Far over the misty mountains

 

Madeira, as mentioned previously, has always been on our radar as a place to visit. Like many other places on our fantastic planet you just need the impetus to arrange it. Crispy's comment by the fire a few weeks ago was enough to spur me to action to visit this amazing island.  It is famous for its spectacular mountains and interior and as Crispy loves mountains it was always going to be an option. Some friends of ours recently came here and really enjoyed it. 

We arrived last night and by the time we had got from the airport to our accomodation it was getting late and we just kicked back and relaxed in our lodgings.  We are staying in an old winery right next to the Citadels. Four apartments spread over three floors in a cavernous old building. The apartment is bigger than our little  hovel back home  and has everything we could need.  Due to arriving late we haven't had time to check out the neighbourhood. We are here for a week so I'm sure we will get chance between our planned itinerary to get to know the place.

Today was day one and I had planned the most strenuous adventure from our list of activities to get old Crispy off to a flying start. Apart from our regular weekly badminton sessions we have been pretty sedentary back in old Blighty so I wanted to get crispy moving as quickly as possible. I really don't want the old bird getting comfy and seizing up. Plus there's always the chance that if I give her to much time to contemplate something energetic  that she will try and wriggle out of it. 

Today we were going to climb the highest peak on Madeira, Poco Ruivo. A 6106 ft high volcanic peak in the middle of the island. It is situated away from any public transport routes and is not possible as a circular route. As such I chose a guided walk that included transport to and from the mountain. We have never done a guided anything in the past and as such were a little trepidatious. We are naturally free spirits when it comes to adventuring but there was no way to complete this endeavour without transport. As it turned out it was amazing. It required an early start to be at the pick up point at the required time. We were due to be picked up by mini bus at 08:05 from the main shopping complex. A 6 minute walk from our accomodation. Not by any means an ungodly hour but as we know Crispy does not like prising her derier from a mattress before mid morning. After several attempts I managed to rouse her from her pit and we made the connection without issue.

It was an eclectic mix of people in our group. Maltese. Nederlanders. German and Belgians. All were very friendly and welcomed us aboard our transport to the mountains. The journey took about an hour to reach our start point at around 4000 feet at the military radar station on Pico Do Aireiro.

Julia, our guide gave the obligatory safety drill and before long we were all striding out along the mountain trails.  Today was the only day for our week in Madeira that was forecast to be cloudy but as we were now above the cloud base the sky was azure blue and the temperature well above 20 degrees. Perfect conditions. The mountain gods must have known crispy was coming and provided amazing weather. The conditions on any mountain can change rapidly so we had all the gear for any eventuality but the conditions were perfect for the start of our little excursion. 

The trails are well defined and mostly easy walking. The path traverses ridges and goes through several long tunnels as it winds its way across the peaks. Starting at 4000 feet it doesn't take much math to calculate that a further 2000 feet of ascent is required to make the final summit. Crispy loves mountains but absolutely hates the going UP. She covered the distance and was amazing with no tantrums or significant grumbling. The final push to the summit is a long 700ft ascent on rough stone step and metal ladders and this did cause a little dissent but being the trooper she is she soldiered on with only the minimal expletives and hard scary glances in my direction.  

The walk was incredible with spectacular views over the island and no real trauma or incident. Just before gaining the summit the altitude and tiredness kicked in and she missed her footing. Not a bad fall more of a graceful crumbling to the ground. I thought she was going to roll over and say with a sad expression "leave me here. You go on. Race for the summit, save yourself and do it for the team"  but instead in true mountaineering spirit she pulled herself up, dusted herself down, and without a word and with  fixed determination trudged on. 

The summit was gained and our work was done. There is a shelter at the summit that doubles as a bar. I always tempt Crispy with the promise of a bar or ice-cream shop on every summit we climb. It's usually a lie to spur her on but in this case it was true. She was as happy as a little sand boy and We celebrated with a beer as we reviewed our success. 

From the summit it is a simple 1 mile descent to the nearest road head where our transport back to sea level awaited us.

It was a fantastic day with views that are beyond description. We both really enjoyed it. It would be pointless to try and give descriptions of the scenery so I have included LOTS of pictures and even these don't do the area justice.

Tomorrow is a free day so I am hoping to get Crispy on one of those sleds that run down the steep cobbled streets of old Funchal. She is so excited she can hardly sleep. There is a cable car that runs up to the start of the sled run but I might keep that a secret as she enjoyed yesterday's climb so much 

Bare and Crispy signing off Funchal. Madeira