14th of October 2023 - West Madeira Tour

We were unable to visit Porto Moniz due to wildfires but were very fortunate to see much of the rest of the west of Madeira.  There was visible smoke at certain places we visited and we could also sometimes smell the smoke.

Our first visit of the day was to the Cabo Girão cliff skywalk which is the highest cliff skywalk in Europe.  The skywalk is made of transparent glass to provide views to visitors.

We then drove to Ribeira Brava with its local church “Igreja de São Bento“.

Ribeira Brava's namesake, the Ribeira Brava ravine and river valley, empties into the Atlantic ocean along the village's coast.  We could hear the pounding of the surf.

Afterwards we went inland to see spectacular views over the mountain peaks and the deep valleys surrounding Paul da Serra.  On days with good visibility it is possible to see the sea from Paul da Serra however this was not possible with the smoke from the wildfires.

We did however find many examples of indigenous vegetation in this area.

We ended our trip around western Madeira in the fishing village of Câmara de Lobos.

Decades ago Câmara de Lobos was the home of the monk seal (also known as the sea-wolf) and this is where its name comes.  We could see an interested representation of the monk seal which is made from recycled material.

The black scabbard fish is caught by local fishermen but at night.  They play cards during the day.

Câmara de Lobos still had many of their decorations up after their recent festival of the black scabbard fish.

On Madeira they make agricultural use of even the steepest of land by farming on terraces.

After a very hot day sightseeing it was great to go for a swim in the hotel pool.