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!

New Video: Fancy a one-hour bus ride from Faial to Monte?

Yes, it's that time again: We ride the bus! And this time it is somewhat brutal. The quality of the road unfortunately caused even more shaky camera than usual. In addition, someone grabbed the seat at the front of the bus. To get a picture filling motif, I had to zoom a bit and that increased the shaky-cam-factor even more. As bad as this may read: I think it is bearable. And it is worth watching because of the following:

The Plot
Somehow the bus was going on a special route. So we drive for the first 20 minutes crisscross through Faial and the surrounding areas, and get to see beautiful views of the Eagle Rock and the surrounding landscape. Not your everyday  bus ride. After the special route it goes directly to Monte. Here we see a nice mixture of the possible weather conditions in Madeira. We start in Faial in slightly cloudy but sunny weather. The route takes us through Cruzinhas to Ribeiro Frio. Between Ribeiro Frio and Poiso we break through the clouds and it is adorably foggy. Shortly after Poiso we end up above the clouds and the sun makes one almost blind. And so it goes on, via the Parque Ecologico do Funchal until shortly before Terreiro da Luta, where we again take a dip in the clouds, until finally, just before Monte, we get a beautiful view of Funchal. On reaching the town sign of Monte, I stopped filming, because we already filmed the bus ride from Monte to Funchal in 2011. In addition, my wrist started to hurt from holding the camera aboard the shaky bus. This was also caused by a slight overuse of the wrist on the bus ride the day before. This is also the last bus ride video of this series.

The Soundtrack
One or the other asked to hear more from the unusual alionsonny album "Electronic Spacerock". And because the music fits great for bus rides, the soundtrack consists of almost the entire album. Almost only because there was simply no time for the last track. The soundtrack in detail:

• 00:00 80s 4 Ever
• 05:08 Never Born To Follow
• 10:11 Rise & Shine
• 15:01 Aurora Borealis
• 19:45 Sunrise
• 24:51 Days of Our Years
• 29:33 Fear No Evil
• 34:42 Gettin 'Old
• 39:11 Spacejourney Chapter Two
• 43:41 Forest
• 49:11 Flowers
• 54:30 Fire Dance

Of course, the album is also available in all well sorted online stores. Get it for YOUR bus ride in Madeira! Some of the links can be found on the homepage of the album on alionsonny.com.

What's next?

Next time we hike again. And what a hike this will be! I never did a hike like this one during all the times I've been in Madeira. It starts in Faial, from we hike to the hydroelectric power station, continue up the hill to the Pico Ruivo tunnel and through the tunnel below the Pico Ruivo to the Caldeirao do Inferno. Then we hike back via the Caldeirao Verde to Queimadas. Those of you who know Madeira, wil find it hard to believe that we managed to get all this done in one day. The sheer volume of video footage and photos taken during the hike forces me to divide this day in not less than 3 parts. But that's a story for another day. Now have a nice bus ride, and, as always, I wish you loads of fun!