Following a successful morning photographing Sperm Whales off the coast of Funchal with Magic Dolphin, in the afternoon, I decided to undertake the coastal walk from Funchal to Camara de Lobos.
Sperm Whale powering through the rough seas:
I had heard about the walk from Funchal to Camara de Lobos many times previously aboard Magic Dolphin Eco as we passed-by the land between Camara de Lobos and Funchal. Camara de Lobos is a nice fishing village with good restaurants where you can sample three local drinks, Poncha, Nikita and Pe de Cabra (goat feet
).Camara de Lobos means the 'Chamber of the Seals'. This fishing village was previously home to numerous Mediterranean Monk Seals however as Monk Seals eat fish, the fishermen started killing the seals. By 1988, only 6 Mediterranean Monk Seals remained alive in Madeira waters. The seals have since been protected with the population recovering to between 30 and 40. The Mediterranean Monk Seal is the rarest species of seal in the world, with a world population in the wild of only 600-700. I managed to locate one these seals while out for a previous walk taking photos of it having a snooze.
A sleepy Mediterranean Monk Seal:
Normally you would undertake this walk starting from the Lido area of Funchal. As I was already in the centre of Funchal, I started the walk from the marina, adding a couple of kilometres to the walk.
Coastal Walk: Funchal to Camara de Lobos (almost!)
Date: Saturday 9th November 2024
Company: Just myself
Distance: c.10km
From the marina, I walked along Avenida do Mar towards the CR7 museum and hotel. On reaching CR7, I stopped to take a photo of the Christiano Ronaldo statue.
Christiano Ronaldo statue outside the CR7 museum:
I then walked behind the CR7 museum and hotel to photograph the fish sculpture which is made out of plastic rubbish removed from the sea.
Fish sculpture:
On reaching the end of Avenida do Mar, I walked up Rua Carvalho Araujo, a steep road which leads to the Lido area of Funchal and the hotel district. On my first two visits to Madeira, I stayed in the hotel district so had walked this steep road at least twenty times previously.
Savoy Palace from Rua Carvalho Araujo:
Approaching the top of Rua Carvalho Araujo:
After crossing the deep gorge, I continued to follow Estrada Monumental past the famous Reid's Palace Hotel and then the various restaurants in this area.
On reaching the Lido area, before continuing my walk, I paid a visit to Pingo Doce to buy a bottle of water. Pingo Doce is a fantastic Portuguese supermarket chain that also has several restaurants in Funchal. If you want to eat good Portuguese food at a fraction of the price of other restaurants in Funchal, visit one of the Pingo Doce restaurants. They work a 'plate by weight' system, similar to Rio de Janiero, where you pile as much food as you want from a buffet onto your plate, your plate then gets weighed, and you pay based on the weight of food taken. To give an idea of how incredibly good value it is, a decent portion of Lasagne with various veg, coffee and a cake cost under 7 Euros.
From Pingo Doce, I followed a variety of paths until eventually reaching the start of the offical pathway to Camara de Lobos.
Lido area:
Lido area natural pools:
Onto the proper start of the path leading to Camara de Lobos:
The path to Camara de Lobos initially follows a mosaic line where the pavement is paved as per several other Portuguese places visited including Rio De Janiero and Lisbon, as well as Funchal.
Path to Camara de Lobos:
I had to look-up the statue in the next photo. Joao Goncalves Zarco was a Portuguese explorer who lived from 1390 to 1471. More info: here.
Joao Goncalves Zarco statue:
As I continued the walk, I could now see the cliffs of Cabo Girao in the distance, the highest sea cliffs in Europe. There is a glass platform called the "skywalk" atop Cabo Girao which you can stand on and look down 580m to the sea below.
The cliffs of Cabo Girao in distance:
Looking-up to the Cabo Girao skywalk from aboard Magic Dolphin Eco:
I next approached Doca do Cavacas, an area with more natural swimming pools and a good, but quite expensive, fish restaurant.
Approaching Doca do Cavacas:
Doca do Cavacas fish restaurant:
Just beyond Doca do Cavacas, I came to a section of sea cliffs which you have to pass through via a tunnel.
Sea cliffs beyond Doca do Cavacas:
Tunnel through the sea cliffs:
View of the sea from inside the tunnel:
Beyond the tunnel, you reach Praia Formosa (Formosa beach).
Praia Formosa:
As I walked along Praia Formosa, I passed two very recognisable hotels that I had viewed from aboard Magic Dolphin Eco while photographing a Fin Whale.
