“When was the last time you did something for the first time?” ~Anonymous
Today we finally made it to one of Madeira's levadas. Levadas are man-made aqueducts and irrigation channels that date back to the early colonization of the island in the 15th century. They were built to supply water to sugar cane plantations. Today they are used for walking and are often surrounded by greenery and pass through different types of terrain. Madeira has around 200 levadas, totaling over 1,800 miles of channels that wind through the island's landscapes. We chose the Levada do Caldeirão Verde which translates to Levada of the Green Cauldron. The green cauldron refers to the waterfall and pool at the end of the hike. Unfortunately we didn't make it that far. The hike is beautiful and fairly flat since it follows the levada.
We started the hike at the Queimadas house. The beginning of the trail is lined with hydrangeas and we followed the levada into the forest of cedars, beeches and laurels trees that make up Madeira's laurissilva forest. We were in a green paradise. Water is always present along the trail. It seeps out of the walls and feeds the levada. We saw a few waterfalls along the way, some even covered the trail.
The trail wasn't very crowded for the first mile or so. Then the tour buses must have shown up. It really isn't much fun to hike when the trail is packed. Especially a trail that is narrow making it impossible for two people to go by each other. We literally had to wait for people to come one way so we could go the other. Two miles in...we gave up and worked our way back to the car. The hikes here are breathtaking, but just not worth being in such a crowd. We were lucky and found a parking space in the lot near the trailhead. Some people had to park miles down the road, adding that much more to the long hike.
The Queimadas House.
Beautiful hydrangeas everywhere. They grow like weeds in Madeira.
Even though it wasn't raining...water was dripping from everywhere and the path was very wet.
This was the only incline on the hike.
Looking down on São Jorge.
The narrow path along the levada. In most places the mountain drops off sharply on the other side of the trail.
Waterfall on one side and a deep gorge on the other.
It's are to tell but the bottom of this gorge is WAY down there.
Beautiful scenery.
We were a bit surprised that we didn't see many birds or animals in Madeira. This was the only bird we saw. We did see sheep, dogs and cats.
Another waterfall.
Just a few of the many, many hikers we saw. This was not at the most crowded spot.
The view with our dinner. We sat looking down on São Jorge and the Atlantic Ocean.
One of our favorite things while we were in Madeira was meeting the people and hearing their stories. The couple who ran the Bolo do Caco Restaurant in São Jorge moved to Madeira from South Africa. The wife works the bar and waits on the tables and the husband develops the menu each day. He also does all the cooking. He personally came out and spoke to us to explain each item on the menu. It was very good, plentiful and inexpensive. The servings are so large we actually shared a meal. We had their version of a smash burger...close to a pound of angus beef, three cheeses, lettuce and tomato on bolo do caco. Better than any hamburger I've ever had.
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