a Drive Through The Island of Madeira
by Alexia Maes
Last June, we flew to the island of Madeira, also known as the Hawaii of Europe (but lucky for me, not quite as expensive). Looking out of the window on the plane whilst landing, I was already mesmerized by the landscapes. We hiked up the green mountains, walked by the ocean and got to enjoy the sight of an uncountable amount of flowers that decorated the entire island.
After reading a million articles about Madeira and watching an embarrassing amount of YouTube videos, we knew that this was going to be our next trip. We pulled the trigger and booked our tickets.
Nearly 2 months later, bags packed, camera gear in place, we were ready to go.
After a flight of about 5 hours and a landing that made me had to close my eyes for a bit, we landed on this little island in the Atlantic Ocean. We stepped outside of the airport and immediately stood eye to eye with its mountains and hills. I could barely contain my excitement.
We spent the first few days exploring the capital of the island, where our Airbnb was located at.
I would be lying if I didn’t say having dinner on a small table in a tiny, cozy street for just 10 euros (for 3 courses!!) wasn’t one of the highlights of our trip.
On our third day, we got to pick up our rental car, that we got to keep for the next 5 days. I was excited but so scared having read way too many articles and watched way too many videos about how dangerous and scary the roads in Madeira are.
Driving wasn’t all that bad, until you take a few wrong turns and your GPS makes you drive up roads you don’t even think you could walk up on. I thank god my boyfriend was driving because, I think if I was driving, we would’ve just rolled back down the hill, off the cliff and into the ocean.
Besides that, driving through the island was absolutely breathtaking. Each road came paired with a different view for you to enjoy. You could be driving alongside the ocean, on a road decorated with flowers or between 2 giant mountains. I cannot forget to mention the beautiful houses of the island, with its colorful front yards that were already a touristic attraction on its own.
On day 7, we went to explore the east side of the island, going into the mountains by the end of the day. We went to check out a folklore festival in a town called Santana, which was once again so gorgeous. We were enjoying our time there a bit too much that we forgot track of time.
Our last stop was going to be at the top of the mountains, where we wanted to watch the sunset. However, that didn’t turn out as expected as the sun was already starting to set when we were just starting our hike. Nonetheless, we decided to go up there anyway.
I’d never felt more peaceful in my life than I was feeling during this hike. There was not a soul around, and the only noise you could hear was the sound of a slight breeze and our breathing. The clouds were slowly passing us by, it was clear we weren’t going to make it to the top before sunset.
We walked a bit faster so that we could at least make it up there before it was completely dark. We arrived when there was just a line of pink/red color left in the sky. The view was the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen. The city lights seemed to be a million miles away. Standing there on top of a mountain, overlooking the entire island and the ocean, makes you realize how small you really are, it really puts your problems in perspective. We stood there for a while, watching the clouds pass by. For a moment, it felt like nothing mattered, as if the world, for once, was completely at peace.
That feeling quickly changed once we realized we had to walk back down in complete darkness, thank god cell phones have flashlights these days (wise lesson learned; bring a real flashlight with you whenever going on a sunset hike…). Needless to say, I was very glad once we got to the car.
We took a little pitstop back in the town of Santana, where we enjoyed the music of the festival that was still going on and sipped on a cocktail before heading back to our Airbnb.
The next day we sadly had to give the car back, which left us wandering around the capital for the last two days. We walked through the city and enjoyed a few drinks. To round our trip up, we went paragliding on our last day, where we got to enjoy the sights of the island for one last time.
I don’t think I’ve ever been as sad to leave a place as I’ve been with this one. There was still so much left to explore. I loved every bit of this trip. I loved the people, the island, the food and if I get the chance to return, I will undoubtedly.
