Located in the North Atlantic is a small cluster of Islands, with the largest of the sleepy Islands known as Madeira.

Madeira, with it's capital of Funchal, is a beautiful volcanic island belonging to Portugal since it's discovery in the 1400's. With it's warm climate year round, sometimes known as the 'Island of eternal Spring', it seemed like the perfect escape for a few days in March!

(Above, Atlantic Ocean from Baia Azul Hotel, Funchal) Roscatography ©

London Luton Airport seems to be the up-coming airport for cost effective flights over recent months, having both a great selection of flight times and destinations; the great things about Luton is that for early morning flights, it is a straight forward drive down the M1, which at 3am, is usually pretty quiet!


Leaving home, it was -6 degrees with ice warnings, so it was well timed to be flying off to temperatures in the high teens.

Madeira was only planned as a short break, but there was so much variety when searching up accommodation and where to stay on the Island; one of the main reasons I resonated with Madeira was because of it's sleepy Mediterranean vibes and it's green, vibrant landscapes. Whilst the Eastern side of the Island offered more rustic accommodation in the mountains where the hiking and views are phenomenal, transport at the time seemed limited so car hire would likely be required.

Weighing up the time, I decided to book us a seafront hotel just outside the capital city of Funchal, only a 30 minutes bus route from Christiano Ronaldo Airport (of course named due to the footballer).  We stayed at Hotel Baia Azul in the Sao Martinho district, a 40 minute walk in to the capital which could be taken along the roads or down the seafront.

The hotel itself was spacious, with multiple decks, restaurant balcony, a spa area and was very clean. One thing I always look for when booking a B&B is at their breakfast, and the buffet style served each morning catering for many guests, though commercial, was tasty and provided a lot of variety for preference and diet.

I did initially book a balcony room with sea view, though on arrival we were given a room that had a view of a wall; I did have to contest this and provide proof three times of my original booking to get this sorted, but the hotel did offer us a choice of a balcony room or free evening meal passes to pacify the mix-up.

(Above, Baia Azul balcony Below, Jardim Quinta Magnolia, Funchal) Roscatography ©

This time our trip abroad, heading off with my girlfriend Tasha, was a little more about having some downtime and relaxation; I genuinely don’t think I have ever checked in to a hotel and just gone and sat out on a deck chair for an hour with a drink, so doing this was a first!

Though I do enjoy relaxing and being present, I tend to be more in a form of waking mindfulness when travelling; I like to be off exploring and experiencing whilst I am there, but not to a degree where an entire itinerary was planned, so Madeira was a nice test of being able to keep that balance.

The first day, just as with many other landing days, was mostly spent walking the seafront, exploring Funchal and soaking up the sun on our faces; back home it still hadn’t risen much above freezing!
 
Funchal as a city has a lot to offer in terms of variety; shopping malls, open air markets and a wide variety of restaurants serving all manner of food, especially seafood.

(Above Left, Teleferico Do Funchal, Above Right,  Monte Palace, Monte District) Roscatography ©

Having two full days in Madeira, we decided to explore the surroundings of Funchal on the first day, and look at planning an excursion to see more of the Island on the second day, all keeping the leisurely pace!
 
To start with on the first day after a chilled out morning, we planned to visit the Parish of Monte, easily reachable on the Teleferico do Funchal cable car, located on the sea front. Funchal has one of the seven cable cars dotted around the Island of Madeira, with two in Funchal which take you to two different districts and gardens; the tropical gardens of where we were heading, and a second to the botanical gardens.
 
I’ve never been a fan of heights, especially where I can see direclty downwards or I swing, but I don't let that stop me doing things.
So you can probably guess a 15 minute trip in a suspended glass box elevating to a height of over 560 metres travelling no less than a distance of 3500m didn't fill me with joy! Tasha has a video somewhere of my pain, suffering and sweating as we ascended, which I always find the worst part.
 
I guess if you always kept your feet on the ground you would never appreciate the view!

Now, if you decide to visit Monte Parish, which has a lovely little village set behind the cathedral, there is a separate cable car a short walk away that takes you to the Botanical Gardens. If you wish you head back down to the city, a return ticket on the cable car is an option, or… you could use a toboggan!
 
