Hiking from Cruzinhas to the hydroelectric plant and the Levada do Pico Ruivo

On day 10 we started the longest hike of this journey and longest to date at all. We knew that this would be not a short hike, but then were somewhat surpised how long it took to reach the Pico Ruivo tunnel. Yes, Madeira is in this respect, because of the mountains, always good for a surprise. But it should get even better: We came to a daring decision, which again extended the hike considerably. Since the video and photo material was accordingly extensive, and I've recently introduced the "20 minutes +/- 5 per episode' rule, there will be a total of 4 parts for day 10.

Each hike starts somewhere. And this was our start for the day, near Cruzinhas.

The Plot

We started very early in the morning, after a long bus ride, in Cruzinhas, near Faial. From there we hiked the unexpectedly long gravel road to the hydroelectric power plant of Nogueira and even catched a glance at the Balcoes, from where we had already examined the route the day before. The sight of the height difference gave us a general idea of ​​the ascent to the Levada do Pico Ruivo. Behind the hydroelectric plant, quite well hidden, is the path to the ascension. As we already known from Madeira, we hiked in snake lines on the really hard ascent to the Levada. I must say here, because people told me different, that this route does not pose any danger. Arrived at the Levada we had a wonderful view. Since the trail was quite wide, this route was, contrary to some warnings from friends, quite harmless. However, the hike to the Pico Ruivo tunnel was, as already mentioned, unexpectedly long. There were also a lot of tunnels on that route. So we thought a few times that we had already reached our destination, and it wasn't the case. And so this part ends in the middle of the Levada do Pico Ruivo.

The hydroelectric power plant of Nogueira. From here we always went uphill.

The Soundtrack

Since the new Cimelium album "Madeira" still awaits completion, I have decided to use the album "Mesopotamia" for the videos of day 10 again. This album has served well already in several Madeira videos. In this video, the following songs are used:

• 00:00 Innana
• 05:58 Dumuzi
• 10:58 Marduk
• 16:03 Ishtar

What is missing is the mandatory purchase link for the album if one or the other likes the music. The easiest and most profitable way for me ;) is to buy the album on iTunes. Links to other sources can be found on the official website of the album.

On this hike, we saw the mountains of Madeira yet from a different angle again.

Thank you "Can"

I met Can on the Portugal forum and he was so kind to provide me with a KML file with the GPS coordinates of the trail to the Pico Ruivo tunnel. This not only helped to find the entrance to the gravel road to the hydroelectric plant, but also to deal with the ascent to the Levada. A very big thank you for this! Can has a nice blog on which he presents his wonderful travel photos to the world. Check it out!

Gues who's this ;) This is the closing picture of this part.

What is next?

In the next part we complete the other (approximately) half of the hike along the Levada and finally reach the Pico Ruivo tunnel. Here we walk even through the first section of it, where it is interrupted by a ravine.

And now have fun with the video!

Spring in Madeira continues: The Balcões and a hike to Faial!

Well, that was fast this time, eh? I told you that the new strategy with the video length of 20 minutes will work. And just as I mentioned earlier, I have to "put the pedal to the metal" a bit to complete this series for "specific reasons". Also, I have just missed to meet my "promise" to upload new videos if the most recent video has reached 50 views. When uploading the video, the previous one had 54 views. But what can I do, if you are so quick? ;)

The Plot
As promised, you will see the Balcões finally in this video. We start where we left off the last time: The entrance to the Balcões. And yes, I was a little annoyed by the very loud French tourists and their crying baby ;). It was much louder than it sounds in the video. Well, anyway the panoramic view from the Balcões was filmed extensively. For some, perhaps a bit too extensively. As I mention in the video, the view was impressive but not so overwhelming as I remembered it from the photos and videos on the Internet. But, and this I mention also, maybe I simply saw another lookout point. The one on the pictures and videos had the typical wooden railing. The Balcões have, as you can see in the video, a simple green metal railing. The time on the Balcões was definitely nice and it was a unique experience. After the extensive stay we actually did not know what to do next, because it was still early in the day. So we went back to Ribeiro Frio first and refreshed ourselves with a Cortado (coffee with Madeira wine). Here we took the bold decision to hike further to Faial and go from there back to Funchal by bus. Just FYI: The distance from Ribeiro Frio to Faial is almost half the distance from the south to the north coast. After a nice hike, two additional Coral Tonica and 2 Poncha we arrived in Faial in the early evening and caught, once again, the bus back to Funchal just in time.

The Soundtrack
...is this time, with one exception, from the current alionsonny album "Continuity". The exception to this is the pre-release version of a new alionsonny track.

What's next?
I had already announced that I still have A one-hour bus ride for you, and that comes as the next part. It will show the bus ride from Faial to Monte.

And now have lots of fun with the new video!

Spring in Madeira - Day 9 Part 1 is here!

This part is already one that is a little shorter than the announced 20 minutes. This starts good. You will agree that the timing for the cut at the end of the part is an absolutely perfect choice.

The Plot
A little later than planned on the day we start a hike from Ribeiro Frio to the world famous lookout point Balcões. To my greatest surprise and joy, this time I met Ribeiro Frio in bright sunshine. I was far more used the opposite in Ribeiro Frio, for example, on day 3, day 7 and day 8 of my trip in 2012. There was an accordingly immense tourism going on, and so I sometimes had a few problems to navigate my world famous shaky camera through the masses. However, there are wonderful views of nature, a little surprise in the form of an unexpectedly strong Poncha and accordingly much nonsense. You will not see the Balcões in this part, because I viciously placed the end-of-part cut right on the entrance to the Balcões. This is certainly not a highlight of the AlionLive entertainment, but you can not always top yourself ;). Again about the cliffhanger at the end: It was just the right place for the cut. If you watch the second part (probably with extra length), you will realize that an end-of-part cut wouldn't fit anywhere else. Nasty, but necessary.

The Soundtrack
...comes this time once more from older to ancient alionsonny albums. The titles have a strange resemblance. I do not know how this could happen. Why old music again? Because the new is not finished yet. I do not want to use the pre-release versions of the albums in progress again. Therefore I use older material. But soon, for a certain, very special, *giggle* episode, I'll present the new Willma Poppen album, maybe in full length.

What's Next
Of course you'll see the Balcões in the next part and, due to the nice weather, also spectacular views of it. Then we simply hike down to Faial... because we can. The next episode is, as already indicated, probably a little longer than 20 minutes.">

But now have fun with this video: