven Bread recipe that I have been consistently using is very easy and can be used with regular boxed yeast. I use an antique cast iron dutch oven that so far, has only had my bread in it. I think any deep pan would do just as well. I'm currently on the hunt for a smaller pot so I can make multiple loaves and give some of the bread to friends on weeks when I know we won't make it through the entire loaf.

Thank goodness that Costco makes 25lbs bags of flour, we go through a lot! Bought the air tight containers at Target, but still having trouble filling them. Perhaps a really large funnel.....



Beach Crazy

 Welcome to the Bahamas!

We spent and amazing vacation with my sister and her bf down on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. The beach was amazing. Just a short (steep) walk down a flight of stairs, to an almost private beach.

We grilled the fish that were caught during the deep sea fishing trip, hunted for sea glass, drank some Rum Bubbas, got eaten by the 'no see ums' bugs, played loads of cards, and had an amazing time!

Holiday Recipe Cards

Have you noticed a lack of holiday cards out there? Similar to my lack of blog posts, yes.

I made up some cards for the holiday for my aunts to sell in at a local Christmas Tree farm back in Wisconsin. I printed them out on colored stock paper and cut them out. Would be nice for a cookie recipe exchange or for holiday recipes.

Feel free to save them and print them off for your own personal use. Rights reserved ;-)

Happy Holidays!

Santa

Mrs Claus

Reindeer