Madeira Was Beautiful. The Journey Was Messy
I turned 30 this year! YAAYY!! I wanted to leave my 20’s in a big way. And what better way to celebrate than to take a 2 week vacation to Europe! In the next couple of weeks, I’m going to break down the 5 destinations I visited and the experiences that changed my brain chemistry.
Madeira, Portugal
Madeira was beautiful, and scary for many reasons.
Getting there took one flight to Toronto, another one to Lisbon and the last one to Madeira island. For me, flying is one of the most anxiety inducing activities I can do. The only reason I fly so much is because it takes me from point A to point B. It did not help that Madeira is considered one of the most difficult airports to fly into/from. Pilots have to get extra certifications. Basically the city is carved into one big volcanic rock. The runway is small, there is a lot of mountainous terrain, and the wind from the Atlantic is very strong. To land you have to do a curved landing. This is basically turning 180 degrees towards the water. What am I doing, choosing Madeira!?
Although the above seems VERY scary to me, that didn’t deter me from choosing Madeira as one of my travel destinations. When I saw the pictures online it looked like Hawaii or Costa Rica. My favorite climate: tropical. Anywhere that has mountains, water, unique plants and animals, sign me up! I don’t let my fear keep me from exploring the extraordinary world we live in. *You shouldn’t either.
I stayed in Funchal (capital city), vibrant but steep. Make sure you have good walking shoes if you’re considering going. Funchal is a great place to start but this island has so much more to offer. The island takes maybe 2 hours to get from one end to the other so it’s easiest to rent a car. Of course, I couldn’t and wouldn’t recommend anyone to try. Those roads are no joke. You will be holding on to that steering wheel for dear life.
I would suggest finding tours that take you around the cities. I picked Lido Tours. They picked me up down a few blocks from where I was staying. There were maybe 10 people in our group. The nice lady explained the history and unique things Madeira is known for. We got to see the North/West end of the island. It started off strong with Cabo Girão, the second highest sea cliff in the world and the highest sea cliff in Europe. Then a cute little village, São Vicente. They did not take cards there. That’s why I always say: have cash on hand anywhere you go. Next we stopped by for lunch and a swim in Porto Moniz. They have these natural swimming pools that were created by volcanic lava. These pools are filled by the Atlantic ocean water. Super cool experience! Although the water was waaayyyy too cold so I recommend researching the best times to go. We also stopped at Sexial, and passed by the Fanal Forest.
As a solo traveler, I don’t mind being alone on these cool adventures but every now and then I meet some really cool people on my journey. I was sitting next to this man in the tour van. Quiet at first, as I usually am. But then we started making small talk, “Where are you from?” “What brings you here?” etc. He’s a pilot from New York and was traveling alone on his layover. On one of our stops, we started walking together. Talking about life, politics, traveling. It brought me so much joy to meet someone with similar values and ideas. Some may say it’s scary and dangerous to meet a stranger. I say, the world isn’t as scary as people might think. Of course, be safe. Take precautions but don’t let fear keep you small. Share your experiences and knowledge with others. You will be pleasingly surprised by what you learn and who you will meet. People may speak different languages or have different customs but overall we are the same. Humans are all looking for connection and understanding.
During this 8-hour tour, my phone restarted. It asked for the sim card pin. I left the card at the hotel because why would I be carrying that thing around? This led me to panic and start thinking worst case scenarios. What do I do without a phone? I can’t call anyone. I can’t look up anything or go on google maps. If I get lost that’s it. Luckily they dropped us off at the bus stop they picked us up from in the morning. I retraced my steps. I was taking so many pictures, I knew all the monuments so easily. I did take a wrong turn at some point but guessed that maybe I needed to take a left turn and it brought me back to the mall where I got the sim card. I saw the cow statue and from there I knew where to go. It was maybe a 15 minute walk. But in that time, I went through so many emotions. Mostly fear. Imagine being in a city you don’t know without a phone. This got me thinking about how we are so reliant on phones. Without them, we would really struggle. It’s important to know phone numbers, addresses, how to read a paper map, etc. One day you may not have technology on hand. What will you do then?
Next day: I stopped by the famous Madeira farmer’s market. They had seafood, fruits, flowers and much more. I love walking around these markets because I get to see the locals and buy all the souvenirs! Great start to the day. I then headed over to the cable cars. These cable cars take you from downtown Funchal to the gardens and palace of Monte. It’s about a 2 mile stretch, 1,840 feet high and lasts 15 minutes. Well, that one is a long 15 minutes. It was so scary looking down, and the car was packed with people. Ugh! Even with that, I enjoyed myself. You could see the whole city and the ocean from up there. Breathtaking.
What a great day that was. Unfortunately, part of traveling are the ups and downs that occur. This was a rough one for me. My flight got canceled in the middle of the night. I’ve never had a canceled flight before. I, of course, was freaking out! What do I do now? Again, I’m thinking about the worst case scenarios. I get stuck here for days and it ruins all my plans. I have to pay all this extra money for a place to stay. I’m already not sleeping well and this just stresses me out. Jen, get it together! The email told me they apologize for the inconvenience and will work to rebook the flight asap. I was not just going to sit and wait for them to do something. So, I called. I need a new flight asap! What can we do? The man on the other end was nice, he told me the next available is at 7pm, next day. I took it. Not ideal but fair. I did not sleep a wink after that.
What was I going to do for the whole day? On my birthday! I already saw everything I wanted to see and I did not want to pay for more things. I took my luggage to a storage location. I decided, you know what, it's going to be a chill day. I’m not going to let this ruin my day. I’m going to walk around the city and explore without any plans. I'm walking down the “beach”. There isn’t really a beach, there are just rocks that meet the ocean. Still gorgeous. Anyways, I’m tired so I sit for a while. I’m admiring all the flowers when this guy comes up to me. I couldn’t hear him at first and then he asks if I’m from Nepal. Nope. “Oh, sorry. I saw you sitting here alone, looking sad so I thought I’d come and talk to you. Can I sit here?” “Sure.” At home, I would think this is weird and come up with a plan to leave. But, when I travel I try to be more open to conversation and meeting people. *I guess I should do that at home too.
We chatted for a little bit. Then I mentioned the popular Madeira drink, Poncha. He says he’s never had it and asks if I wanted to get some. I said sure, I had a couple more hours left before the flight so why the heck not? We found a small little restaurant and sat outside. We chatted for a few hours about life, family, and traveling. This was nice, getting to meet someone new is always enjoyable. He walked with me to get my luggage and I head for my next adventure.
This next part is probably the worst part of the whole trip. Glad I got it out of the way hahaha. I am on my way to the airport and I get an email. The flight is being pushed an hour. I start crying. An hour is not a big deal but after they canceled it the first time and now are pushing it out, I was afraid this one would get canceled as well. Again, I’m thinking about the worst case scenario. The weather doesn’t get any better. It gets canceled and I'm stuck at the airport for days. I miss all the other countries I was going to travel to. I want to get the the fuck out of this island! Thankfully, everything went well. I was just crying on the flight as I headed to Barcelona.
Next week, I’ll share my next stop. Stay tuned…
Tips and tricks:
Below I’m sharing things I learned that might help you while abroad:
Make sure your phone is unlocked. That way you can use a sim card on your travels. My sim card worked in all EU countries. *DO NOT buy one at the airport.
I planned out all my outfits ahead of time so I didn’t overpack. Use the sudoku packing method as much as possible. Make sure to pack a light cardigan even if it’s summer, it can get chilly at night.
Give yourself “rest” days or hours. Don’t over plan because the spontaneous moments might be your favorite part of the trip!