Madeira Day 4: Ponta de São Lourenço

Wednesday
This morning we picked up a rental car for the rest of our time here in Madeira, and got out of the city to Ponta de São Lourenčo, the easternmost peninsula on the island, a long narrow chain of eroded volcanic cliffs and ravines. This is a very popular hike through a protected area, and the parking is woefully inadequate. We went to the turn around point, and had to back track almost a mile before we could find somewhere to park! So that added almost 2 miles to an approximately 4 1/2 mile hike, up and down! It was a beautiful day, but it was quite gusty out on the peninsula - I almost lost my hat a couple of times! As you can see, the views were amazing, and we were pleasantly surprised to find at the end, a sort of little oasis with palm trees, and a cafe - and toilets! They make their own electricity with solar panels, and all the food is brought in and rubbish taken out by boat. By the time we got back to the car we were exhausted, and thought a nice swim in the pool at the hotel would be good. However, first of all we had to drive to the hotel parking, which is just up the street from the hotel. Our hotel is really central which has been great for the last few days when we’ve been walking, or taken the odd taxi, but not so great when you’ve got a car, as it means driving through the one way and narrow streets of Funchal. It’s only for one night, as tomorrow we move on to another hotel further west which has its own parking, and is on the edge of the town. To complicate matters, the narrow one way street our hotel was on was being dug up at the bottom, so there was a temporary one entry sign, which I think was confusing Google maps, and it just wouldn’t take us the right way! In the end, we found some street parking, left the car, walked the last few blocks to the hotel, and Roger got the exact number of the parking, then ended up walking the route with his phone, then went back for the car! So much for a nice relaxing swim before dinner! Apart from that, it was a great day!