Adventurous Maite: 26-Madeira (Portugal): 13-14 July 2014

13th July 2014 (Sunday)

São Lourenço Palace-Fortress. It's rather a palace, if you look at it from the front, but if you walk around it, you'll notice it's a fortification. In fact, quite heavily fortified

Assembleia Legislativa da Madeira (Legislative Assembly of Madeira)
in Avenida do Mar e das Comunidades Madeirenses

Avenida do Infante, near Santa Catarina Park

Santa Catarina Park's entrance

Madeira Boat Trips in Funchal, Madeira will take you to see

Madeira Dolphins and Whales along the coast of Madeira Island

With my dear macaws of the Restaurante Terrace d'Ajuda

Going to my friends' home on foot

Estádio dos Barreiros, the stadium of Marítimo, the local football club in

the Portuguese first division, usually on a Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon

14th July (Monday)

A DAY TRIP TO SANTANA

Another great day in Madeira! We went to Santana!

First, we stopped in Estrada do Garajau, Caniço – Santa Cruz

O Mundo dos Animais: Estrada do Garajau n.º 152,

Restaurante Bar Garajau - Estrada do Garajau | Edificio Cedro, Bloco 3 - Loja D

Garajau Terrace. Address: Rua da Olaria 63, Caniço

Estrada do Garajau

And then... We left for Santana

Between the sea and the mountains

The airport

Driving under the runway of Madeira airport

Airplanes

We arrived in Santana! With so many attractions to see, it's normal that most tourists have a circle on their maps around Santana as an obligatory place to visit

Santana is a municipality along the northern coast of the island. It's known for the traditional homes constructed with sloping triangular rooftops, and protected with straw. These were mainly rural homes, used by local farmers, during the settlement of the island, with white-paintd walls, red doors and windows with blue trim. Most of the surviving buildings are tourist attractions, and maintained (for example, the straw roofs are replace every four to five years)

This region lives essentially from agriculture, craftwork and tradition

Every year in July a large festival of traditional music and dances is held in the village and attracts large crowds of locals and tourists alike. The event known as ’24 horas a bailar’ (literally ‘24 hours dancing’) is made of performances of traditional folklore groups from Madeira and other regions or countries which are invited to participate

Its small triangular houses, built of natural stone and thatched with

straw have served the locals for centuries as stables and dwellings

In the main Square of Santana there are almost a hundred of face-painted stones

Jardim das Rosas = Rose Garden

Jardim das Malvas = Mallow Garden

Câmara Municipal de Santana: City Hall of Santana, surrounded by

very attractive small gardens and the traditional houses of Santana

Built in 1958 it's a very emblematic building

The Nucleus of Houses (Núcleo de Casas Típicas),next to the City Hall is a space of preservation, increased by the municipality of Santana to prize and promote of the local heritage. Here you can find some of the typical houses, and find a large variety of local, traditional and handicraft products

The "casinhas" are traditional houses from the inner lands of Madeira

There is a lot of them around the town of Santana :-)

Nice pic with Catia, Micaela and their mom next to a Santana's typical house

Make a trip to Madeira and not see these houses

would be like going to Paris and not visit the Eiffel tower!

One of the symbols of the island, taking a photograph in this spot is a must

I was very excited about going to Santana because I had seen some postcards with pictures of very colorful cottages. For me it was one of the most beautiful villages on the island

Some of these houses are souvenir shops :-)

This place well worth a visit

The mountainous landscapes are dominated by the lush green that characterises the Laurissilva Forest, which was classified ‘World Heritage’ by the UNESCO, encouraging the locals even more to do everything for maintaining their beauty

Make an effort to come to Santana, there aren't just

the cool houses but also really great views!

Our trip to Santana enabled us to see inside some of these houses

All together :-)

Flowers all over

Rua Comandante Camacho Freitas

Before we left we went to eat at a nearby restaurant:

Restaurante Snack Bar A Espiga Santana in Sítio do Serrado

Prego da Ilha (bolo de caco):

Prego is typical of Madeira (Beef with cheese, ham, salad and egg)

Gostei muito do prego!!! I loved it!

Monumento da Biosfera: The Biosphere Monument, in Santana, depicts the planet Earth in a perfect symbiosis with nature, life and the landscapes found on the female figure. The Biosphere Monument is located in the Biosphere Garden, a garden created with the purpose to preserve the memory of the "Biosphere Reserve" award given to the city of Santana by UNESCO

The Cable Car at Rocha do Navio is located on the north coast of Madeira near Santana

Adeus Santana!

Finally we drive to our last stop: Portela (Santo António da Serra)

Santo António da Serra is a civil parish in the interior of the municipality of Machico

In the way to Santo da Serra make a stop in the Portela viewpoint. Situated in the high mountains of Madeira Island where you can appreciate de beautiful horizon above the mountain and hill of the island

The Portela Viewpoint at 670 meters offers one of the most beautiful landscapes of the island, where you can see Porto da Cruz, Penha d'Águia and also part of Santana

Nice picture with Micaela, Caty and their lovely mom, Carmen :-)

The Portela Viewpoint, located between Porto da Cruz and Machico, provides one of the most beautiful landscapes of Madeira. Here you will find magnificent scenery, with mountains that seem to flow down a valley towards the sea

You can find here an excellent view over Porto da Cruz and Penha d'Águia, which despite being located on the North Coast of the island, belong to the Machico municipality. You can also see the Cortado area in Santana

Penha d'Aguia (Eagle Rock) seen from Portela

The panorama from Portela's view point is impressive; across Faial towards Santana with the 'Eagle Rock' Penha d'Aguia in the centre. Interestingly, there are no eagles in Madeira but if you're reasonably fit the walk is one not to miss!

Behind me: Our Lady of the Good Road (Nossa Senhora do Bom Caminho).

It's a Small marble statue of the mother of Jesus Christ

Trail Running Porto da Cruz

Lovely panorama :)

The Quartet

Restaurante Miradouro da Portela in Rua Nicolau Tolentino Vieira 2

Beautiful flowers

Madeira is an authentic green garden, awesome nature, exotic flowers... Just stunning!

Caty, Andreia and I

Maroços: 8 km.

Funduras: 7.1 km.

Fajã dos Rolos: 12.8 km

After the trip we went to Forum Madeira searching a present for the mom of my friends at Loga do Gato Preto (a home equipment store which was originally founded in Portugal in 1986). I loved this store! They have very pretty and original items at good prices! :)