We always take our most successful trips in the Easter school holidays. We had something more elaborate in mind but at the moment I am feeling a bit unmotivated and even planning a trip wasn’t bringing me much enthusiasm. Besides, it would be difficult to live up to last year’s ‘trip of a lifetime’ to Japan.

We opted to visit Madeira; ‘The Hawaii of Europe’. Simple enough to book flights, accommodation and a hire car to explore the small island in the Atlantic, just 500 miles off the coast of Morocco. The place seems to be getting quite the buzz on Instagram, due to its year round good weather and dramatic scenery. I was hoping to pick up my camera again and see some of the impressive landscapes.

Basing ourselves in the capital; Funchal (fun fact – the only airport named after a living person *Cristiano Ronaldo*) We were a few minutes walk from the town centre and no more than an hours drive from all of the things we wanted to see. The driving was scenic, fun and challenging – especially for our little Fiat Panda – attempting to get up 30% – 40% inclines in the mountains in this beast was a little scary.

Despite its diminutive size, the Island hosts several microclimates. With its rich volcanic soil, warm and wet weather – it is the perfect place for growing a variety of exotic fruits and flowers. The microclimates also mean that to search for a particular type of weather, you just have to drive to another area of the island. We did this when visiting the Fanal forest – in gloomy, wet conditions to make some atmospheric photos.

The fine, misty drizzle soaked us through, so we travelled back to Porto Moniz to dry off and warm up. Here there were sea-fed swimming pools formed in the volcanic rock, overlooking the harsh Atlanic Ocean. I had to have a chilly dip!

We also visited Seixal beach with its black sand and dramatic cliff views.

As well as the incredible range of flowers and fruits on the island, there was a fair amount of wildlife too, which I always enjoy trying to capture. This included some flamingos from the botanical gardens in Monte.

It was at Monte – a short cable car ride up from Funchal that we took the famed wooden toboggan down the hill, steered by two men in traditional uniform.

An early morning start took us to Pico De Arieiro – Madeira’s second highest peak and the take off point for the ‘Pico to Pico’ Hike. We arrived early to avoid the crowds and got to a viewing point for sunrise. Sometimes the hike can be shrouded in cloud making for some dreamy photos – We arrived on a clear day and when returning to the car, we could see just how popular this site was.

After this hike we went to Santana to see some traditional buildings – a bit underwhelming, to be honest.

On our trip back to Funchal we stopped at one of the viewpoints dotted all over the island. It was here that we encountered a highlight of the trip… ‘Bitchos’ a border terrier in sunglasses and a hat with a Poncha stick on his hat, riding a scooter. Perfect. (Poncha is a traditional rum, honey and fruit juice drunk on the island and is ‘mashed’ by a wooden stick.)

Behold:

One of our favourite spots on the Island was ‘Ponta Do Sol’ – Coincidently the warmest place on the island, even though neither of us are lovers of hot weather. We just chilled here, watching the huge waves and we might have also stumbled across a classic car rallye. I got chatting to a Portugese guy in the Corrado, enthusiastically showing him photos of my old car. Good vibes.

Another activity we wanted to do in Madeira was a ‘Lavada’ hike. Lavada are man-made channels that carry water from the mountains down to the villages below. This walk was called PR6: 25 Fontes. (Waterfalls) we walked in dappled shade and were greeted by a large waterfall after a couple of hours walking.