Praia Formosa hotels photobombed by a Fin Whale from previous trip aboard Magic Dolphin:
Praia Formosa:
Looking back towards the Doca do Cavacas restaurant from Praia Formosa:
Looking towards Cabo Girao from Praia Formosa:
One of the fantastic things about this walk is that you pass numerous cafes along the way where you can stop to buy a drink or some food.
Cafes at Praia Formosa:
Looking back towards Praia Formosa with the Lido area hotels in far distance:
Having already walked over 3.5 miles, I now had less than 1 mile to walk to reach Camara de Lobos. From Camara de Lobos it was my intention to have some food, drinks and then catch a local bus back to Funchal.
Less than 1 mile to Camara de Lobos:
Looking back:
Small waterfall next to path:
Looking back:
I was however stopped in my tracks as the onward path to Camara de Lobos was closed!!! This really p'd me off as there had been no warnings that the path ahead was closed and I would now have to walk back the way I had came and would not be able to visit Camara de Lobos.
If closing a walk, it would be good to put up some signs advising of the closure along the way and not just at the point where the path is closed.
Path closed:
From where the path was closed, I walked back to Praia Formosa where I stopped at one of the cafes for a drink and to sit and admire the views. I also kept a lookout for whales and dolphins which it is possible to do along much of the walk as it provides great views out to sea.
Praia Formosa:
Praia Formosa hotels:
After my drink at Praia Formosa, I walked back to just beyond Doca do Cavacas from where I managed to catch a local bus back to Funchal.
Coastal Walk: Praia Formosa to Camara de Lobos
Date: Sunday 10th November 2024
Company: Just myself
Not content having been defeated by the closed coastal pathway yesterday preventing me from reaching Camara de Lobos, I returned today to walk the final section of the walk by public road.
I caught a bus from the centre of Funchal to near Doca do Cavacas and from there walked to Camara de Lobos.
Most of the walk along the public road has pavements with just the occasional short section without. If there is ever a section of the coastal path closed, be aware you can walk the public road which is maybe 100-200m above sea level.
Walking along the public road:
I enjoyed walking the road as it provided different scenery up amongst the banana plantations.
Walking alongside banana plantations:
Lido hotels and Doco do Cavacas in distance below rooftops:
I passed the entrance to Hotel Orca Praia (Orca Beach), a well-named hotel for a cetacean enthusiast.
Orca beach hotel:
Aconchego bar:
Banana plantations:
I knew where I was as I progressed along the road as I knew the coast very well from previous boat trips. I knew the cement factory was just a short distance east of Camara de Lobos.
Cement factory below the banana plantations with Cabo Girao cliffs in distance:
Roundabout with road leading down to Camara de Lobos:
Walking the road leading to Camara de Lobos:
After dropping a hundred metres or so, I located the coastal footpath beyond the closed section which I then followed to Camara de Lobos. The path passes some interesting geology - a red band of conglomerate rock with black lava above.
Onto the coastal footpath leading to Camara de Lobos:
Old building on way down to Camara de Lobos:
It was great to reach Camara de Lobos to be able to have a meal there and a drink.
Camara de Lobos:
Camara de Lobos:
Boats at Camara de Lobos:
Boats at Camara de Lobos:
Baia Camara de Lobos:
Interesting to see a large Mediterranean Monk Seal mural on the wall of the village which almost led to their extinction in the waters of Madeira. In the 1980s, as well as killing of Mediterranean Monk Seals, Madeira was still whaling. I am so glad that times have changed. The Faroes, Norway, Iceland and Japan should learn from Madeira.
Mediterranean Monk Seal mural:
Camara de Lobos:
Having budgeted my meals for most of the trip, since this was my final full day in Madeira, I decided to splash out and have the most expensive pizza on the menu - the House Special. I also had a Nikita to drink. This was the best pizza I have ever had and I've been to Italy four times. Thoroughly recommend visiting the pizza restaurant if you don't fancy seafood.
Late lunch / early dinner:
From Camara de Lobos, I started walking back with a view to catching a bus to Funchal. Unbelievably, someone had opened the barriers on the coastal pathway, despite them being closed due to rockfall and while work is underway to secure the cliff. As many others were walking the path, I did too walking back along the coastal path as far as Doca do Cavacas. I can therefore definitely say I have walked the full coastal path as well as the public road.
This really is a great walk.