“Machico, the world capital of trail running”, is written somewhere at a stand at the MIUT finish line. It might be a slight exaggeration, but it is not far from truth. In Funchal, for example, I saw the most runners on square meter from all the places I have visited in my life, and I think there have been at least 100 cities, towns, and villages. Many much bigger than Funchal. OK, Machico is not Funchal, and neither I have seen trail runner in the capital of the island, but what should we hit some details in developing the story behind the desire to return to Madeira. We have been there first time in September 2022 (story here) and loved it! But one week, was not enough. Not in order to enjoy it in full! While walking with Anca on the streets of Funchal runners passed us every single minute almost, and then it hit me: when is MIUT?
How our second trip to Madeira was “backed”
I heard about Madeira Island Ultra Trail, but I wasn’t sure when exactly this is taking place: April! End of April, normally last weekend. Now, for 2023 it was out of the question, but we agreed to come back here in April 2024. And so, while enjoying Madeira first time, we sealed the deal for a return. The return between 19th of April and 3rd of May 2024, just before the Orthodox Easter! Fast forward, now we are at the end of May 2024, and already devoured the full two weeks experience of the beautiful Portuguese island. Well, this time we had a grip on most of the archipelago, because Madeira is not the only island there, and we expanded our visiting portfolio. But one at a time!
Registration starts!
In October 2023, the registration for the MIUT was opening and my aim was the 60 kilometers race. Set my alarm to seal a spot, but had a call at 17:00, my hours, exactly then, so forgot about it, even the phone rang. The call lasted only 30 minutes, so no rush… But in fact, it was: all 400 slots were sold off in 24 minutes. 24 minutes!!! What a tragedy. I was furious, upset, angry. The sky was falling. There were still 100 slots to be won at a lottery but come on! My dream is slipping thru my hands. Lucky, MIUT organizers offer for each race a separate day, so in my grief, I’ve decided to take a chance for the 42k. It was the only option left now. But the registration process had many faults, and everything was dragged for two weeks. I won’t miss this one, at any cost! Set my alarm and waited.
Seven minutes for shaping my Madeira dream
It was early November, and the time comes. Not only I set the alarm, but I set in front of laptop, with my purchasing card out and waited. Refresh, refresh, refresh! It’s on! I am filling my details, sent, pay, everything is good! Three minutes or such. It looks that I was quick. Ha! Was I? Sven minutes for all 600 slots to evaporate! Seven minutes!!! I am not joking, this is what happened. I feel relieved, even it wasn’t the race I was aiming initially. Now I am following, the next day, same strategy, for Anca, and I manage to secure a 16k race spot for her as well. We are happy. The accommodation was already booked long before! How could it be any different, given the circumstances? One big regret here: our wonderful host from 2022 didn’t have availability for the whole period, so we needed to look for something else. Hearth-breaking, actually.
Forum Madeira Ocean View I
The ocean view we had back then was sublime… Now, we found something roughly similar, a bit better looking and bigger in size, with a decent ocean view, but from across the road. Not that majestic view we had… In the end, the accommodation was very nice, but commenced with a huge blow: the washing machine was broken, and I was under the impression that the hosts want to hide under the rug the issue. We insisted, and in the end we got the key issue solved. The name of the location is Forum Madeira Ocean View I. Our home for two weeks! Cannot state everything was missing, especially because we were, basically, accommodated inside the might Forum Mall, an open-air shopping center which integrates perfectly into the landscape. Friday afternoon, 19th of April. We are tired after our journey, but make a late afternoon – evening walk thru the beloved Funchal.
First training for MIUT: 5 km & 683+ meters
This is only the beginning, the plan is well shaped, and on 20th of April we start. A first local run, to acclimate. I decide to take a steep uphill run near the Nacional Stadium, because it is a very similar climb with the beginning of my MIUT 42K: 3.5 kilometers, from Mercado dos Lavradores, with 650 meters of ascent! Because I made a mistake in choosing the route, I took a milder one, with 5 kilometers length, but same huge climb. My Strava account stays as witness, both with the climb and descent (that one really killed my muscles!). Good training, and then a very pleasant relaxation in the same charming city. The evening was topped with some flavors of the Rum Festival, where we, of course, took a sip of the great Madeiran liquor. A basic preparation for next day, which we decided to spend on Porto Santo, the second biggest island in the archipelago of Madeira. It was on the top of our vacation list.
