Câmara de Lobos

This small town has always intrigued us: located near Funchal, it was promised to be a typical fishermen's village that became popular thanks to Sir Winston Churchill.

As to typical fishermen's village, we were not exactly buying it as so many times "typical villages" – be it fishermen's, Bedouin, Indian – ended up looking more like a movie set with hired actors. The jeeps were parked behind "Bedouin huts", "kids playing in the mud" had brand clothes hidden under the bush and "tribal chief" was secretly peeking at his mobile phone. In other words we were skeptical about the authenticity of fishermen.

The Churchill legend however seemed way more probable: British presence on Madeira has been strong for the last couple hundred years. It started in the times when half of the world was shaded green (for some reason this was the color most cartographists picked for Great Britain). After having served their tour of duty in the Caribbean, India or Africa British functionaries from colonial administration were happy to return home. But happy they were only until the arrival of winter as they were not anymore resistant to cold. As the first cold winds started blowing they were on a search for a new home: in a warm place yet civilized and not too far from Britain.

Madeira with its mild climate (+15⁰C wintertime and +25⁰C summertime) was ideal.

British founded Monte – summer refuge in the mountains 800m above the sea level, took export of Madeira wine to a whole new level making it popular worldwide, so why not to believe that Sir Winston gave good exposure to this village?

First, as according to the map it was only a few kilometers away from Funchal (walking distance for us!) we decided to walk there. Not a good idea (well, unless you are not on a cruise ship and have more than a couple of hours and muscular legs). On the positive side, at least we learnt that "a couple kilometers" in Madeira is different from "a couple kilometers" elsewhere. Mountainous terrain makes distances shown on the map longer with winding roads, ups and downs, blind bends… Plus, if you are traveling by public bus you need to foresee time for the driver to exchange local news at every stop.

But that's a story for another day.

Eventually we walked till Lido – more modern part with spiffy hotels – gave up and took a cab. We were happy we did: 15€ each way seemed a fair price to pay for the ride that took us good 15 minutes (yep, that's "a couple kilometers" in Madeira!). Alternatively one of hop-on / hop-off buses (blue color) can take you there but if Câmara de Lobos is your only destination then taxi will be quicker, more efficient and not that much more expensive (hop on buses are 12€), especially, if there are more than 2 in your group. Of course, interurban buses can also take you there but we could not quite figure the way to read their timetables. However you are welcome to check out Madeira public transport site and let us know how it goes.

The driver suggested to pick us up but when told we did not know how much time we were going to spend there he got surprised that someone might wish to spend there more than an hour. This was not too encouraging but we decided to stick to the plan.

The taxi dropped us off near Churchill Pub that was at that time closed but we were optimistic it was going to open later in the afternoon. Next to it was Churchill's balcony – the vantage point that Sir Winston chose for his watercolor landscapes.

And I am sure you would agree – the man had a good eye for viewpoints:

From the balcony we could see colorful fishermen's boats with drying bacalao – salt cod – so at least, we thought, these actors knew what the fish looked like.

 The name of the town literally means  chamber of the wolves and its history deserves a mention too. The legend has it that the Portuguese discoverer João Gonçalves Zarco (who is credited with the discovery of the Madeira Islands) chose the location of the modern town for the very first disembarkation. He assessed the perfect natural conditions: a cliff forming and amphitheater shape that would protect ships from Atlantic storms. So Câmara de Lobos could very well be the very place where a human set his foot on Madeira.

Upon arrival Zarco and his men also found a large colony of marine animals – sea lions or lobos-marinhos (sea wolves in Portuguese). Apparently sea lions were either looking very important or were communicating so loudly, that they reminded seamen of the members of câmara – municipal chamber. So they baptized the city with this pejorative term: Câmara de Lobos - Municipal chamber of Sea-Lions.

I would like to illustrate this part of the story with some pictures of lobos. Alas, this species of monk seals now live only in a small colony on Ilhas Desertas – uninhabited islands that are a protected Nature Reserve and constitute a part of Madeira archipelago. This is right, contrary to the popular belief Madeira is not just an island but also a part of archipelago named after its biggest island.

So even though you cannot see monk seals in Câmara de Lobos anymore, fishermen, as we found out, are more than real.