This tradition means of downhill transport in Madeira is a ride in wicker toboggan basket, which you can still hop on for 3km to take you half way back down to the city! They can reach speeds of 30kmh on a good run, so hold on tight!
 
I was gutted to find that the toboggan rides are not open on some days, especially surprised as we visited over a weekend, so it’s worthwhile checking times if this is something you are planning to do!
 

(Above, Jardim Da Botanica Madeira) Roscatography ©

 The Monte Palace Tropical Gardens is certainly worth a visit for the experience, even if you are not a botanist, and is easily accessible on the Funchal Cable Car

The garden has over 1000 species of plants from all over the world, as well as a number of birdlife that call the gardens home; this includes Swans, waterfowl, peacocks and resident Pink Flamingos which were a surprise to see when turning a corner!
 
Aside from walking around the gardens, where there is many different cultural influences, from Japanese to European, there is the Monte Palace Museum with three separate exhibits, the most memorable for myself being the ‘Africa Passion’, which showcases many soapstone sculptures primarily from Zimbabwean culture, but from many other African countries.
 
A second exhibit is Mother Natures Secrets, a small cavern of over 1000 minerals and semiprecious stones from all over the world, including around 300 semiprecious stones (if you like your healing crystal, make sure you pay a visit!)

The Greenhouse is a lovely restaurant located at the top entrance to the gardens just above the museum that serves lovely home made food, cakes and a selection of drinks too! 

(Above, Flamingos at Jardim Botanica da Madeira, Below, Camara Des Lobas)

 Funchal is in a sense a typical European city where lots are accessible to you, including tour operators and excursions, so there are plenty of options to choose from.
 
The waters off of Madeira are excellent for whale watching and dolphin spotting, something I could do 10x over and never get board. I have been very fortunate to off seen Orca, Humpback and Pilot Whales on tours before, and whilst I hope that doesn’t sound like I would take that for granted, we decided to book something we had not done before to see more of the Islands interior.
 
So we booked a jeep safari!

There are a variety of the type of safari you can do, from vineyards and wine tasting, to visiting the banana factory (gutted this excursion was fully booked, they have interactive bananas there!) and exploring different areas of the islands. If stopping for longer, there are full and half day tours which cover the East and West separate, which look very different from each other and certainly appealing to do.
 
Our choice was a surprise vineyard tour (I don’t drink alcohol, and haven’t for many years, so I forgot the etiquette when whisky tasting not to shot it!) followed by visiting certain view points of the famous valleys on this side of the Island, including The Valley of The Nuns; I don’t know too much of the history here, but from what I read it has a link to those that hid from piracy, and was quite a strategic point in years gone by.

Our first stop before heading through the Vineyards was to Camra de Lobos, a small fishing village and a favourite haunt of Winston Churchill (there is a bronze statue of him located in the centre of the village, sat outside his favourite shop).
 
I do remember us stopping at small local bar to taste Poncha, a traditional maderian drink commonly brewed by the fisherman, containing a combination of rum, honey and citrus fruits (I can see we have a pirate link here too!)

The off-roading experience was very cool, taking you over ramps and dips at some speed, whilst the guide stopped at intervals to talk about some of the plant life, how the vineyards work in terms of seasons and ownership and also about the wide range of eucalyptus which is grown in Madeira, something I did not expect to see there.
 
There are a few times I nearly bounced out the back of the truck, but all good fun!
 

(Above, Boca da Corrida Viewpoint over the Valley of the Suns) Roscatography ©

Madeira was a complete contrast to the last trip abroad to Iceland, and though sometimes often overlooked as a place for older generations to travel to for timeshares, there was a charm and warmth about Madeira, not just in the climate, but of the place itself.

The Island offers so much on a very affordable budget, accommodation, tours and eating out is not expensive, yet that does not mean to suggest you would skimp on quality.

Whether you wish to enjoy a few days relaxing on a volcanic sea front or explore the mountains and caverns that the interior of madeira offers for the hikers and explorers, there sure is something for everyone.

I for one will certainly be heading back one day, with a good pair of hiking boots!

(Above, Street Art in Funchal, Below, Praia Formosa, Funchal) Roscatography ©