Madeira (2026)

Madeira is my favourite place in the world and also happens to be where my entire family is from. In fact, in 2020, I took a DNA test and discovered that I was 95% Madeiran (ironically, at the time it only said 78% but it has updated over time). I spent all of my summers growing up there and I feel very loved and at home whenever I visit. That said, as I’ve gotten older it’s become harder and harder to visit as often, and after realising that I hadn’t gone at all in 2025 (a first for me!), I decided to spend just over two weeks there in April. My boyfriend had never been and two weeks would ensure that we had time to visit all of my extended family, whilst also being able to do all of the touristic activities.

The espetada

I wanted my boyfriend to experience a quintessential part of Madeiran culture that you don’t get as a tourist, and that was to have a proper espetada. This is a traditional barbecue, in which you add chunks of beef to a young laurel branch, which serves as the skewer, and cook it over an open fire. In order for him to experience this, my parents joined us out there for the first weekend and hosted an espetada for the entire family on Easter Sunday. This also allowed my boyfriend to meet all of my extended family in one go. 

The morning started with my dad taking me and my boyfriend to the nearby Guindaste viewpoint for a quick walk, and then driving to my uncle’s house, who would know where we could get the laurel spits from. Despite us only having a couple of hours until people would start arriving at our house, we were on island time, so first we went to my uncle’s farm, where we tried some homemade wine and he showed us what was new with his tractor, and then we went to the forest to cut some laurel branches. This was a lot of fun and a real highlight, as my boyfriend was able to experience the authentic, old-school methods used. 

Once we eventually returned home, my boyfriend set about making several Greek dishes (including spanakopita, tzatziki, and a Greek salad), and then joined the boys downstairs to sharpen the spits, add the beef, and season it. He had a proper induction to the family, and played dominoes on the adults' table, as well as board games and cards on the kids' table, and the espetada lasted until the early hours the following morning, with food in abundance throughout. It was a highlight of the trip and I was very grateful for my parents for flying out and showing him an authentic part of our culture. 

The first weekend

The weather was glorious when we arrived, and this held up for the entire weekend. Since my parents were in Madeira too, we spent the weekend visiting all of our favourite restaurants (namely Casa de Chá, Monumental Grill, and O Lagar), driving across the island, and going on walks around Faial, which is where my parents have a house, including to the town, the beaches, the fort, and the karting track.

The day we landed, my parents picked us up and within the hour we were driving across the entire north coast to Porto Moniz, which is lovely but very touristic. The following day, after enjoying a stunning sunrise, we drove in the opposite direction to a fishing town called Câmara de Lobos. I hadn’t ever spent much time here but we walked around the town and enjoyed a Nikita, which is a creamy, refreshing, pineapple-flavoured cocktail which originated in the town. Another famous alcoholic drink which also originated from this town is called poncha, a delicious cocktail which was originally designed to keep the fishermen warm out at sea. Fortunately, we also enjoyed many of these during our stay. Madeiran food is my favourite cuisine, and naturally, I'd made a huge list of food that my boyfriend needed to try throughout the trip*, and on the first weekend he already ticked off the majority, including espetada, nikita, poncha, espada com banana (black scabbard fish with banana and passionfruit), lapas (limpets), bolo do caco (Madeiran garlic bread), tremoços (lupini beans), brisa (a Madeiran passionfruit fizzy drink), homemade wine, anonas (custard pear), nêsperas (loquat), and dragonfruit.

PR8 hike and a black sand beach

My parents left on Easter Monday, and since a storm was coming in from Tuesday, we decided to make the most of the nice weather and go for a hike, followed by a beach day. We did PR8 (Ponta de São Lourenço), which offers spectacular views and isn’t very difficult (although there are lots of small, loose stones at the very end which make the unpaved section very slippery). The walk was enjoyable, and although there were officers ensuring everyone had booked and paid for the hike, there wasn’t any signal and their Wi-Fi wasn’t working, meaning it wasn’t enforced. This walk is very popular so it gets busy quickly and I’d recommend going early to avoid the crowds. 

After the walk, we planned to spend the afternoon on one of Madeira’s black sand beaches, Prainha, and although we managed to eat our packed lunch there, the wind was picking up and we were exhausted, so we soon abandoned our plans and headed home to nap. We later visited my uncle’s house, where I met my cousin’s baby for the first time, and then we spent the evening exploring Garajau and Caniço, where I spent a lot of time growing up. Garajau is where Madeira’s very own Christ the Redeemer statue stands (which was built before Brazil’s!) and also the location of a nice beach, which I went to almost every day some summers. We then walked down the promenade in Caniço and grabbed a pizza from Pizza Café (a Madeira pizza chain which I love) for dinner. 

