Portugal

I will add a second truth just now - We saw a fair bit of what madeira has to offer, but we also missed out on a LOT. There are reasons for this, some of which may include a moany child who doesn't like walking or hiking, the fact that we were going stir crazy after lockdown and just needed some sun by the pool, and the fact that we booked the holiday very, very last minute and didn't have time to do any research.

Ultimately though, we have an excuse to return, which I'm sure we shall do in the future.

You may by now be saying - get to the actual travelling experience! I hear you! These are some of the highlights of our week:

Praia Orca - Our hotel was one of the attractions of our holiday, in fairness, as we did spend a lot of time by the pool and on the beach below the hotel. Asia and Sofia loved the waves, and the hotel had a pretty nice pool, with a bar, so that made me happy as well!

Camara de Lobos - The delightful and charming fishing village of Camara de Lobos was within walking distance of the hotel, and we visited it a couple of times. It has one of the cutest harbours we've ever seen, and the dramatic cliffs framing the village make the walk down into town spectacular, no matter what time of day you come. There are several local restaurants and bars that serve great food too.

Northern Coastal Route - Probably the highlight of our stay. We hired a car form a local company and travelled North through (and to a large degree, under) the central mountain range towards Sao Vicente. I can honestly say, the North Coast of Madeira is probably worth spending a week exploring all on it's own. There's an old travellers adage, “Turn a corner, and the world changes”, which describes the coastal rea to a tee.
It's dramatic and scary, with the majority of the North Coast being steep hillside and even steeper cliffs, it's green (like, luscious, tropical green), and it is achingly beautiful. The road is pretty terrifying to drive, too!
We headed back down South over Ribeiro Frio, at the top of which the viewpoint gives you stark reminder of just how small and insignificant you really are, when you consider the size and majesty of what Nature can do.

Palheiro Golf - yes, madeira has golf. two courses, in fact, and I was lucky enough to get a day off to play one of them. As with the rest of the island, it's dramatic, hilly and ridiculously tough. I don't think there was a single fairway that was level, the rough consists of dense jungle (or so I thought every time I ended up in it), and the greens are large and rolling. But again, as with everything else, it was stunning, and views down South and towards Funchal were unrivalled.

Funchal - Obviously we had to visit and explore Funchal, and it's a very tourist and pedestrian-friendly city. We took the cable-car up to the Igreja de Monte, the large Church that overlooks the city, and experienced the toboggan ride back down the hill, which was really great fun, especially for Sofia.
One piece of advice - if you're looking to do any activities, buy your tickets form the licensed ticket offices - vendors outside the office will offer you a supposedly great deal, but you'll end up paying more.