Madeira Island
October 5, 2019
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On Day 6, I booked a hike through the Serra De Agua agricultural area in the mountainous area there, with Madeira Explorers. It was a walk beside one of the
island's levadas. A levada is a narrow irrigation channel or aqueduct specific to Madeira. Levadas originated out of the need
to bring large amounts of water from the west and northwest of the island to the drier southeast, such as Funchal, which is flatter and more conducive to
habitation and agriculture, such as sugar cane, which was the island's first wealth creating crop.
In the sixteenth century (1500's) the Portuguese started building levadas to carry water, with a good number of workers dying in the mud slides, falling off
cliffs and the blasting used to create space in the rocky terrain. Originally levadas were private, owner by farmer groups or companies, but from 1947-1967,
400 km. of deeper concrete levadas and 4 hydroelectric plants were created by the state. Levadas above 1000 metres (highest mountains in Madeira are
just over 1800 metres) can be used to create hydroelectric power. Today, there are about 800 km. of levadas on Madeira.
After the walk, it was back to central Funchal around the Santa Clara convent area, and then walking down towards the coast of Funchal, and finally my daily dip
in the Pestana Madeira Carlton Hotel pool and a bit of reading (Lori Lansen's This Little Light, good characters and writing, poor ending) before dinner.
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Above: Driving through the agricultural area around Camara De Lobos to the Serra De Agua lavada area.
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1 to 5 show just prior to sunrise in Funchal ... sunrise just after 8:00 a.m. daily, following my breakfast.
6 and 7 is the post sunrise view of Funchal from the hotel room.
8 and 9 are views along the south coastal road through Camara De Lobos and surrounding countryside.
10 show entrances to tunnels through the mountains along the southern coast road.
11 shows the clearing above Campanario where our group began the hike.
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