Toboggan ride and Lido

On Tuesday morning, I’d planned to take my boyfriend to a town in the mountains called Monte where tourists sit in wicker basket sleds, which are greased underneath, and two locals push the toboggans down a steep road for 2km (roads which cars also drive across by the way!), using only the soles of their shoes as brakes. I’ve only done it once before but I loved it and it was a must for my boyfriend to try. Plus, my two younger cousins and aunt were wanting to join us so it allowed us to spend some quality time with them. 

We also visited the Mercado dos Lavradores, a famer's market selling unique fruits at an extortionate price to tourists, and got the cable car up from the capital city, Funchal, to Monte. Following the toboggan ride, my other aunt took us out for lunch, where we ate ‘pregos’, a typical sandwich with steak, ham, cheese and salad inside. We then spent a couple of hours in Lido, where we swam out to my favourite rock (a swim I do whenever I’m there). When the lifeguard warned us about the current being strong, I took it with a pinch of salt, however he did in fact know what he was talking about and the swim back was very tiring. We later visited Cabo Girão, a skywalk platform at 580m with a glass floor, and went to Pé de Cabra, a bar where we tried the drink which shares its name with the bar. “Pé de cabra” literally means “foot of goat” (and crowbar!), but it is also a Madeiran drink consisting of wine, stout, sugar, chocolate powder, and lemon peel. It’s safe to say, it wasn’t for either of us. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant experience and we then spent the evening at my aunt’s house, where she made my favourite meal (macarrão guisado à Madeirense) and we played many a game of Bisca, a famous Portuguese card game.

Rain, rain, and more rain

By Wednesday, the storm was in full force; it was very cold and rainy, which meant hikes and beach days were off. That said, we are Londoners through and through, so on several occasions we did resort to just putting on our raincoats and braving the cold. We went on a local walk to Fajã do Mar, as well as an easy hike, PR11 (Balcões), however we got drenched on both walks, and despite the end of PR11 usually boasting glorious views of the mountains, we weren’t able to see anything but clouds. 

Nonetheless, I took my boyfriend on a tour of my dad’s hometown, Santana, where we managed to discover a beautiful waterfall that I’d never seen before, Cascata da Aguage, and see some lovely views. It was also a good opportunity to relax after a hectic few days and spend more time with my family, including enjoying a delicious ‘feijoada’ (a bean stew which shares its name with the Brazilian dish but is very different) at my aunt’s house, and playing more Bisca. 

Chasing the sun

One important thing to know about Madeira is that there are microclimates all over the island. Therefore, it may be pissing it down in the north, whilst people are lapping up the sunshine on a beach down south. Since my parents’ house is in the north of the island, when the weather was bad up north, we decided to spend some time each day in the south, including a road trip along the entire coast from the northeast to the southwest. We explored a small town called Paúl do Mar, which features many small boats and a waterfall, had lunch in Ponta do Sol (which literally translates to “point of the sun”, so you can imagine the weather here), and saw Ponta do Pargo, the most southwestern point. 

We spent an afternoon in Santa Cruz, which is located near the airport and is known for being very windy, and got lucky with gorgeous weather, so went for a walk along the beach and enjoyed a coffee and a bola de Berlim (a Portuguese, custard-filled doughnut which was originally brought over by Jewish refugees during WWII) in a café and people-watched. 

Another thing to note about this trip is that it was the first time that my boyfriend was driving a car on the right-hand side and he wasn’t excited about driving in Madeira (partly my fault), but knew it would be beneficial to get more comfortable driving since many of our trips this year involve car rentals and we are allowed a free additional driver. That said, by this point in the trip he was absolutely smashing it and his confidence had increased tenfold, to the point that he was excited to drive! He'd even beep in the very old tunnels we drove through, which is a tradition that my dad’s been doing as long as I can remember!

The Rally

The rally (or "o rali" as we say in Madeira) is a big deal on the island and basically consists of rally cars racing across the island. Growing up, roads would close for this and we’d all make an event of it, waiting at the top of a hill on a curve in my mum's hometown, Arco, to see the cars zoom past (funnily enough, a cousin of my mum’s is a rally driver!). Coincidentally, there was going to be a rally race over the weekend in the north, with the first race just down the road, in the karting track, on Friday night! 

