The stalls near the main entrance are in full bloom. The displays look like small tropical gardens. There is hardly a tourist who does not follow the reflex of taking pictures of the scenery here and there with his cell phone.
At one of these flower and plant stalls at the Mercado dos Lavradores in Funchal there is a saleswoman in a traditional red dress. On her arm she holds a basket with plant seeds. In this pose, surrounded by colorful foliage, she could have stood there decades ago.
It’s nice to stroll through the old market hall in the island’s capital of Madeira and to explore the sometimes exotic offer for us northern and central Europeans: Green bananas, dragon fruit, black scabbardfish, Madeira wine, sugar cane honey and of course poncha – the traditional drink of the Madeirans.
At the same time, you get the feeling in the market hall that you are walking through a yellowed postcard motif: Madeira, the flower island – yes, that’s what the rock was once called and advertised for tourists, which lies together with the neighboring island of Porto Santo west of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean.
To get to know the new image of Madeira, one can switch from the classic postcard to the smartphone. On Instagram, among the various Madeira hashtags, there is not much left of the flower island image.
Instead: adventurous trails that lead through mountain landscapes, vacationers posing in front of a waterfall that splashes unchecked onto a narrow coastal road, green peaks that are covered in clouds. Typical Instagram beauties are not missing either, carefully striding across an empty black beach.
The adventurer Jackson Groves is responsible for at least part of the new image. During the corona pandemic, the Australian explored mountainous Madeira and its neighboring island of Porto Santo with daring hikes. He posted his experiences and impressions on YouTube and Instagram, where he is followed by almost half a million people.
Of course, even before Groves, Madeira was popular with hikers in good physical condition. But in the wake of his social media presence, the island is likely to have moved up the travel wish list, mainly among young adults.
Eliseu Dias also notes that something has changed among visitors to the island. The hiking guide knows and loves the nature of his homeland. He manages to kidnap his groups after just a few meters into a world that was previously hidden from them. Which is due to his professional skills, but of course also to the circumstances.
There’s a mating pair of goldcrests, and there, on the damp rock face, he spots a tiny fern. Here a tree-sized dandelion grows, there a blueberry tree: Eliseu leads his guests along the water channels, the levadas, or along narrow paths through the mountains.
He will show you wildly romantic waterfalls and the enchanted beauty of Laurisilva, the unique laurel forest. Especially in the north-west of the island it was able to survive, while laurel forests on the European continent disappeared during the ice ages. In Madeira they have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.
In addition to the usual cruise tourists and package holidaymakers, the guide is increasingly accompanying individual tourists, young hiking couples or small groups on hikes lasting several days – or he advises them which routes are particularly worthwhile for a three or four-day tour.
“We don’t have any dangerous animals on Madeira,” assures the guide, “but hikers still need to be careful. The most common mistake is that you overestimate yourself,” says Eliseu. You need to be in good physical condition for the steep ascents and descents that can be found practically everywhere. In addition, the paths that are not always secured can suddenly hang in a dense cloud cover. Then orientation in small steps is required.
Weather apps are of little help in Madeira, because the weather changes so quickly that the forecasts cannot keep up. “Sometimes you experience all seasons in one day in Madeira,” says Pedro Albuquerque, who also works as a guide. However, he doesn’t walk, but rather rocks visitors in his aging Landrover Defender over steep slopes and side roads.
Like Eliseu, he advises against discovering the fantastic island nature unprepared and on your own. Especially not over the bumpy tracks that he chooses with his Landrover. The extreme topography of the island offers active vacationers varied terrain that is always high in altitude. Whether mountain biking, trail running, canyoning, surfing or other sports – Madeira is almost always demanding.
In order to exclude unnecessary risks, it is better to use the knowledge of the locals. Even driving a car requires strong nerves – sometimes the asphalt tracks are led over bridges outside the cliffs over the sea, sometimes a waterfall splashes in the middle of the road, sometimes it goes in wild hairpin bends to dizzying heights.
Some of the slopes are very steep with a gradient of over 30 percent. Better to leave that to driving artists like Pedro Albuquerque.
Madeira has so many different facets that the island is far too good for a banal beach holiday (which, on the other hand, almost imposes itself on the neighboring island of Porto Santo, where almost the entire south coast is a single sandy beach – nine kilometers long).
During the pandemic, when the island was considered a safe travel destination, the pretty town of Ponta do Sol was unceremoniously named Europe’s first “Digital Native Village”. Since then, self-employed people from all over the world have been able to apply for a job with internet access and advance their digital business there. The innovative model fits the new image of the island, which not only wants to be cool, but also future-oriented.
Anyone who fears that traditions will be forgotten or that the beautiful floral substance will be lost in the process can rest easy: Old Madeira lives on in the parks and gardens such as the Jardim Botánico da Madeira or the Roseiral da Quinta do Arco. But even there you will now come across active vacationers or digital natives. The feeling of walking through the scenery of a yellowed postcard can also be very nice.
Arrival: Madeira Cristiano Ronaldo Airport near Funchal is served by airlines such as Condor, Easyjet, Eurowings, Lufthansa, TAP Air Portugal or TUI fly from numerous German airports. A direct flight takes 4 to 4.5 hours.
Best travel time: From April to October it is summery and warm on the island and the weather is relatively stable. You have to reckon with a little rain and even snow in the up to 1800 meter high mountain zones in the winter months, when it can be endured well.
Accommodation: The luxury hotel “Savoy Saccharum” with spa, infinity pool and roof terrace is located in the quiet south-west on the beach of Arco da Calheta. Overnight stay in a double room from 112 euros (savoysignature.com).
A little set back from the coast but with a view of the sea are the comfortable and tastefully furnished natural stone houses “Casas da Levada”, which can accommodate two to nine guests, overnight stays from 120 euros, minimum stay two nights (casasdalevada.com).
The boutique hotel “Escarpa” in Ponta do Sol is surrounded by banana plantations and also has a great view of the Atlantic. The more expensive suites and villas have their own infinity pool, from 150 euros per night (escarpa-madeira.com).
Information: visitmadeira.com; madeiraallyear.com
Participation in the trip was supported by the Madeira Regional Tourist Board. You can find our standards of transparency and journalistic independence at axelspringer.com/de/Werte/downloads.
There is still chaos at German airports and flights are being cancelled. Lower Saxony’s Economics Minister Bernd Althusmann is now demanding that “air travelers should only pay at check-in”. The consumer must be protected.
Source: WELT / Carsten Hädler