More treking along Levadas

We have walked along Levadas in three places in the last few days.
First we took a bus to a village about an hour away and walked along a levada there, then caught the bus back. The wakk went through some very attractive wooded ravines.
Then we took a taxi up into the hills where there are a couple of well know walks among the ancient laural and heather forests (both these species form trees here).
We got there quite early and did both walks but as we arrived at the end of the second one, the number of walkers was building up, but fortunantly we did not encounter many people comming the other way on the narrow bits when we returned. Some of the paths are only wide enough for one. On one side is the waterway which is betwen 25 and 60 cm wide, and on the other side is a drop - often covered in trees and bushes but a bit scarey.
Today we went by bus to Port Do Moniz which has a very scenic coastline (though rather spoilt by a cafe out on the rocks) and a few small islands near the shore.
After looking at the nice scenery, we took a taxi up into the hills over the town and walked along a levada high on the side of a deep gorge into more laural forests.
We then walked back to the bus stop and took the bus back.

A nice Levada walk

Today, monday, we took the bus to a place where we could join the western end of the Levada de Caleta. We followed it for several miles along  ravines coveded in pine and eucalyptus trees. We also saw some tunnels intended for the motorway but not yet connected up. It was a very pleasant walk as it was not too hot and the levadas are more or less level. Other paths and roads here in Madeira tend to go up and down a lot so walking can be quite hard work.

A comment on the incomplete golf course (earlier blog) by a cafe owner -  he said all developmemt work had stopped due to the financial situation. We think the same applies to the tunnels and the motorway. It seems a bit crazy to stop without finishing something.

Last night we went out along the garden here at tbe apartement which is on a ledge on the cliff face. We looked for Corrys Shearwaters which nest on the cliff. Shearwaters are seabirds that havd a surviuval strategy of returning to wwtheir nests after dark to avoid predators (we have seen buzards here).
We saw a few and heard their wierd cries but they may be affected by work nearby to stabilise the cliff above the marina.

Attached are some pictures of our Levada walk and one picture showing our apartement. This is the one showing part of a small marina in which the moorings nearest the shore are empty. This is because of rock falls from the cliff which is therefore being stabilised - as referred to earlier. This is a major operation with three tower cranes in use.

From Lisbon to Madeira

We arrived in Funchal on monday after a busy six days in Lisbon where Cathy did further research on Trant and we visited some of the attractions of the city. Lisbon is another hilly metropolis with a network of trams, some  of which are vintage plus late 19 century furniculars that one can use to help avoid some of the climbing.
Lisbon (like Coimbra) has a few lifts, one of which is also late 19C - it takes one to a platform from which to view the city.

We visited the castle and the cathedral from both of which there are excellent vistas of the city and the estuary.
We visited several museums including the Gulbekian and the fine art museum that houses Bosh's temptation of St  Anthony which we spent some time admiring.

It also has a 12C processional cross which at one point was pawned by an Abbot of the monastry that used to own it in orrder to pay for the education of his son. This was during the 15C as far as I remember. When redeemed, the item was missing a fragment of the "true cross" that had been fixed to the back.
The processional cross itself has nicely restrained decoration and is quite small. All the museums churches and monastries have many later crosses (and other religous hardware such as chalices) many of which are made quite hideous with overdecoration.
The distinctive local Portugese decorative element that recurrs in buildings is called Manueline - typically this includes rope patterns around arches.

We have now arrived at tbe apartement we have rented for the last two weeks. This is on a hillside overlooking the sea on the southwest side of the island of Maeira. Opposite, on the other side of the narrow, steep sided valley to us are terraces with bananas under cultivation, and below us ( hidden by the cliff) is a small village with shops and one restaurant. We can hear the sea, the occasional rooster and watch fishing boats that have set out from the small harbour (and separate protected swimming area) below. On thursday, we went for a swim which was very refreshing but the water is colder tban the Caribean!
On friday (yesterday) we went by bus to the westernmost point of the island for a trek. When we got off the bus, first we went towards the sea and the lighthouse on the point. Unfortunantly, the area had been cleared with the intention to build a golf course. The actual coast is spectacular but the walk itself scored low marks because the golf course area was a mess. Later on after getting some advice in a cafe we had a very pleasant walk among the ravines and pine woods. There are very few buses and we had a bit of a struggle to get up the final hill to the main road in order to catch the last bus but we made it. The hills can be very steep and indeed the path back to our apartment from the upper village is very steep in places. Fortunantly, the supermarket and a bus stop are in the lower village about 12 minutes walk. The upper village is at least 30 minutes downhill and probably 45 minutes uphill (but we have not tried this yet)  and has another bus stop which is the only stop for some buses. However there are plenty of taxis.
The steep inclines make for some strenuous walking. The preferred option is to follow artificial irrigation channels  called levadas that follow the contours though they can be vertiginous.
Today we are having a rest day.

Lisbon - more historic buildings

We arrived in Lisbon by train from Coimbra tuesday
Lisbon, like Porto has a huge number of old buildings dating mainly from the fifteenth to eighteenth century.
Yesterday we went to Belem and saw a huge Monastery which now houses two museums in addition to the church and the cloisters.
Lisbon has quite an extensive tram network. Like Porto it has a lot of hills which the trams seemto climb but for the very steep streets there are furniculars - all dating back to the nineteenth century though some of the trams are more modern.
There are lots of museums and a port right next to the city over which looms the remains of the ancient castle and several cathederals. One cathederal was partially destroyed in the 1753 earthquake which devasted the city. The city (largely destroyed) was rebuild on a grid and this part forms the centre of the city which is surrounded by broad avenues and parks, as well as a few crowded slums, which are quite picturesque in the way the compact tenements climb the steep streets exhibiting the washing of the inhabitants on frames slung from windows over the narrow alleys.

The pictures show the Cloisters in the Monastry that was built to give thanks for the discovery by Vasco da Gama of a sea route ( via the cape of Good Hope) to India. Taxes on this trade paid part of the cost - and were the reason for Portugal's subsequent prosperity , (aided also by otber colonial trade particularly Brasil).
The next picture is the attached Cathederal, and the last picture in the waterfront square, Praca do Comercio, which is a huge open space between the old town centre and the river Tagus.