Although neither me nor my boyfriend are very into cars, the bad weather had postponed most of our plans so we had quite a lot of energy by the Friday evening and since it was a short walk away, we decided to go and watch it from a bridge overlooking the karting track. It ended up being a lot of fun and provided a real sense of community - I especially enjoyed the cars that drifted across the bends. 

A weekend full of food (and a dent in the car)

Our second weekend was made up of a series of invitations to different family members’ houses to feast. We started Saturday morning off by picking up some fresh bread from the café next door, and making brownies and spanakopita as gifts for our hosts. 

Saturday lunch was at a great-aunt’s house in Santo António da Serra, a lovely area in the mountains boasting a golf course and a little farm with horses, peacocks and deer which is open to the public. Since we arrived slightly early, we strolled through the farm and then as we drove over to my great-aunt’s house, my boyfriend experienced the steepest road he’d seen in Madeira (and was not a fan). Although most of Madeira’s touristic roads are now very well-paved and fairly wide, the ones that spring to my mind immediately are the very narrow ones along cliff edges with steep inclines. 

Nonetheless, we made it alive and well, and the lunch was absolutely glorious. I’d never visited this house, however my great-uncle had clearly put a lot of work into the garden and an abundance of fruit, vegetables, and herbs were growing, alongside some chickens and ducks. The meal itself was delicious too; the smoked salmon canapés were divine, the slow-cooked main was incredible, and the fruit salad and ice cream desserts hit the spot. We spent a lot of time chatting and enjoying the view, however we soon realised that we were running late for our dinner plans so we said our goodbyes and headed back up north. 

We had also been invited for dinner at my cousin’s country house, where her parents grow an abundance of fruit and veg and keep chickens too, and my aunt is a very good cook, so the food is always delicious. Here we enjoyed carne de panela, which literally translates to "meat of the pan" and is one of my boyfriend’s favourite dishes that my mum makes, so he was absolutely delighted. They’d also made an impressive dessert, comprising a layer of cake underlying a layer of flan, which was delightful. My cousin had a Nintendo Switch which she’d been dying for us to play, so we spent the evening planning various games together on the Switch. 

By Sunday, I was excited to go on a proper hike with my boyfriend and had seen that the highest mountain in Madeira, Pico Ruivo, was meant to have a bit of sun that morning, so we headed off early to climb PR1.2 (Vereda do Pico Ruivo) up to the peak. As we drove up the mountain to the starting point, we realised that we were losing petrol extremely quickly and we didn't have much to start with, so were becoming concerned. Additionally, the clouds were in full force and it was drizzling slightly, which wasn't lining up with the forecasts, but I've also seen that weather previously and once reaching higher grounds and going above the clouds, it's been sunny, so I didn't write it off completely. Nonetheless, the temperature kept decreasing from 15°C at home to just 4°C at the car park, which didn't fill me with confidence. We walked up to the peak, however it was very cloudy and windy, so we didn’t see much at all. On a positive, it was less busy than usual and since there were no officers, it was another free hike for us. 

Despite the lack of views, we were in high spirits and we quickly made it back down to the car park. As I got into the driver’s seat, there was only one thing on my mind: making it to a petrol station before we completely ran out of petrol. I turned the steering wheel all the way to the left and reversed out of the parking space but stopped when I heard a loud noise. As it turned out, I’d forgotten about a metal pole immediately to the right of the parking space, and rammed the front right hand side of the car into said pole. There was a bigger dent than I’d have liked, however there was nothing to be done other than head down towards a petrol station. Fortunately, we made it in a nick of time, but the relief didn’t make up for the stress of almost running out of fuel. 

Regardless, we had bigger and better things to move onto so we headed back home to shower and get ready, before heading to my uncle’s house for arroz de marisco (rice with seafood). The entire family came and we played various games, including on the Nintendo Switch and card games, so the day flew by. 

The North and PR13

On Monday morning, the weather in the north of the island was forecast to be partly sunny, which was all we could hope for at this point, so we decided to drive along the coast all the way to Ribeira da Janela (the town immediately preceding Porto Moniz). 

As we set off, the weather was definitely more cloudy than sunny, but we packed our beach bag nonetheless, as the weather in Madeira can change from one minute to the next. The first stop of the tour was in Arco de São Jorge, the village in which my mother grew up, where we found a swing to entertain ourselves with for a while. 

