Spring in Madeira - From the Caldeirao Verde to Queimadas - The end of day 10

This is the fourth and final part of the mega hike. Now that I have watched the whole thing several times while editing, I am somewhat proud of our performance. To surpass this is going to be somewhat difficult, but we'll see what we do on this year's trip.

The Plot
Well rested after a reasonably long rest at the Caldeirão do Inferno, we went surprisingly rested on our hike to Queimadas. We had long abandoned any hope to somehow still reach a bus. This was not just slightly having an impact on our mood. However, here you will experience a little twist: Where I was the one in the previous part, who was rather worried and Malina had to cheer me up, Malina was now recognizable frustrated by the length of the remaining distance. Thus, it was now up to me to take care of encouragement and to calm things down. We hike across steep stairs, along a spectacular Levadas, and of course through more and darker TUNNELS. We stopped only briefly at the Caldeirão Verde and there was no time to visit it in detail. After a long time we finally arrived in Queimadas. And as already announced, we encountered a nice surprise in terms of our return to Funchal. What exactly? No, I will not tell that here ;).

This is the whole route, retraced in Google Earth.

Soundtrack
Again, the soundtrack consists of songs from Cimelium's album "Mesopotamia" ...with one exception: I couldn't resist to integrate the preliminary version of the track "Queimadas" from the album "Madeira by "Cimelium, which is still in production. Do you still need the link to the album "Mesopotamia"? Okay, better safe than sorry. This time I link again to iTunes. And also the link to the homepage of the album with other sources should not miss. And here is the soundtrack in detail:

• 00:00 Lilith (Mesopotamia)
• 06:06 Dagon (Mesopotamia)
• 16:57 Queimadas (Madeira)
• 22:00 Enki (Mesopotamia)

The height profile of the hike. NOTE: Some important information about this is in the video.

What's next?
After such a long hike we had truly earned a day off. This was spent in Camara de Lobos and here we, to put it crudely, drank alot. In this video there will be a musical premiere of historic proportions ;).

And now have fun with the video!

Spring in Madeira - Caldeirão do Inferno - New Video

I am sorry to say that the camera, during this third of four parts, unfortunately is even shakier and inaccurate, than you already know it, because of increasing fatigue. However, there are beautiful views of nature around the Caldeirão do Inferno.

The Plot
After we had passed the long and dark Pico Ruivo tunnel, we made a (for myself) surprising decision. Time was running out. If we went straight back through the tunnel, we would have reached the bus back to Funchal probably. But Malina was simply not up for hiking again through the tunnel and suddenly wanted to see the Caldeirão do Inferno. The Lady's wish is my command, and so I agreed, with not just a bit of a doubt. The past, quite strenuous, hike was reflected by increased fatigue. And so we crossed a fairly large number of additional tunnels to be rewarded with a magnificent spectacle of nature: the Caldeirão do Inferno. This is a deep valley surrounded by impressive cliffs, from which water is flowing everywhere. Here we had the first real rest of the day and drank at last the only beer we had brought. Then we went, surprisingly well rested, on the rest of the hike, towards the Caldeirão Verde and Queimadas. And with us leaving the Caldeirão do Inferno this part ends.

I think there is no place with more spectacular and vertigo-causing views anywhere in Madeira than near the Caldeirão do Inferno

 Soundtrack
Just as the previous two parts, also this is one accompanied by Cimeliums album "Mesopotamia". And also this time I find the music choice more than suitable. Here is the track list:

• 00:00 Babylon
• 05:54 Akkadia
• 11:38 Sumeria
• 17:34 Lilith

And now again only the purchase link for the album is missing. One can buy the album anywhere else, but I simply prefer iTunes. This link goes directly to the album. Also, the link to the homepage of the album on alionmind.com should not be missing here. There you'll find more sources.

All hail our mighty hiking boots ;)

 What's next?
Well rested, we go on our very long hike to Queimadas. We visit, very briefly, the Caldeirão Verde. Time was not only running out, but we were long overdue.

And now have fun with the video!

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!