Today was a gentle stroll compared to the other walks we have done whilst we have been here. The walk is known as the Valley of the nuns. It is a steep sided deep valley about an hour's bus ride from Funchal. As it is served by a good bus service we decided to do this walk ourselves. A regular bus, number 81, goes hourly from the Funchal bus terminus adjacent to the cable car station. As this is a very popular easy walk the bus was full and waiting to go. Unfortunately we had no cash on us and expected the bus to take card payment. Everywhere else in Europe we have traveled the buses are fitted with a tap and go. As we climbed the steps of the bus I pulled my magic plastic payment device from my wallet only to be greeted by a shaking of the head from the driver. "No card" he said in a practiced voice. "ATM there" and pointed to the far side of the bus station. It was 6 minutes to 10 and the bus was scheduled to leave at 10 precisely. "Have we time" I said and he responded with a smile and a hunch of his shoulders. He slowly leant over the steering wheel to get a better view of our dash to the cash machine. The people on the bus (mostly international tourists) looked on and tutted in annoyance at our ineptitude for not checking the procedure prior to boarding the bus. Quickly we dashed to the machine only to be intercepted by a German tourist who got there before us. He took what seemed an age and I was just going to break international relations and shout at him when he collected his cash and moved aside. Quickly we acquired our cash and ran back to the bus just as he was closing the doors. He looked at us dismayed through the glass and again opened them for us. We had won the race.
His face when I presented him a 50 euro note in exchange for a 6 euro ride was a picture. He searched every one of his pockets for enough change before reluctantly handing it to me with the tickets and a disgruntled scowl. We had won the race and the war. Job done!
The ride was interesting as he manoeuvred the 54 seater bus along roads designed for small carts and donkeys. The roads were steep and tortuous with steep drops on either side but in fairness he was an amazing driver and certainly knew his craft.
We arrived at the start of the walk without incident. It is a cafe, hotel and gift shop all rolled into one on the edge of a huge cliff about 1500 feet from the valley floor. The road ends here so the driver executed an amazing three point turn before continuing to back track his route to the valley below. At the end of the walk we would catch this same bus back to Funchal. The valley of the nuns is famous for chestnuts. The gift shop and cafe reflected this in its souvenir and culinary offerings. You could have anything as long as it was made from chestnuts. Chest nut coffee, chestnut cake. Chestnut biscuits. Roast chestnuts, boiled chestnuts, chestnut soup. The list seemed endless.
(I don't have a good relationship with chestnuts. I was dramatically Ill several years ago in Rome after eating chestnuts from a street vendor at the Spanish steps. I don't want to be too graphic but the end result was not pretty and involved a lot of laundry and clean bed sheets. All in a very posh hotel. I have never been so Ill and embarrassed at the same time. I am still emotionally damaged from the incident. Enough said.)
In an attempt to make good the broken relationship between chestnuts and myself I had a chestnut biscuit and Crispy had the chestnut cake. Gluten free of course. Whilst eating our chestnut feast I dropped some crumbs on the floor. We were immediately surrounded by hundreds of gecko. The floor was alive with the tiny lizards fighting for the crumbs. We have never seen so many and it was a lot more fun than feeding the birds.
After finishing our snack (for the faint hearted there are no horrible after effects developing) we made our way to the viewpoint before commencing our descent down the trail that leads to the valley of the nuns.
The valley takes its name from an incident that occured in 1566. The island was attacked by a vicious french pirate and to save themselves and their gold the nuns from the convent of St Clara retreated to the valley and formed a new settlement. Legend states that the gold they secreted here has never been found. On this trip we didn't find any of the gold or any nuns. Which is lucky as I find nuns a bit creepy.
The path winds its way down the steep sided valley to the small town of Curral das Freiras. A small village at the end of the valley. There is not much here if truth be known with the exception of a couple of cafes selling chestnut based foodstuffs and little else. The path takes one and a half hours to complete and is a steep but easy descent. It's short but the views are spectacular. We avoided any chestnut based goodies and had a beer instead. After our brief rest we caught the next bus back to Funchal. It was a different driver which is a shame as I was going to use the remaining 50 euro note I had saved.
Back to Funchal and dinner. Tomorrow is another busy day with our last remaining Levada walk. I'll get Crispy tucked up in bed with a bottle of pop and packet of crisps in readiness as it's a long walk tomorrow.
Bare and Crispy signing off Funchal. Madeira
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