20April Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Madeira is Portuguese island but its remote location shares
with same latitude of Moroccan city of Casablanca.

It is nearly 500 years old since Portuguese seamen have first arrived.

With flowers around town and white houses with red roof built on slopes of the hillside overlooking the ocean and harbor, it is one the prettiest ports in Europe.

A view of port Funchal.

 We took a cable car to the mountain Monte on our last visit 18 months ago.

There is a chapel dedicated to the last Austrian emperor Carlos I who sought refuge and died in the island during WWI.

And fun basket-sleigh is sliding down the hill for 10 minutes from the same point.

We took a tour offered from our travel agency this time. “Scenic Madeira and lunch at Reid’s hotel”.

It was excellent tour included viewing from the second highest cliff top in the world and driving on winding zig-zag road built on steep mountain side.

We were driving up all the way to the mountain as high as 1,000 meters.

It was so scary that it makes the cliff road on Amalfi coast, Italy look like a child play.

But the amazing views from the various mountain tops were priceless.

The tallest cliff in Europe

 Funchal is a Portuguese word for fennel that used to grow around the island

This rugged Portuguese island is made of beautiful valleys and tall cliffs

Cabo Giro is the second highest cliff in the world with 580 meter. (the tallest one in the world is in Taiwan)

Vertigo from the top of the tallest cliff in Europe, Cabo Girao

 

Lovely local arts and crafts for souvenir!

 

A church on top of the hill in Funchal, San Martinho

This point is Eira do Serrado with 1,053 meter height and the cliff view with looking down the villages in the bottom of valley

Hotel Reid’s, Funchal

Beautiful view of Funchal from Hotel Reid’s

The great view of the hotel building on the cliff from the separate building of the hotel restaurant Villa Cipriani

Old town of Funchal

 

Flower carpets are lined up on crowed street of town center for the flower festival

 

Folk dancers with traditional costume on the street are part of the Spring flower festival

 

 Only thing that is not made of flowers in this picture is….?

You guessed it. Me. ^^

 

A lady selling flowers in front of market ‘Mercado dos Lavradores’.

 

Historic building in Funchal, Palacio do sao Lourenco.