We then drove to a viewpoint in Boaventura called Miradouro de São Cristovão, which I’d never been to but enjoyed a lot. There was a little café overlooking the gorgeous views comprising mountains and the sea, as well as a restaurant. We looked out for surfers along the beaches in São Vicente, but didn’t spot any, and stopped at the popular waterfall down the road, Miradouro Água d’Alto. This waterfall lies immediately ahead of what I’ve recently discovered is sometimes termed “the TikTok tunnel” as various videos have surfaced on TikTok showing the mountain and sea view upon exiting the tunnel. 

Our final stop on our tour of the north, and the whole reason for spending the day in the north, was the black sand beach in Seixal. This is one of my favourite beaches in Madeira and is absolutely gorgeous, although it inevitably attracts a lot of crowds. Since it was a cloudy day, however, I hoped that the beach would be fairly empty. As we drove down towards the beach, we followed signs for beach parking and were conned out of 10€, however at least the car was parked and we could stay as long as we wanted to. Initially, we left our swimsuits in the car as the clouds weren’t filling us with optimism, however shortly after, the sun decided to make an appearance and it warmed up. Therefore, my boyfriend very kindly offered to grab our beach bag and we braved the waters. I had a wonderful time swimming in the sea (my favourite thing in the world), although the sunnier it got, the more people who flocked over to take pictures posing on the black sand beach. Nonetheless, since we’d arrived early, we had a great spot and managed to do as we pleased. 

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Las Caraibas, which was nice, and once we reached Ribeira da Janela, we then headed inland towards the Fanal forest for a hike. This forest is famed for its eerie fog and uniquely-shaped trees, and as expected, the fog was in full swing as we arrived to the car park. We’d planned to do part of PR14 (Levada dos Cedros), however as we arrived, a couple was finishing the hike and warned us that it was very muddy so wasn’t worth it. Therefore, we decided to instead walk part of PR13 (Vereda do Fanal), the more popular route. We only walked for a few kilometres, spotting many cows, and the fog was so dense that we both had droplets of condensation in our hair. The fog was very atmospheric and I enjoyed the walk greatly, although I did end up with a couple of blisters immediately after. 

As soon as we left Fanal and headed towards Paúl da Serra, the clouds immediately cleared and the sun was in full force. Again, Madeira is all about microclimates. We’d planned to have dinner at an aunt’s house in Caniço, so killed some time in a nearby coffee shop, before heading over to help with dinner and catch up with everyone. 

A slow day

We’d planned to complete PR1 (Madeira’s most famous hike, Vereda do Areeiro) on Tuesday morning, however between my blisters and the forecasted clouds, we decided not to risk another view-less hike in the rain. Instead, we decided to spend the day at Lido, where we were most likely to get some sun. It was fairly sunny, but the sea was choppy and within a couple of hours the flag was changed from yellow to red and the entrances to the sea were cordoned off. Therefore, we didn’t end up swimming at all, and instead spent most of the day sunbathing. 

Eventually, we got bored, so went on a short walk along the promenade and I got some pistachio gelato. We had been invited to another aunt’s house for dinner in Funchal, so were aiming to kill some time until then, however my boyfriend was feeling ill and opted to head home and rest instead. Therefore, I went to my cousin’s house to play games with her until dinner, and then we enjoyed pasta with prawns for dinner.

Whale watching and Madeira wine

I’ve been whale watching in Madeira several times, and whilst I’ve seen dolphins, I’ve never spotted a whale. Since our luck on the trip thus far hadn’t been great, I was hopeful that it would turn on this day. That said, we were running late from the get-go as there was more traffic than we’d anticipated, so we weren’t sure we’d even make the tour, however after dumping the car in the first available spot and running to the marina, we made it just in time.

As we checked in, I overheard a guide tell his colleagues that various whales had been spotted in Calheta, so my hopes rose. We hopped on a rib boat (i.e. an inflatable boat) and within half an hour, we reached the spot where a whale had recently been spotted and turned the motor off. We were told to look out for the jet of spray that whales blow before surfacing, and soon people were gasping and pointing towards the waves. I notoriously struggle to spot nature’s miracles quickly, but even I was lucky enough to witness a whale surfacing from the water and diving back under. 

We remained in the vicinity and shortly after saw not only a big mama whale, but her baby whale too! I say “baby”, but these are fin whales we’re talking about, the second largest whale after the blue whale, so the “baby” was also ginormous. We were extremely lucky to see the pair surface from the water several times, as well as blow jets of water out of their blowholes, although eventually we had to leave as the larger boats were coming in and we had to allow them to see the whales too. It was a magical morning and a bucket list item for me! 

