Today, it had finally worked. Twice we have faced in the past a roadblock and today we have arrived through a bureaucracies without yet at our destination. To the high plateau of Paul da Serra in the West of Madeira!
Irgendwie sah es hier oben ganz anders aus als sonst wo auf der Insel 🙂 Wenn das Meer im Hintergrund nicht wäre, could you think, man sei in der Schweiz 🙂 Aber so weit hatten wir uns sicher nicht verfahren. The temperatures here were not so pleasant, how we would have liked that. But this time we were clothes-technically well equipped. Nevertheless, we decided, up here no hike to undertake, After we reached the parking lot at the starting point of the hiking trails. Here were also somehow too many tourists on the road.
Rather, we enjoyed the view and friendly us permanent residents of meadows and pastures. You look really nice, but touch is prohibited. Right when first attempting to approach the horns were quickly used. Dietmar was but quick enough again out of reach of sharp antlers before it could reach the cow. Well, We have learned it earlier, that one should consider the relationship sometimes better only from a distance :-).
At some point our little street led us back down again to the sea and we arrived in the village of Calheta. After attending de “Madeira wine”-Yesterday a visit to the traditional sugar seemed cellar us there- and rum factory only necessarily and logically.
In Madeira there are three factories, establish the sugar fine exactly as earlier from sugar cane. The manufacturing process is not very complicated. First of all you need the sugar cane of course. This is delivered on open flatbed, and then spent by crane on the factory floor.
In the first step it is coarsely crushed, before it is then squeezed out to the so-called sugar juice. It tasted not bad against all expectations, even though he left something visually to wish.
From the juice of sugar can be later either sugar or syrup or even rum. Of course, she had “Sociedade dos Engenhos da Calheta” also a bar to test the distillates and a small shop, where to buy all products also can. Especially on it had done us the honey cake or. the honey fritters, both are made with sugar cane syrup. Actually a rather Christmas pastries, but because of its long shelf life (as. a year) is available always on Madeira and belongs to the special local treats. But also “Poncha de Madeira”, a rum cocktail of type of, brought on board and a small bottle of rum (That is intended for baking but rather :-))
After I had left the detailed testing of the partly high spirits Dietmar, übernahm ich das Steuer des Mietwagens 🙂 Auf dem Rückweg zum Hafen bot sich noch ein interessanter Stopp an und von meinem angeheiterten Ehemann kam diesmal keine Gegenwehr. Monte, located above of Funchal in the mountains, showed up today from his sunny side. Up here had their villas before the rich wine merchants and various parks and gardens were created around. Nowadays man lives better again, in Funchal on the sea and the mountains leaving the tourists.
Monte is known, because here the last Austrian Emperor Karl died the first exile of pneumonia and surrounded by his remains in the chapel of rest were and because of the “Basket sleigh ride” down towards Funchal.
Obediently waiting for the next brave in a number of the driver of the carriage, who wanted to go with the vehicle without steering and brake towards the Valley. Das schien auf jeden Fall ein ziemlicher Spaß zu sein 🙂
But for someone, 24-hour race next week goes, enough not thrill it was then probably it. We walked rather then by the Park at the Church “Igreja Nossa Senhora do Monte” over and made us go home.
