Madeira - Day 23 - 25 Fontes and Santo Antonio da Serra

.........continuing on from yesterdays post.

the walk continued along a levada that ran parallel to the one above. Over streams and

often with a hand rail to protect from the steep drop at the side.

Sometimes there were people walking in the opposite direction and then we had to carefully squeeze past each other.

The waterfall here was not as impressive as the previous one

but named for the many little streams, running down the rock face and into the bowl that the water had created.

We stopped for about 20 minutes here and ate the lunches we had bought with us.

We then walked back the way we had come, passed the steps we had come down and continued. Looking back we could see the first waterfall.

Then we came to the tunnel. Although the entrance looks big the passageway inside, beside the levada and the pipe, is just wide enough for a person and only a little higher than me (George, at 6ft, would have to have bent his head).

When I paid for the walk I was told about the tunnel and I asked about a torch. I was told not to worry if I didn't have one, the guide had torches. Well I guess no-one told Pedro, because he didn't have anything but his own phone to use as a flashlight. I was lucky to walk behind someone who had bought a torch with her as it was an uneven, cobblestone floor, sometimes a couple of inches in water and slippery. It was pitch black and 800 metres (nearly a kilometre) long.

The pipe beside the levada carried drinking water. The levada water is used for irrigation.

We walked about another kilometre to where the bus was parked and then drove to a cafe for a washroom break and a coffee (I had a mango juice) before the drive back. The walk was 11 km long and I got home at about 4:30. The fitbit said 20,000 steps and I believe it.

Today I rested. It was about 24 degrees and sunny so I did laundry, read and

sketched the house that sits above the terrace.

I did a little weed pulling and noticed that the cactus is growing

buds for some more tall flower heads.

At about 2pm Blanca messaged me asking if I would like to join the family on a trip to the park at Santo Antonio da Serra. She suggested I "cover myself". Wasn't sure what she meant as I was in shorts and a tank top, were we going to a church or something? It turned out she simply meant that it could be cool as it was up in the hills.
We drove East and up into the hills. The little village had a "gypsy market" (Joao's term) going on and it looked like the markets we used to see in Spain that would set up in a parking lot. Like a traveling Zellers. We parked there and walked to the Quinta (farm) that used to be owned by the Blandy (Madeiran wine) family and now is run by the government as a park.

Through large wooden gates and down a road lined by flowering bushes and trees.

Blanca and Joao's children were most interested in feeding the horses,

peacocks and

deer. They had bought bags of corn along for this purpose.

I had never seen a white peacock before.

Juan and Anna (twins, aged 8) were a little put off when the buck turned out to be a real bully and chased the others off so he could have the corn.

While the children played at the mini golf

I walked through some more of the park. There were some huge Eucalyptus trees

and a look out area

were you could, you guessed it, look out, over the next valley.

Walking back to the car we peaked into a sweet little church

with beautiful tiles stretching down the side walls. This prompted Juan to tell his Mum about a museum he had gone to with his class that had a display with tiles from around the world. He gave directions and I will have to find it.