After seeing the whales, my boyfriend and I explored the old town and suddenly it felt like a proper holiday; we were walking around a sunny old town in shorts and enjoying the local food and gelato. One of the most underrated Portuguese foods is pão com chouriço, bread with chorizo as a filling, which is often eaten at night during village parties in summer with live music playing in the background. I’m a big fan, and was excited to introduce my boyfriend to the humble pão com chouriço. We found a restaurant in the old town selling them, and although the service wasn’t great, the food was. Thereafter, we visited Blandy’s, where my boyfriend tried a 20-year old dessert wine, and I tried a white table wine, which we both enjoyed. It was a wonderful morning and it truly felt like we were on holiday, whereas until that point we’d been constantly making plans and running from one place to the next (which I also love but isn’t as relaxing).

Funnily enough, by the time we were ready to leave, we couldn’t find our car! As we’d been in such a rush to make it to the whale watching in time, that we’d parked the car in the first available spot and just legged it over to the port without making a mental note of where we’d left the car. Thankfully, we actually found it quite quickly, and we quickly popped by the Mercado dos Lavradores for a second time to see it in full swing. We then picked up my cousin and headed to Quinta Magnólia, a hotel in Funchal, to play tennis for an hour, which was a lot of fun. 

Mountains galore

Some of my fondest memories in Madeira are going to the serra, or the mountains, and having a picnic. A Madeiran picnic is very different from a British picnic; instead of a picnic blanket and picky bits; you have an abundance of food, including an espetada (as aforementioned) cooked over a wood-fire, you sit on stone benches and tables, and it’s an all-day affair. This is especially common in the summer, when people escape the heat of the city and come up to the cooler mountains, however since we were only in Madeira over Easter, we decided to have a picnic in the serra regardless of the weather. 

In the morning, we explored Faial (where we were staying) as we’d been recommended a nearby waterfall by my uncle. We struggled to find it at first but we ended up following a levada and before we knew it, we had reached Cascata Água d’Alto. It was absolutely gorgeous and I couldn’t believe that after almost 30 years of holidaying in Faial, I’d never seen or heard of it! It was one of my favourite little walks we did and we were rewarded with a stunning view. 

We then headed to Queimadas, a nearby nature park offering lovely hiking trails, picnic areas, and a fairytale-like atmosphere. I have pictures of my family at Queimadas over the years and it’s always enjoyable to be back. We did a short, but pleasant, walk to Pico das Pedras (PR JOEL), which is a very similar vibe but tends to be quieter than Queimadas. We found a quiet area and laid out all of our food, from a rotisserie chicken and sausages to crisps to melon and chipicao (chocolate-filled croissants which I grew up eating). It was a wonderful spread, although there were two negatives: firstly, a bird pooped on my (dad’s) fleece, and secondly, it was slightly chilly. Nonetheless, it was very serene, and after walking back to Pico das Pedras, we enjoyed a coffee by the old thatched house, which was lovely. 

In the afternoon, we joined a couple of my aunts and my cousin, and headed to Curral das Freiras, a secluded town nestled in a crater surrounded by mountains, which some nuns fled to in the 16th century when pirates attacked. There was a viewpoint which offered stunning mountain views, which despite us going on several hikes in the mountain, hadn’t been very forthcoming until this point. We also visited several cafés, where we tried an array of chestnut-flavoured delicacies, including chestnut liqueur and chestnut bread. 

Finally, we had dinner at a different aunt’s house in Santa Cruz, where we got to spend more time with my dad’s side of the family, including various kiddos and pets, which is always fun. We managed to have a proper catch-up over delicious food and wine, which was wonderful. 

Faial

Despite the weather apps forecasting a rainy first week and a balmy second week, several days in our second week in Madeira were quite cloudy, and our last Friday was no exception. Since we enjoyed the walk to the waterfall in Faial so much, we decided to stay local and do another levada walk, this time “Levada de Castelejo”. This levada included a walk through a tunnel and views of my favourite mountain, Penha d’Águia. We were the only people on the walk for the vast majority, although we encountered various tour groups on our return. It was a relaxing, easy walk with an honesty box selling local produce and nice views.

Following our hike, we passed by Peter’s, a local restaurant located within a cave, where we enjoyed a coffee and pastel de nata, which was surprisingly yummy! We later headed to Casa de Chá for lunch, where we shared a small bottle of Mateus wine, bolo do caco, limpets and black scabbard fish. It was absolutely delicious and the service was excellent, as always. 

