Hello everyone!
Here is my first article about the amazing island of Madeira, which I was lucky enough to visit in 2017. I have planned an extensive series of articles about Madeira — despite its small size, the island has a huge number of natural, historical and architectural attractions.
Today, I will tell you a little about the easternmost part of Madeira — Ponta de São Lourenço, where one of the most memorable hiking trails on the island runs. The highlight of this trail is the lifeless, unearthly landscapes with pointed rocks that are lost against the background of the vast expanse of the ocean — meanwhile the rest of the island completely covered with greenery. Yes, Madeira is a very green island, but I will start my story with the most atypical natural landmark for it.
Note. All the photos in this article taken by me, and — to give the landscapes more expressiveness — processed in the Lightroom with a special filter called Turquoise & Red. I tried to make such pictures that you, my dear friends, have an irresistible desire to visit this unique corner of our planet.
The first photo taken from Ponta do Rosta, a popular lookout at the cliff's edge offering views of the island's coastline and offshore rock formations. It was there that I took photos for one of my past posts. Ponta do Rosta is the first, and a must-visit landmark on the way to Ponta de São Lourenço.
Ponta de São Lourenço is a group of rocks forming the eastern tip of Madeira. The PR8 Vereda São Lourenço hiking trail, about four kilometers long in one direction, runs along the cliffs to the easternmost edge of the island. The starting point of the route is the parking lot of the ER109 highway, where the first sign of the PR8 trail installed. Cais do Sardinha is a small beach and pier. The final point of the route is the Ponta do Furado hill.
It considered that PR8 is a route of medium difficulty, but, in my opinion, it is very simple. There are long ascents and descents equipped with stairs and fences. I did not come across any dangerous places; the entire route at a leisurely pace (~4 hours) is accessible even to children. From the main trail, there are several smaller trails to various lookouts. Keep in mind that there are no places on the route, where you can hide from the scorching sun, despite the cool breeze from the ocean.
Many hikers like to build on the route so-called cairns, ritual pyramids of stones. There are whole fields of such cairns. These are the traditions of our world.
In some places, you can get quite close to the cliff.
In the most dangerous places, there are fences.
Vacationers on the São Lourenço Beach. It's either local, or people who have a lot of time. Getting to the beach from the route is not so easy. I could only envy them — it was quite hot that day.
Still, most of all I was interested in landscapes. Breathtaking landscapes. The scale of the open spaces and the size of the rocks shocked my imagination. Find the people in the two photos below. Tiny figures are invisible.
With the help of a telephoto lens, I took several pictures with a maximum focal length (300 mm).
Layers of rock.
Most hikers, following the route, climb to the very top of this rock. There is another lookout with an excellent panoramic view.
I did not go up the cliff but went down — there is also something to see.
This is what the entire eastern coast of Madeira looks like. The ocean and the cliffs! You will be amazed when you see these huge rocks and endless ocean! There are no words to describe it, especially if you're seeing it for the first time in your life.
As they say, better once to see. It feels amazing.
A fresh, invigorating wind was blowing from the ocean. From the cliff, I could see small islands of rock that cut through the water like shark fins. Because of the wind, it seemed to me that the rocks were really floating.
Multicolored volcanic rocks created bizarre patterns. The red rock formation gave its name to several tiny islands around Madeira. Ilheu Vermelho. Red Island.
Frankly speaking, I did not reach the final point of the PR8 route. I had my own good reasons, one of which is the sun. Heat and scorching sun. I thought that in the spring such a walk would be much more comfortable for me. Well, let this be another reason to return to this beautiful place.
Finally, I took a couple of pictures of the final point of the route — a hill called Ponta do Furado. The next time everything is good all over the world again, I will definitely come back and walk this route from start to finish.
That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed my story and pictures. However, neither my own nor anyone else's photos will be able to convey the silent grandeur of these rocks and the boundless expanse of the ocean. Be sure to visit Madeira as soon as circumstances allow and the opportunity arises. The indescribable beauty of this island will forever leave a mark on your memory and make you return to it more than once. Just take my word for it. Ponta de São Lourenço is just a small piece of the unique beauty of Madeira.
Thank you for checking out my blog and reading all of this! :)
Thank you for checking out my blog and reading all of this! :)
