Madeira day 5 - On top of the island

        Since we didn’t succeeded to visit Fanal Forest on our 3^rd day, we gave it a second chance today, but we took the risk and arrived there a little bit later than desired. Around 10:30 in the morning we arrived. There is a space that people use to park their car, but it cannot handle more than 5-6 cars. However, there was only one car there by the time we arrived. We were lucky enough to find the forest still in the fog. It was exactly how I imagined: a mistycal forest with old, weird-shaped trees. After a half an hour the fog disappeared and uncovered a beautiful green field with unique trees covered in the greenest moss. The atmosphere here was either a fairytale or a background of a horror movie 😊). We were so lucky to enjoy both of the sceneries.

        The second stop was near Porto Moniz, at Ribeira da Janela. What I looked up to see here were the imposing rocks Ilheus da Ribeira da Janela. Since it is a very small village with a number of houses that I can count on my fingers, there was not much to do here. Once arrived, there is a parking lot next to a massive rock formation. The entrance to the beach is right through this rock, climbing on stairs until you reach a hole into the rock that reveals the ocean, the stone beach, and most importantly, the three rocks that we’ve come for. They are very impressive mostly because of their unusual shape and position. Don’t come here with the thought of sunbathing next to these rocks since the beach is fully made out of boulders.

        Then we continued our road to the most important objective from today, and the most sensational hike of our trip: Pico Ruivo. Since we’ve already been there 2 days ago in the search of Fanal Forest, we already knew the road. We arrived at the starting point at 3 in the afternoon and began to follow the sign that indicated us 3km to Pico Ruivo. Even from the beginning of the hike we were able to walk under the blue sky and with the clouds right next to us, following our steps. As we climbed, we left the clouds behind us, getting lower and lower as we got higher and higher. Until the top there is a clear path made out of stones which is easy to walk on, and the beauty of nature surrounds you far and wide. We arrived at the top at 4:30, so in just one hour and a half with all the stops for photos and filming. 

        Our target was to witnes the sunset here, but unfortunately (or not) we arrived 2 hours earlier 😊) The landscape here is something that’s not easy to forget. We were in the end pleased to have all this time on our side and be able to delight for hours on this stunning scenery, surrounded only by mountains and clouds, on top of the island of Madeira (1,861 m). 

        By the time of sunset, it was ASTONISHING. There are no words to describe the beauty and the feelings in my body. It was a unique experience, and the most exciting thing in our trip. As a side note to this hike, if you want to fly a drone here, you have to be very careful; we witnessed a man who could not recall his drone back to him because of the heavy wind that was above us. In the end the battery died and it fell into a bush inside a ravine; luckily he recovered it after doing some rock climbing and getting some scratches.