We then headed back home, where we played Monopoly Deal on the balcony overlooking my favourite view in the world, before driving to the city to partake in the rum festival. Our plan was to have a few ponchas in the sun and then head to a restaurant in Câmara de Lobos where a folklore group was to perform a traditional dance: O Bailinho da Madeira. Unfortunately, after a poncha, my boyfriend started to feel quite queasy and since a walk along the marina wasn’t helping, we decided to go home and take it easy instead. 

Our last hurrah

Madeira’s most famous hike is PR1 (Vereda do Arieiro), which goes from Madeira's highest peak, Pico Ruivo, to its third-highest peak, Pico do Arieiro. The hike takes about three hours and offers breathtaking views, including a “sea of clouds” (when you’re above the clouds looking out onto them) and the “stairway to heaven” (a narrow staircase leading to the peak). Although only 1.2km of this trail being open whilst we were there (annoyingly, the entire trail was due to open the weekend after we left, after having been closed for two years), I definitely thought it was worth showing my boyfriend, and the weather forecasts suggested that it would be decent weather, so we aimed to do the open part of the trail on our final morning, after two weeks of anticipation. 

This trail has been all over social media in the past five years, and even in my 2020 blog post I mentioned watching the sunrise above the clouds at Pico do Arieiro, however nowadays the experience is nowhere near as serene due to the masses of tourists. Therefore, we opted to visit closer to 8am, when the sunrise was over and hopefully the masses would’ve dispersed, but the weather was still meant to be nice. We drove to Pico do Arieiro, parked the car, and headed over to the trail starting point. Although there were quite a few people, it wasn’t as packed as I’d anticipated, which was a lovely surprise, and we managed to do the trail without any issues. 

I cannot emphasise just how spectacular the views on this trail are, you’re walking along mountain peaks above the clouds and you can’t quite wrap your head around it. The hike wasn’t super easy but it was well worth it and this actually ended up being a real highlight of the trip. Funnily enough, we’d brought a bag of crisps in the car and on returning from the trail, we noticed that it was completely puffed out due to the high altitude!

Since we’d driven halfway across the island to get to Pico do Arieiro, we decided to keep heading south toward Câmara de Lobos, where there was a quiet beach we could enjoy. The beach is called Fajã dos Padres and can be accessed either by boat or by cable car, as it’s located directly beneath a cliff-face. Back in the day, the beach used to be accessed via a vertical elevator, however this has since been replaced by the cable car. As you leave the cable car, you walk through a plantation with many fruit trees, and by the beach there’s a restaurant, some showers, and bathrooms, which was perfect for us. We found a couple of free sun loungers and set up camp, before jumping into the sea and swimming in the ocean. My boyfriend struggled with how cold the ocean was, as he’s Greek and thus used to the Med, however I love the Atlantic and find the coolness of the ocean very refreshing. We had a wonderful time swimming and sunbathing, then enjoyed our packed lunch, and once we were satisfied with our beach day, we headed over to the bar to enjoy a drink in the sun. There were many lizards around, which is very common throughout Madeira, and it was fun watching them live their little lives. 

In the evening, we headed to my aunt’s house in Caniço for a classic Madeiran dish, picado, which is essentially diced beef in sauce with chips, tomatoes and olives. We’d actually already had one of these in a restaurant in Ponta do Sol, however my aunt’s version was more authentic. We played Bisca until late and then said our goodbyes and made our way back to Faial for the last time this trip. This day ended up being one of our favourite days and was a lovely end to the trip.

Our last morning in Madeira comprised of us thanking our neighbours for everything, packing, and tidying up the house, before meeting some family members at the airport for a coffee before boarding our flight. Despite the weather not being ideal and various trails being closed, we had a wonderful time and I always feel so incredibly loved and grateful when in Madeira. I love being there and am very excited for my next visit. 

*In case you are curious about the list of Madeiran foods I wanted my boyfriend to try, it is as follows: pão com chouriço, espetada, nikita, poncha, espada com banana, lapas, bolo do caco, tremoços, pizza café, picado, brisa, wine, bola de Berlim, anona, nêsperas, Chipicao, homemade wine, prego, pé da cabra, pastel de nata, feijoada, macarrão guisado, carne da panela, and rissois. The only additional thing that he didn’t try was a specific francesinha that I loved as, unfortunately, the restaurant has since closed.