Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Today we moved to a new rental house in the southwestern part of Madeira called Ponta do Sol. I spent the morning packing our bags and cleaning up the kitchen of our airbnb before departing the house around 10:00am. It was always Andi and I’s intention to stay in two different parts Madeira because each zone offers a various climate. Northern parts of the volcanic island are more humid and lush with big, crashing waves and a rocky coastline. The Ponta do Sol are is warmer, drier, and more sunny. Some of the archipelago's biggest exports, such as bananas and sugar cane, are grown there.

Our new airbnb host gave Andi a recommendation for an easy walk to take through a banana plantation. Levados, which are irrigation channels, crisscross through the island carrying water from higher elevations to farms and plantations like this one. Each levado has a footpath along side it that people are free to walk along. This entrance to this particular levado started on the Main Street in Ponto do Sol, though if you didn’t know it was there you’d easily walk right by it. There was a small sign posted in an alleyway. We followed the sign which led us along the paved walkway.

Levados are notoriously flat as they follow cement irrigation channels which make them a great place to walk with small children, or in our case with Andi who still wasn’t feeling the best. The Rota da Banana walk wasn’t the least bit difficult, but it was fun to walk through the maze of banana trees.

I couldn’t believe how much warmer it was in Ponta do Sol than it had been in Sao Vicente this morning. The sun was shining brightly and the air temperature was easily 10 degrees warmer. After a 30-minute walk through the banana trees, the four of us decided to grab a bite to eat on the Main Street in town. We were quickly peeling off layers of clothing as we walked in the sunshine.

Andi picked a restaurant called Sol d Cantinho da Madeira for lunch — the first place we came across with an outdoor patio. Sitting in the sunshine sounded like a pretty good idea at the moment. Andi and I decided to share a grilled chicken and pineapple dish, and Tory and Aden each ordered hamburgers. We played a game of Kings in the Corner together while we waited for our food to arrive.

The smoking culture is so gross in Europe. Every public space, including restaurant patios, are filled with people smoking cigarettes. That’s something we take for granted in the United States — being able to eat a meal in a restaurant — without someone’s cigarette smoke wafting over our table. Most restaurants have cigarette vending machine and they are cheap! A pack of cigarettes is around €4 (compared to $8 in USA).

After lunch, the four of us drove to the Praia da Calheta area where our new airbnb is located. Praia means “beach” in Portuguese, and there’s a beautiful marina located here as well as many high-end restaurants and shopping. We had a little time before we could check into our rental house, so we parked our car and walked to Manifattura di Gelato to treat the kids to some gelato. Aden picked the vanilla flavor, Tory chose chocolate, and I got passionfruit sorbet. The vanilla flavor was by far all of our favorite; I wish I had taken a picture of the exact name of it because it was so, so good.

At 2:00pm, we checked into our airbnb apartment. It was a little strange to find at first (we literally had to drive our car up onto the sidewalk and then down an alleyway), but the owner greeted us there and showed us where to park. Our rented apartment is one of four units; two which are still under construction. Two doors down from us, there was a loud screeching sound of metal being cut and several men walking back and forth in front of our place with construction materials. The owner apologized and said she should have been done by now, but from the looks of their construction it seemed like they had a lot more work to do.

Nonetheless, the four of us settled ourselves into our new apartment. This place has a small kitchen, dining, and living room area, one bathroom, two twin beds on the main floor, and a three twin beds in a loft above. Where was the option to sleep in two twin beds when Andi was so sick in Lanzarote, I joked?!

The size of this apartment was fine for our family for two days, but the furnishings were a little on the cheap side. It reminded me of a college kid’s first rented apartment — all the furniture was pretty basic, and the mattresses felt like the cheapest ones on the market. The bedding and linens weren’t very good quality either.

Andi had to call the owner back to the apartment right away because our toilet didn’t flush. She got a plumber over to the apartment right away (maybe he was already on site in the other apartments under construction?) and the issue was fixed in no time. She apologized again for the noise and offered to let us use her "garden” where she lives up the hill if our place was too noisy for the kids. I thought that was a nice gesture.

The bright side was, the beach was steps away from our apartment as well as the supermarket and all the restaurants in the marina. This area was super walkable.

Before we could check out the beach, I told Tory and Aden we needed to do some school work. They both did a nice job today of getting all their work done, even with all the noise of the construction next door and the plumber coming in and out of the apartment to fix the toilet.

Around 4:00pm, the four of us walked to Praia do Calheta. I was surprised to read that this is a man-made beach with imported sand from Morocco, but it makes sense given the size of waves around other parts of Madeira Island. This beach has two sillops which are cement barriers to make a safe swimming area. There is also a snack bar that serves a basic menu of sandwiches and burgers, alcohol, and lounge chairs for rent.

The four of us found a table at the restaurant and ordered drinks and French fries. We enjoyed the sunshine and warm temperatures. After a while, Tory and Aden went off to play in the sand together while Andi and I continued to sit on the nearby patio.

There were so many great restaurants along the marina promenade that we decided to have dinner around there tonight. Andi picked to go back to Manifattura di Gelato — their Italian menu looked as good as their gelato. Tory and Aden split a pasta dish for their meals, I ordered a wood-fired pizza, and Andi ordered the prawns. He said they were delicious and the first meal with real flavor he’s eaten in weeks!

Funny enough, our server told us in conversation that she lived in Omaha, Nebraska for a year. “Go Huskers!” she said, which made me smile.

After dinner, we walked back to our apartment and turned in for the night. It’s always fun to stay in a couple different places when visiting somewhere like the island of Madeira. I’m amazed what a different vibe the southwest part of the island is from the north, and I’m sure the capital city of Funchal in the southeast has much to offer as well in terms of dining and entertainment.

Tomorrow is a work and school day for us, but I’m hoping we’ll also be able to spend some time at the beach.