We started our day at 7:00am. Got breakfast which is fantastic at this hotel and were ready for the Madeira Explorers Company to pick us up at 8:40am. Up, up, up and away we went to Pico do Areeiro, Pico Ruivo, and Achadas do Teixeira in Madeira's steep mountains.
Little did we know, today would be one of the most rigorous workouts we've done in a long time. Our hotel organized this trip for us and said that it was a levada walk. Now, a levada walk is simply a winding walk through the hills and mountains along the island's calm waterways. What we did today was a major 8 kilometer hike that left us breathless - from the beauty
and the workout. But I will tell you, the feeling of accomplishment as sweat dripped down our faces when we reached one of the highest peaks was wonderful. We watched as clouds passed us by. We were even above the clouds at times; imagine how high we were! We even had a typical drink ("puncha") with the guy who ran the bar at the top of the mountain (José, who is pictured in a photo with me). We asked him how he made it to work every day on the top of this mountain. He said he has carried everything and walked that mountain to make it all the way up to his little bar for the past 24 years! Amazing. (However, we later learned that he did not take the same strenuous path that we had).We worked every major muscle and thought at times we might die up there due to the steep inclines, high elevation, and dangerous cliffs but in the end, we made it:) We took lots of pictures and maybe in a year, I will be ready to do it all over again! Another important point to make is that I kept being reminded no matter how hot, tired, or achy I was, (I did squats yesterday - yeah, bad timing!) I could not complain as we had a Dutch couple with us who were 77 and 73 years old and kept up well with everyone! The wife of this couple (see photo of her posing with a stick aimed at the camera) said her secret to aging well and being in shape was - smoking! LOL No, seriously! She showed us her pack of Marlboro's in her fanny pack. After the 7 hour mountain affair, we descended and stopped at a local snack bar where we enjoyed beverages and some nice little corn snacks that I forgot to take pictures of.
Once we got back to our cozy hotel, we went straight to the steam room to relax our muscles and jumped into the cold shower with bathing suits on!
Dinner was delivered to the room soon after. A wonderful way to end the beautiful day after being in the mountains on Madeira Island.