Trip to Porto Santo, by fairy
Porto Santo has a huge beach, and we wanted to witness it: 9 kilometers. The best way we considered for travelling there was by fairy, a 2.5 hours one way round trip, with departure in the morning, and return the same witness. First class looked to be the best option for this, and so we booked some tickets a couple of days in advance (here). Five hours on the ocean, and around nine hours on the shore. So many things we could see, but, in the end, so less time. What to do? The beach looks good, but it is not something outstanding. The sand looks great, but we need to move inside the island. First stop, Cristopher Columbus memorial house. An interesting piece of history and knowledge. Then, a small round trip, under the quite burning sun, to the mini zoo-botanical garden. The perfect option to explore the interior of the island and to see a special interesting location – pay attention to the schedule from the link, because the access is rather limited. But you must go! A lot of exotic birds, quite angry if you get too close. OK, one hour was spent under a palm three in front, because the opening hour was not “active”, but that also contributed to the overall experience, which finalized with another walk down the beach. Porto Santo is not as huge as it is presented, but it is for sure something you should see, if you go to Madeira!
Monday, training day in Madeira, and a second tier football match + cable car experience!
The initial plan included another similar training from Lavradores to Nacional stadium on 22nd of April. A lost recap before the MIUT race. Strava remains my witness. This time I needed to be a bit faster, as we were counter clock with our plans. We have been to Monte in 2022, but we didn’t use the famous cable car. The queue is impressive, but it moves rather quick, so we manage to take it fast. We visit a bit the surroundings of the location, drink a coffee, eat a sandwich with a marvelous view over Funchal, and after another walk we take it back down. Now, the initial plan is to go at a football match. The only one we can attend in our stay in Madeira: Nacional – Benfica II. Yep, that stadium from the “peak” of the city. Or the summit of the city. Of course, we cannot walk there, as I said, there are almost 700 meters of ascent. We call for a Bolt. The problem is that the match starts at 18:00, but it is Monday afternoon. The city is packed. On top of this, two huge cruise ships arrive in Funchal: disaster! We do manage to enter with a delay of 12 minutes, and the event is rather pleasant, with a 3-1 win of the hosts. Which, in the end, secured promotion in the top flight of Portugal!
101 Routes Madeira 4×4 tour
After the football game, we took the downhill by foot and enjoyed another great walk thru Funchal. Of course we explored first the fan shop and the stadium itself, finding some pictures with Juliano Spadacio and Ricardo Fernandes, players which appeared for Rapid Bucharest as well! Now, Monday was basically a relaxing day more or less, so then on 23rd of April needed (even) more action. The answer? Get your Guide and… 101 Routes Madeira 4×4. Antonio was a great guide, and I highly recommend the booking of this off-road experience! We had several “check points” on the west side of the island, with sublime landscapes, like those in Ribeira de Janela, Porto Moniz with its wonderful natural pools, dos Anjos waterfall, Calheta, mystical Faial forest and other sublime view points. Words, here, are not that relevant. I am leaving some photos, they describe best the experience.
24th of April: Nun’s Valley day
This was the core action for the first Tuesday in Madeira. Of course, there was a long walk in the afternoon, and also a stop at our favorite juice shop on the island, located inside Mercado des Lavradores. What next? Curral das Freiras (Nun’s Valley)! The location is very interesting, captured into the heart of the island. We’ve been there with a tour, so now we considered more appropriate to go on our own. We took a bus inside the village and in theory, no. 81 is easy to take, but be careful! If you don’t take it in front of the last stop, you need to wave for it to stop! We had the bad luck to wait for it in front of Savoy Hotel, but since we didn’t signal our intention, it passed just so, without stopping. We rebound, took the next one and arrived shortly in Nun’s Valley. Ate at the same terrace, near the “chestnuts museum”, enjoying some chestnut soup, chestnut liquor, some queijadas with… chestnuts! Seriously, you need to try these! The museum was visited already in 2022, so what now? The reverse road to… Eira do Serado! If people usually go down from there to Curral das Freiras, we went the other way around: uphill! 4.85 km and 527 meters of ascent. We drink something to refresh at the top, buy some souvenirs, and descent to the bus stop.
We are getting back to Funchal, and a long walk – but downhill! – awaits us, because we want to visit the local Decathlon shop, and buy some stuff. Visiting, in this way, another part of Funchal, less accessible, if you don’t have something special to do. Slowly, we have everything we need, so we are heading to our temporary home. We need to prepare for the next full day trip. In the same part of the island, western, but slightly different comparing to the one from Tuesday.
Repeat Porto Moniz & Fanal, but also Sao Vicente and Seixal!
