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Two Sides of Portugal!

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Updated: Jan 6

In September 2024, my cousin and I took a trip to Portugal. Most people think of the capital, Lisbon, and the charming riverside city of Porto. At this time of year, rain is to be expected. Instagram is littered with photos from the Azores Islands as well, showing another side to Portugal, but Madeira Island seems to be less well known. We spent a week there in the sunny, tropical climate, and it was breathtaking! It seems to be popular amongst European travelers, and it is a stop for some cruise ships.


Madeira Island is at about the same latitude as Morocco. It is a volcanic island. The main city is Funchal, with orange tiled rooves and terraced hills covered in banana plants. If you have a willing driver on the crazy steep roads, I highly recommend staying in Porto Moniz. (Thank you, cousin, for the driving role and finding this great spot for us!) Porto Moniz is in the northwest of the Island. There are two tidal pool areas for swimming. One charges a fee and has concrete landings; the other one is nestled amongst the rocks. I think they are both worth a dip!



We took a hike near Porto Moniz -- it was one of the "easy" ones. They have a lot more options for hiking of various difficulty and dizziness. We went out on a small boat one day to see if we could spot any whales or dolphins. No luck with the mammals, but it was still a fun boat ride. My cousin drove us around to see other parts of the Island such as Ponto do Sol in the South where we ate at The Old Pharmacy, Paul do Mar, and the eastern tip of Farol do Ponta de Sao Lourenco. Driving through the middle of the island with the mountains rising around you is incredible.


One day, we decided to do a group tour and leave the driving to someone else. We signed up for a 4x4 jeep trip to the top of the Pico do Arreerio mountains. Green Devil Tours picked us up at our Airbnb for an extra charge, and then we went down to pick up others at the cruise ship. They were a group of seniors who did not seem to have understood a 4x4 jeep trip would take us off-road. We had two stops planned before Pico do Areeiro--a rum factory and lunch in the town of Santana. The seniors were very uncomfortable despite the driver going very slowly through the bumpy off-road mountains--he was giving us a view we would have never had on our own. One of the passengers demanded, "Drop them off and take us back to the ship!" My cousin and I got left at the Rum Factory for an hour while the driver returned the seniors on the smooth roads back to the ship!

Pico do Arreerio
Pico do Arreerio

Lunch was in the town of Santana which had traditional homes, local crafts, and lots of other tourists. The rest of the ride to Pico do Areeiro was a bit mad, but the view made it all worth it!


We flew to Porto from Madeira. If anyone tells you Portugal is hilly, they are not exaggerating! We rode the Hop on Hop off bus all the way around to see all of Porto including the old fort. A food tour had been recommended to us, and we signed up. It was such a fun night moving from one place to another to taste traditional foods such as Vihno Verde (green wine), a "snack" of soup and sandwich, francesinha (multi-meats sandwich), codcakes, and Tarte Bisbo (custard and coconut pastry). We had a blast getting to know the other folks who were a part of our progressive dinner with Eating Europe. We also tried a few other popular pastries including the pastel de nata because eating pastries in Europe is a must!



We visited a nice market in Porto filled with fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, and lots of stuffed breads. One other thing we did that I would recommend was going to a Fado show. Fado is a traditional style of music in Portugal. I was going along--always willing to have a new experience--but I loved it! The emotion expressed in the singing and the amazing guitarists made such a great combination.


Lisbon was the bookends of our trip. We took the train from Porto to Lisbon, allowing us to see the countryside. We stayed near a Metro stop a bit out of the downtown area, which I prefer--I like being close but not necessarily in the thick of things. The architecture in both Lisbon and Porto is beautiful, and I especially liked that they had pink buildings! There are so many buildings with beautiful tiles on them. We had some yummy fish down by the water. While in Lisbon, we did a day trip to Sintra where we visited the Pena Palace. We booked the trip through Viator and met them at the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Lisbon. Our guide was fantastic! She was very knowledgeable and led us on a great tour. We got lucky with another great group of folks to get to know on this day trip.



I enjoyed exploring Portugal and especially getting the opportunity to spend time on Madeira Island. It's a great country to visit. Teach yourself at least a few words and phrases in Portuguese before you go!


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Tonya the Travler

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