Funchal and the coast
We landed on Good Friday morning and spent the afternoon in Funchal's old town, where the doors along Rua de Santa Maria are painted by local artists. The next day brought the Monte toboggan, a wicker sledge steered down the hill by two drivers in straw hats, then skewers and seafood at Taberna dos Lobos in Câmara de Lobos.
Fog, then clouds below us
The alarms went at 5am for sunrise on Pico do Arieiro, and at 7.30am we were standing in thick fog. So we went back. Easter Sunday took in the glass skywalk at Cabo Girão, the waterfall that pours onto the road at Cascata dos Anjos, a levada walk at Fajã do Rodrigues with a tunnel in the dark, and sunset on Pico do Arieiro at 1,818 metres, above the clouds this time. We rated the day nine out of ten, with one point lost to a hungry squabble at the top.
If you go
Madeira rewards early starts and a hire car or a driver. The weather on the peaks changes by the hour, so keep a second chance in the plan, and the levadas need good walking shoes.