So here we are, the morning of 25th of April, and Renato, our guide is picking it up from our location. The first stop is Cabo Girao. The second highest cliff in the world, and top in Europe. A wonderful view, but not unfamiliar to us. Because we went there before in 2022. Then, it was epic, because we attended the experience by foot. Now it was much shorter, and easier to digest. Still, the same wonderful experience, even only 20 minutes. A full day awaited in front of us, in our way to reinforce the western experience of Madeira. Again in Porto Moniz, Fanal, but also first time in Seixal, and a delicious lunch in Porto Moniz also. Some inside trail off-road, visiting Sao Vicente, with it’s wonderful landscapes and crossing the island on the other way. Even if this type of experience has a lot zipped in it, it is quite complicated to explain in words the sensations, so then I will leave some more pictures for you, just to reinforce why you should take on all the beauties of the west half of Madeira!
The weekend in Machico
The week was full until now, but more is yet to come. However, details here are not necessary a priority, since between 26th and 28th of April almost everything is about the core reason of our second presence in Madeira: MIUT! We arrive in Machico for two nights in the second half of 26th of April. We pick up our kits, and walk around as much as we can. Of course we do also shake out run! Machico is charming, so regardless if you take part of MIUT or not, it is a highly recommended visit for your trip. In two full days there, we had a lot of time to digest and embrace it. We took advantage of a very nice accommodation, next to the finish line, Modern and Recycled Guesthouse, which made the experience even better. Oh, and our host offered us local Madeiran bananas, a quite rare product, because in the supermarket they were mostly green. Details about MIUT, in another article. After the event ended, we took a last lunch there at Pingo Doce, and went back to Funchal. A name which, by the way comes from “plantation of fennel”.
A half walk to Camara de Lobos and a great lunch at Taberna dos Lobos
Still, the weekend is not yet done! We still have thing to do, places to see. Then we take one of our favorite walks, on the sera sore to Camara de Lobos, where Winston Churchill used to spent a vacation. Unfortunately, we didn’t knew that the passage is blocked at half-way point, almost, because of repairs. Then we need to return and take a taxi to the village. Not very nice, we are upset, but we know we don’t have time to waster. So, remember, the walk from Praia Formosa to Camara de Lobos can be very nice, but you need to check if the promenade is functional! We settle to eat at Taberna dos Lobos, a location that proved to be very pleasant. We tasted green wine and very good local sea food. Next, a small walk thru the small village, taking some pictures and back to the bus which will take us to Funchal. Do we have a plan for the next day? Of course we do!
Complete hike to Ponta Sao Lourenco
Sao Lourenco hike is one of the most popular in Madeira, and in 2022 we did it only partially, because our timing was not that good, so we couldn’t squeeze it properly in our schedule. Now we reached the “summit” and most eastern part of the island in a back-to-back 8 kilometer hike. Not easy, but neither too hard. How to get there, from Funchal? You go to the central bus station of the capital city and check what goes to Baia d’Abra – last station. Normally it is line 113, but you need to check before, not to encounter any change. It is preferable to go by bus, because many go by car and the queues might become huge, which mean you might need to walk additional up to 5-6 kilometer, which you won’t want to do. The hike itself is splendid, breathtaking landscapes, and a very nice milestone on… Strava. Again! 🙂 The heat is a bit overwhelming, but it remains in the second role, while enjoying everything else. Just don’t forget to pay the 1 EUR, via application, when entering the natural park, because this is what Ponta de Sao Lourenco is. There is, somewhere midway to the peak a cabin, but be careful to fill up when you climb, because if you don’t go early in the morning, like we didn’t, on the way back, it is closed so you might suffer from thirst. Also, have some cash with you. In this location the card becomes useless.
Pico Ruivo, highest peak in Madeira, again!
Acknowledging the landscape we saw also in our way to Porto Santo, in our second full day in Madeira, we go back to Funchal for another pleasant evening walk and run, with the plans for the last three full days in our minds. What next? Easy! Pico Ruivo, again. The hike from Pico do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo is the most popular on the island, and it ends on the highest peak of the island, at not neglectable at all 1861 meters height! We have been there before, but on a very rainy weather – it is unpredictable always – so we shot another go with bigger hopes. On 30th of April we booked the same kind of itinerary, with Do It Madeira, like in 2022, and this resumed we were picked up from our accommodation, left at Pico do Arieiro and after five hours, we will be picked up again from the end of the trip, Achada do Teixeira, where we arrived in less than three hours, so then we had enough time to enjoy a delicious meal, and also some great desert and traditional poncha. The hike was easier, in some aspects, comparing to 2022, but much more crowded and still the weather was not outstanding, as on top we caught some fog, that didn’t let us explore fully the wonder of the surroundings.
Doca do Cavacas, a place you need to visit for a sunset watching dinner!
