We left Sagres on Friday morning and got on the autoestrada north toward Lisbon. The autoestradas in Portugal are new, wide, and little traveled. There isn't much traffic because tolls are charged. We had an electronic reader, so we could zoom right through the toll checks. We stopped in Palmela for lunch at Pousada de Palmela. The Pousada is in a convent, in a castle at the top of a hill, overlooking the Tagus River and Lisbon just 15 km to the north. The setting is beautiful and the castle is well maintained. We had a nice lunch and then drove on to the airport.
We flew to Madeira, arriving just as the sun had set. We found our B and B, Quinta da Fonte, and were welcomed by Maria with glasses of silvestre liqueur. Quinta da Fonte is a beautiful old home built in 1850. Maria's family bought it in the 1990's and renovated it. They maintain it as a B and B, as their children are grown. The gardens are beautiful and they have their own chapel. The gate to the driveway is oh so narrow!
We went downtown Funchal on Saturday morning. Everyone was out and about! The local market was bustling, with local people selling flowers and fruits from their gardens. We then drove east on the southern coast to Ribiera de Brava, where we had lunch on the water. We drove up over Paul de Serra, one of the highest mountains on the island, on winding, curving barely two lane roads that we sometimes shared with buses. We drove down the north side of the island through a lush valley and on to Porto Moniz, a pretty town with a series of natural pools where people swim, at the base of town. We drove back east along the north coast to Sao Vicente, where we took the road south toward Funchal. We drove through miles and miles of tunnels and were amazed at the engineering. We stopped in Cabo do Lobos, a fishing and banana growing town that Winston Churchill frequented.
Madeira is a beautiful island, lush, green, terraced where you can't believe humans would go, as the island is very steep. It is also sophisticated and well tended.
