Madeira is my family’s second home, and we are so very lucky.
From wherever I stand on this paradise island, I find myself drinking in the beauty like it is vital hydration, quenching an extensive thirst. My eyes greedily and tirelessly swim the great expanse of ocean over and over as I’m surrounded by clear blue waters and the white froth of the breaking waves. This fertile green land reminds me much of Te Fiti if you’re familiar with the movie Moana? She surges up from the ocean floor and protrudes into the depths of the limitless sky – and from your place on the sloping rock face, it’s like resting on the shoulders of God herself.
Mountainsides are littered with bright terracotta pitched roofs and banana trees, and every corner turned brings a new vista to marvel. And perhaps my favourite standing, the one that clears my mind and fills my body with peace and gratitude, is to be above the clouds. Climbing the shoulders to reach the collar, suspended there, looking down on creation – as it was intended, in all its fullness. Clouds, mountains, land, and sea. And Me.
If you’re planning a trip to Madeira, I feel ecstatic for you. My children are 15 and 12 and are a lot easier to organise and motivate now. It’s a perfect adventure holiday for families with kids who are out of pushchairs – but there is also plenty to do with younger children. The sand beaches with shelving waters at Machico and Calheta are great for keeping them entertained. and pretty much all the resorts and facilities are family friendly. But If you can, hire a car and explore! Here are my top ten favourite, soul-drenching things to do:
- Bask amongst the drifting clouds at Pico do Arieiro – the third highest peak in Madeira, and let the views free your mind and soul.
- Chase the sunrise at Ponta de Sao Lourenco. Set off 40 minutes before sunrise, take a torch, watch your step, and prepare to be in awe of what lays before you, as day breaks.
- Swim in the clearest of waters and set your eyes and heart on fire with the blazing sunset at Ponta Do Sol.
- Search for, and share your heart-space with Dolphins on a 2hr boat trip with madeirawindbirds.com. If there is any more space in that heart, you may be lucky enough to share it with a Whale.
- Indulge your senses in a multitude of colours, sights and smells at the Mercado dos Lavradores in Funchal. See the freshest fruit, flowers, fish, and an array of traditional Madeirense crafts and gifts. Go early morning to avoid the crowds, then grab a fresh coffee and pastry on your way out.
- Get your adrenaline pumping with a leap off the diving board at Funchal Lido Bathing Complex straight into the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s revitalising, energising and downright delicious.
- Be at one with nature, and get your steps in, on the 25 Fountains Levada trail – a 4.6km walk to a stunning lagoon formed by the waters that descend from the Paul da Serra plateau with more than 25 sources.
- Glide in still, natural rockpools at Porto Moniz (the North of the Island) to the backdrop of crashing waves and moody skies.
- Delight your airways and tickle your tastebuds, with a picnic in the fresh mountain air at Quinta Santo António da Serra.
- Bathe in the shelving bay and shallow waters and sink your toes in the sand, at Machico Beach.