If in Fanal the fog provided a mystical landscape, especially since it came and went each minute, here, on Pico Ruivo, having some thick blocking of our view, when at the top, was not the best thing it could happen. However, it was something without any control whatsoever, so we need to be thankful for the road to the top, rather to the facts faced there. When we met our guide, we left and had a last stop north-east of Santana – this time we couldn’t visit the traditional house anymore, like we did in 2022, but we enjoyed a great landscape a bit far, instead. It reminded us about the MIUT from some days back. The hike was great, but we still had time to do things, and we did chose to take Antonio’s recommendation (the guide from 101 Routes Madeira 4×4) and took the dinner at Doca do Cavacas, a location from Funchal with natural swimming pools, but also with a restaurant that proved to be great. In fact, the food was so good, and the sunset wonderful, that we have returned the second night as well. It is a top restaurant in Funchal!
Not only the location is great, but going, from Praia Formosa, a very good walk, to Doca do Cavacas, is thru a urban cave! You can see it in the pictures, and definitely want to explore it if you get to Funchal. And speaking about local places to eat, we had in mind a restaurant from 2022, and we did go there in our first days: Three House. Of course, it is mainly a hotel, with a very nice rooftop, but we can recommend only the restaurant, because that was the only part we “visited”. As location, very close to Mercado dos Lavradores.
Second visit to the Botanical Garden of Funchal
On 1st of May we visited another old friend: the wonderful botanical garden. This time we took lunch here, and we made sure to have enough cash: if you don’t buy of at least 15 EUR, you cannot pay by card, so, be careful. Most of the day was spent here, visiting, exploring, and enjoying fully the location, and, of course, after we savored some more the charming Funchal. As you can get tired of it… 🙂 The garden doesn’t need too much presentation, I have spoken about it before, and I can only say for sure that you need to see it if you arrive in Madeira. Drinking a coffee and eating some sandwiches here, while admiring the mighty infrastructure of the island on one side, and the great plants, flowers and trees, on the other side, is something worth your time.
Sao Tiago fortress
Done with this, and 2nd of May is our last full day on the island. We try to get a tan in Frente Mar Funchal, a location we always thought of. We did enter, quite cheap, I think 15 EUR total with beds and umbrellas included, for both of us. Normally we could spent all day here, but in the end we left shortly, after less than 2 hours. We missed the whole chance, as it was cloudy, no sun, but the breeze was still warm and the water decent. Then, another walk, meaningful, in touching some milestones. Priority no. 1 for 2nd of May, though, was… the fortress. Sao Tiago Fortress is close to the center, and because of the schedule we missed it in 2022. Not this time! It is not that complex, but very interesting, and on top of this, the entrance is free. Check its schedule and have a look. There are great views on the city. And speaking about views… going back to the day in which we have visited the Botanical Garden. To arrive at the destination we followed some steps. I mean hundreds of steps! Madeira is the land of steps, but if you don’t climb on the stairs, it is even harder. Not easy, but truly beautiful!
Finding a levada, without having this purpose
Leaving the fortress, we visit the cathedral in the interior, the cathedral from the center, and then we take our view to the Maritimo Stadium, the other sports ground of the city, much easier to reach than Nacional. We see it mostly from the outside, but it is checked. We are heading back to Forum, but meanwhile we discover a levada – the traditional water channels from Madeira and we spend a couple of hundred of meters along it. Our experience is complete! Or is it? No, because the flower festival is about to begin, so then the evening is spent in enjoying the first glimpses of the carnival that will last the whole May month. Unfortunately for us, on 3rd of May we need to go back to Bucharest, via Zurich. One last thing we need to do happens in the airport: there is an open terrace where you can admire freely the airplanes landing and tacking off. We do it, in the last hours in Madeira. An airport that looks so impressive and harmless, but which can become one of the most dangerous in the world, if the wind blows in a not proper way. Fortunately, we never had any issue!
As a conclusion, Madeira cannot be enjoyed fully neither in two weeks. But for sure in two weeks you have significantly more time to understand and savor the location, but necessary you need to have a lot of activity, because if you just lay in Funchal, you can enjoy this part of the island, which is not neglectable at all, but Madeira means much more… From landscape, to tradition, history, vegetation, architecture, cuisine, mystery. The free cows from Fanal, the lazy cats from the botanical gardens, and also thru the streets of Funchal, the heavy vegetation from Sao Vicente, the avocado trees growing in the north. Banana trees in the south, the charm of local restaurants. Huge highways, rock falls that freeze the blood in your veins… Amazing!
Photo source: mymagiclenses