Madeira Weekender – West Island Tour

Organised tours are generally not my cup of tea…being herded from site to site, crushed under the hoofs of 50 pairs of sandaled feet that people seem to think is quite OK to wear white socks underneath, an expensive lunch stop that is generally a thrown-together buffet of ‘local food’….and repeating that mundane ‘getting to know you’ conversation that has you wishing you led a more interesting life….but today we embarked on a West island tour with the highly recommended Lido tours,  and we didn’t regret it. Yes, it was hurried at times, but we weren’t led around any of the sights by a guide saying the same thing in German, French, Spanish and English while the herd completely ignores him or her.  We were left to explore on our own, forge our own paths, however briefly.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was an economical way to see the stunning west coast of the island and leave a taste in the mouth for wanting to come back and sample more one day in the future at a more leisurely pace.

Our minivan picked us up first, then crawled around town for an hour picking up others – for the most part an elderly lot – for some reason Madeira has become known as ‘God’s waiting room’ amongst vacationing Brits….and it could only be Brits with their dark humour that could come up with such a brilliant description.  Once all the cattle were on board we set off into the hills.  It was another gloriously sunny day…the weather in Madeira is lovely.  Hot and fresh, like opening a bread oven.

Our first stop was Camara Do Lobos, where apparently Winston Churchill spent time painting the lovely surrounds, something the old Brits on board seemed to take great pride in, whilst the Germans forced polite smiles.  It’s a pretty fishing village, with a pretty church (every village and town seems to have a pretty church here).  It seemed the ideal place to spend a morning or afternoon, just watching the village life unfold.