It was midday so the morning part of their job was done: nets taken out, cleaned and hung to dry, fish delivered to the market – time for some social life. And there they were: sitting on the benches on cute little plazas, they were playing dominoes, commenting the game so loudly and emotionally that we had no doubt: these fishermen were real. The hired actors would have been fired for scaring tourists away with their loud exclamations. Good thing we could not understand what exactly they were screaming at each other!

Walk along the boardwalk to snap the views of the city with agricultural terraces in the background.

Make sure you take the stairs to the upper level of boardwalk leading farther along the coast. You will be rewarded with view of Cabo Girao, one of the highest cliffs in Europe with the village of Ribeira Brava bravely climbing up its slopes.

After walking up and down the narrow streets the idea of having a fresh seafood lunch seemed more and more appealing. To our disappointment, we could not find anything. There were a couple of bars where fishermen were gulping vital energy. There were a couple of sandwich places. There was a rather modern looking restaurant that had a couple of seafood dishes advertised on the menu – not the abundance we were hoping for, and anyway it was closed. There even was a churrascaria – Brazilian Steakhose – not something we were hoping to find at fishing village…

Losing hopes and growing appetite we headed back to Churchill's pub, but it was closed, too. According to local custom, there was no sign with opening times so it could be in a couple of minutes, couple of hours or even months – till the season starts. We had no way of knowing.

As the hunger was growing we decided to return to Funchal for lunch.

From the Churchill's balcony we gave the last look to the colorful boats, white houses and drying fish of Câmara de Lobos.

Located so close to Funchal and glamorous hotels of Lido, it has somehow kept its rough charm and was not turned into another manicured resort for rich and famous. But maybe this proximity was something that actually helped this village freeze in time.  Tourist buses only stop here for half hour, crowds of tourists snap colorful shots and disappear towards other attractions. Those with money opt for the glam of comfortable modern resorts… And fishermen of Câmara de Lobos keep drying bacalao on their colorful boats, playing dominoes, shouting and drinking poncha…

Landscapes of Madeira

Here are some Madeira landscapes

View of Funchal from Monte

One of the most stunning views on the island opens up from Eira do Serrado and is included in most island tours along with cable car and toboggan ride.


Viewpoint and the nearby restaurant overlook the village called Curral das Freiras - Valley of Nuns. The name derives from the fact that threatened by pirate attacks the nuns relocated here as this is the only village on the island that does not have a sew view. The reason they had so many nuns is that colonial governors and ministers relocated here with their families. As they were all representatives of noble families there were not enough husbands of the same rank. Since they did not have a suitable mate and therefore  could not start married life the daughters of the noble families had no other option but to became nuns.


Sad stories aside, now it is a beautiful village that specializes in production of cherry and chestnut. Make sure you try one of the chestnut cakes!

 

Funchal Botanical Garden

From Monte Cable car terminal turn right. Walking along the picturesque street below you will get to the Teleferico Jardim Botanico - Botanical Garden cable car terminal.
If you already have a combo ticket including round trip and garden entrance ticket (28,25 €) just scan it and embark the gondola. If not it will cost you 8.25 € one way (and you can return to the city by public transport or taxi) or 12.75  € for return trip. If you are on a cruise ship we recommend this option as it saves you time compared to using public transport and money compared to the cab ride.
Alternatively you can use bus #31 but again if you are on a cruise ship and only have a few hours you really don't want to plunge into details of Madeira public transport: system...

On the way to Teleferic Jardim Botanico

On the way to Teleferic Jardim Botanico

Entrance to the garden (if you do not have the combo pass) will cost you 3 €. While in the garden enjoy the variety of 2,500 plants (palm trees and cacti among others), 300 exotic birds as well as view to the city and the cruise ships far down. Read more about the gardens here.

Norwegian Jade docked in Funchal seen from Botanical Garden

Funchal Cacti Garden

Museum on the garden territory contains exhibits of fossils found here and other samples of local flora and fauna

The most famous view of Botanical Garden is this giant ornamental flower bed with amphitheater of the city in the background. As you see it looks gorgeous even during winter season.

Cable Car & Monte

From Funchal boardwalk one can take cable car ride to the neighborhood of Monte. Monte was originally a small town, a summer refuge for the wealthy, due to its mild climate. Today the city of Funchal has absorbed Monte and it is now one of its parishes.

The tickets are 10€ one way, 15€ round trip. It is also possible to buy combination tickets including trip to the Funchal Botanical garden (in order to do that another cable car needs to be taken from Monte). The terminal is safe and well organized so after a brief stay in fast-moving queue you will soon be aboard admiring the city views.

