In this part I present the last three days (Tuesday-Thursday) in one go, as we have fewer interesting single places but lots of pictures of the landscape.
On day six (Tuesday) we visit the upper-right edge of the island, the Ponta de São Lourenço. Our bus takes us along the east coast where we pass below the runways of the airport, then drops us about halfway on that headland.
On that hiking trail, we can discover fascinating rock formations. The path slopes up and down slightly, not too difficult. When you turn back, you can see the airport in the background, with its runways set on concrete pillars.
Casa do Sardinha is a welcome place of rest for some of our group; the rest tries to get to the ultimate point on the Pico do Furado.
After that we walk back to the bus stop, where the bus takes us to Pico de Facho, a small hill east of Machico. Then we head for the beach; pick the sunscreen from the bag, it is about time ... well, if there were not those clouds. As mentioned, Madeira is not exactly known for its sandy beaches, there are only a few, and they are artificial: The beach of Machico is built of sand from Morocco, as most other beaches. After some 90 minutes we pack our bags and return to our hotel.
Day 7 (Wednesday) ist our last day with a travel programme. Before noon, we have a stop at the Pico dos Barcelos, a hill within Funchal, which offers us a great panorama of the city and the environment. Some minutes later, we continue with our bus trip on the ER 107 road towards the middle of the island, heading for the entrance to the hiking trail to Curral das Freiras (Pen of the nuns).
Again, an impressive trail with steep rock walls and deep drops, taking about 90 minutes to walk. We reach Curral das Freiras, have a lunch in the restaurant Vale das Freiras, and have a look inside the chestnut museum that is located next to the restaurant. Our bus brings us back to our hotel, some of us ask to be dropped of in downtown Funchal to do some shopping.
Day 8 is the day of returning home. Some of us have their flight in the afternoon which allows us to go for a short walk around the hotel and have a final lunch.
