Gentle day walking on the coast from Funchal to Camara de Lobos. Might have been more strenuous if I’d been able to continue round the coast after Camara de Lobos, but I didnt find a way. The route includes cutting through a coastal cliff so you got through a tunnel which brings you round at the other side and onto a wooden path taking you over the rocky beach.
A short walk day today. Discovering Funcal, and the old town, and then along the coast and up to get a higher viewpoint.
Day two of my visit to Madeira. I’d been told I needed to go on a guided tour to discover the mountains, but decided to walk up from Funchal to Pico Do Arieiro. It was quite a trek on the ER103 road up through Monte to Poiso and then on the minor road to the summit and Air Defence Radar Station.
I stopped on route at Casa de Abrigo do Poiso to sample their traditional Tomate e Cebola (Tomato and Onion Soup). When I arrived at the summit everything was completely hidden by mist apart from the radar station. I was weary by now but was considering walking over to Encumeada and back round. I asked a couple how far, and after realising what I was attempting they suggested I didn’t because it was a much longer walk than I’d imagined So I just headed out to take a look at the first section of the path from Pico Do Arieiro to Pico Ruivo. And as i walked a few gaps where appearing revealing the most impressive landscape I’ve seen! This was at a height of just over 1800m, taken from a viewing platform. I will return here!
From Lisbon (T2) to Madeira (Funchal) EasyJet Flight 7603 07:10am
Bus driver from airport was the best driver I’ve ever encountered. So friendly and helpful. Made it easy to find Residencial Melba Azinhaga da Casa Branca, Nº8, Sao Martinho, Funchal , 9000-110. This apartment was up a hill and through a cutaway onto another road. I asked for a room with a balcony and although there was no view I had some space. The place had a pool and I was the only one using it. Soon realised Funchal was the place for older couples, who all seemed to hold hands. I was in a newer part, but plenty of restaurants, not far from the beach, and the old town was only about 20 mins walk.
From Porto I caught a train down to Lisbon and then made my way by bus to the Pensao Residencial Flor dos Cavaleiros Rua dos Cavaleiros, 58, Santa Maria Maior, Lisboa. The apartment was on a very busy side street with some guys playing Bhaṅgṛā until early hours of morning. It was a few blocks away from the central square of Martim Moniz.
This was such a cool place with music playing each evening and lots of side stall selling a variety of street food.
I tried the local drink Ginjinha – a cherry liquor made with sour cherries and, in one bar, served in a chocolate cup.
Wandered around all the back streets and ended up in quite a scary area. Graffiti was brilliant. Got chatted up by Indian guy…which was weird!
After reading about David Kurley’s intention to set up a glamping site in Portugal I decided to go back and check out the country. I flew in from Manchester (Terminal 1) to Porto EasyJet on Flight 1989 and stopped in Hospedaria Do Bonfim, Rua Do Bonfim 316, Bonfim, Porto. The hotel was very dated, but great value, and only a 20min or so walk to the centre.
I loved Porto. Great city with some lovely architecture. And a really cool bridge that’s illuminated in the evening. As usual on my travels I walked all over the place and saw just about every corner. I also tried some new dishes including the famous Portugese dish Francesinha which is really just a Portuguese sandwich original from Porto, and very filling!
9:45 flight from Dubrovnik (DBV) to Barcelona (BCN) Terminal 2 Norwegian Air flight DY5109 seat 25F
Epic fail on hotel booking at Holiday Inn Express, Molins De Rei. It was 30min from centre and in a really average suburb. Trains were frequent though so wasnt too much of a problem.
Attempted to get around most of the city and covered most of the sights including the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc, Park Güell by Gaudí,, Santiago Calatrava’s Olympic Flame, Monestir de Pedralbes, Arc de Triomf and National Art Museum of Catalonia
Even met up with Matt Littler for coffee in Sarria.
From Split plane to Dubrovnik with TradeAir flight C3814 10:40
I was stopping in Apartments Bokun – Dubrovnik, Od Kriza 1 (Gornji Kono) booked through Hostel World. The property was up the hill and quite a climb, but well worth it for the view. A large and spacious apartment with a balcony overlooking the old town below. I spent several hours sunbathing on this balcony before going each day. I went up the hill to the top, wandered round the whole of the walled city – and spotted several places used for scenes in Game of Thrones. Dubrovnik was clearly geared up to fleece tourists. Everything was for sale, and a higher prices than Split. But the architecture and inner streets were well worth exploring.
I took a boat top the island of Lokrum, walked around to the harbour and all the way around the coast to Park šuma Velika i Mala Petka. On the way I saw prickle pear fruit and decided to try it. Epic fail. I’d always thought the prickly was the large spikes on the cactus style leaves, but it turns out there are thousands of tiny spikes on the fruit itself. and these impale themselves in you. My fingers felt like id been nettle stung thousands of times..and it took about three hours to remove most of the spikes. Some stayed in and caused skin irritation for weeks to come. I got them in my lips and tongue too. Not a pleasant experience!
On one day I found what appeared to be a secluded swimming spot but was soon busy with people jumping off the cliff into the sea some 50mtres below. I swam several times. The water was lovely.
From Naples I headed to Split, Croatia on EasyJet Flight 4839 14:30
When I arrived the host wasn’t at the apartment ( Apartments Curavic, Preradovicevo Setaliste 9, Split, 21000) and took 30mins to arrive it was hot and near the beach. The apartment was about 20mins walk from the bus station. In a really great location. Walk across the road and I was at the beach. It was a busy place. I really liked Split. The town was fantastic and not as touristy as Dubrovnik so the prices were better. An ice cream was 1 Euro (about 70p at the time. And was the best I’d ever tasted in a large cone. Super amount. worth about £5 in the UK! I walked up to a good vantage point to see the town and harbour. The harbour front had a pedestrian street with loads of choice for restaurants and street entertainers, market stalls. It was bustling with life.