While in the city Funchal does not seem too big. Yet only from the birds’ viewpoint can you see how big it really is. 

See the cruise ships far at the distance?

You can also see what a tremendous job the islanders have done to build modern highways in such mountainous terrain. Numerous tunnels pierce the mountains allowing for efficient transportation between the cities.

As you float in the air city views open up below you: rich and well-kept houses, poor houses and ruins, cats sunbathing on the roofs and bananas growing in the backyards.

Cable car ride lasts about 15 minutes.


Another way to get to Monte is by city buses #21 and #22 but then you will be deprived of all the views.


As you exit the terminal turn left and take a walk to Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte – the church of Our Lady of Monte sitting atop the hill with a long staircase leading towards it.

Painted wooden ceiling in the church

 


Beautiful views of Funchal open up from Monte:

On the way to the church there will be Monte Palace Tropical Garden on your left and you can get in for 10€. We were told this garden belongs to the richest man in Madeira. The garden holds his collection of Asian art & pottery. If you are planning on it you may wish to buy a combination ticket in the terminal including round trip by cable car and visit to the garden.

Monte is symbolized by the toboggan drivers that race tourists down to the central town. Basket cars or toboggan run are essentially baskets with seats on wooden skis which were slid the inclined streets of Monte, guided by two pilots from behind. In the late 19^th century it was the quickest way to deliver goods down to the city of Funchal as the streets are too steep for the horses or donkeys to go down. Nowadays it has become one of the most popular tourist attractions as it is the only place in the world where the sledge runs without snow.

Toboggan drivers waiting for the next passenger

Toboggan "parking"

Toboggan ride is pretty much the same what a camel ride is in Egypt or a gondola ride – in Venice (the drivers are even wearing the traditional white uniform with straw boater's hats that resemble those of gondoliers). Some consider it a ‘must do’ and some think it is a typical "tourist trap". As we personally are not big fans of tourist traps we never took it but all the guests and crew who did – loved it.

These folks look happy (well, a bit scared, maybe?)

See how shiny the streets are? It did not rain the before, the streets are simply polished by wooden skis and thick rubber soles of toboggan drivers.

Financial side of it will depend on the number of people in your party and whether you are able and willing to walk around 20-30 minutes from the ship to the cable car station in Funchal. If not the cab ride will cost approximately 10€, cable car tickets one way are 10€ per person, toboggans will cost 25€ for one person, 35€ for 2 and 45€ for 3. Another catch is that the toboggan does not take you all the way down to cable car landing. Old times they did go all the way down but nowadays the old toboggan run is crossed by several big highways so it will only take you half way down to Livramento and it will either take you about an hour walking down the steep streets to Funchal downtown. Or you can catch one of the cabs thoughtfully waiting at the toboggan landing. We assumed it will cost another 10€ to get to the downtown. But on this site devoted to vacations in Madeira we read that

“The waiting taxis often charge an exorbitant fare to take you on the couple of minutes drive to the heart of Funchal”

However as we never used this option we cannot advise on the price but for sure it will be not less than 10€ and tourists stuck halfway between Monte and downtown have no other option. As we heard from the passengers they were asked as much as 30€ and only after they starting walking down did one of the taxi drivers follow them and offered his services for 10€.
And remember from downtown you still need to get back on ship and it will cost you another 10€ to get back. So for a party of 2 people the whole adventure will cost you approximately 85€. So unless you travel as a group of 4 and will share a cab an organized tour from the ship will seem a more viable option for you as it will include bus ride to the terminal, tickets for both cable car & toboggan and the ride back to town. Sometimes another tourist attraction (for example Eira do Serrado) and wine tasting can be included in the tour.
City bus offers more affordable way of getting up to Monte. Read more about it on Funchal Public transport official site.

As you return to the city reward yourself with a glass of Madeira wine and Bolo do Caco – traditional Madeira bread with garlic butter. Despite the fact that the name does not sound too appealing in English and does not make you mouth water as you hear it these breads smell so nice that you just cannot walk past the stalls without buying one.

As to us - we headed farther to Botanical Gardens. Another cable car needs to be taken to get to the gardens. The station is located a short walk from Monte cable car station (but this time you have to walk right) going by the picturesque street below:

Our trip to Botanical gardens - in the next post.