Last day in Madeira: Up in the clouds!

Thursday 18 April
You could say we saved the best to last, since for our last day we went to Pico do Ariero, the third highest peak on the island, at a height of 1,818 meters, 5,965 feet above sea level, but it wasn’t any great exertion to get there, since a road takes you to the top! As usual, the parking lots were full, and we had to back track to find somewhere sufficiently off the road to park! There is a footpath from there which links a series of peaks, and whilst we weren’t up to walking the whole thing, we did do the first section, as far as the first viewpoint. As we walked, you could see the clouds gradually lifting up the mountain, at times obscuring the neighbouring peaks, but then a while later they would appear. The views were amazing, looking out over the peaks and ravines of the islands central mountains, and the rock formations left over from the ancient volcanic upheavals which created the island. Our journey back down in the car was through the cloud, quite thick at times. It was almost mid afternoon by the time we got back to the coast, and for a final port of call we drove to the pleasant town of Santa Cruz which, despite it lying at the end of the airport runway, is surprisingly quiet. I’ve added an extra of some of the beautiful pavement art along the front, and a plane at the end of the runway. Unfortunately, the planes were landing from the other end, so we weren’t in the best viewing position, but I was able to capture one as it turned at the end of its landing run.
Step count: 15,655