Day 7: From the Southwest (Calheta) to the Southeast (Ponta de São Lourenço)

22.7.2025

Today's Highlights:

• Ponta do Sol
• Câmara de Lobos
• Miradouro do Rosario
• Ponta de São Lourenço / PR8 Venda da Ponta de São Lourenço

After breakfast, we set off for Ponta do Sol, which we reach after two (just under 2 km long) tunnels. Parking here is a challenge as many tourists are already out and about.

Phew, if you don't head out very early in the morning, it's not easy to find a parking spot. This will certainly be exhausting in the coming days.

We're lucky and see a car leaving, quickly park on the slope in the narrow street above the church Santo Antonio, and walk towards the sea. 

We stop at the church, from whose churchyard one gets a beautiful view of the sea and the city.

The promenade of the little town is really lovely. Many colorfully restored houses, narrow streets with bars and restaurants in the town itself. 

By the sea, there is a rocky beach with umbrellas and wooden platforms for sunbathing, so that one does not lie on the big stones. It doesn't really look very comfortable though. 

My son briefly tests the water temperature in the sea, then we walk over the bridge to the old fortress Rocha Kamasora. 

At the end of the fortress, the youths jump into the sea from the steps. In the past, the island was supplied by ship from here.

The sun is already blazing down, so we take a few photos and then walk back to the car.

Next, we head to Câmara de Lobos, which is known for its small colorful fishing boats and artworks made of 'trash' (everything fished from the sea is turned into a work of art).

Additionally, a small viewpoint commemorates Winston Churchill, who once sat there and portrayed the place.

We admire the artworks, walking through the colorfully decorated streets to the harbor. Here we find an image of a seal, also made from 'trash', on the wall. Above, at the viewpoint, there is an INSTA spot with various 'wings' (of course made from 'trash') in front of which you can pose.

Around 2 PM, we slowly walk back to the car. We still have about an hour until the Discover airline lands in Funchal.

Because there's a very special passenger on board: our daughter!

Since she had to study during exams, she could only join us for part of our holiday. So, to allow her to take some time away from her studies, we've invited her to our holiday home in Madeira for the next week and could book a flight at short notice 🥰

I check Flightradar and see that the plane is about 20 minutes late. 

We then decide to look for a viewpoint from where we can see the planes landing.

We head to Miradouro do Rosario, where we don’t have to wait long until Discover comes in for its landing directly over our heads - the first attempt is successful, even though there’s a bit of a breeze 💪🏻

Now that the family is complete again, we drive towards Machico, where we want to have lunch.

Just as we arrive at the beach, the sky opens up! Seriously???? Rain???

Thick clouds move from the mountains to the sea and it rains - sometimes heavily, but it doesn’t look like this will stop in the next 10 minutes.

We flee directly into the first restaurant we see and have lunch at Maré Alta.

When we finish, the rain has also stopped - but: it has cooled down significantly!

Since we are already in the east, we want to explore the eastern side a bit more. We head to the Ponta de São Lourenço peninsula, where we stop at the Miradouro da Pedra Furada and then drive to the parking lot of the PR8 Venda da Ponta de São Lourenço trail. We want to walk the first 1-2 km to the first viewpoint. There’s no time for anything else today.

The path itself looks very exciting beyond the first stop, winding its way up the entire peninsula over the hills. But not today!

The first viewpoint is enough for us to start with. 

After that, we drive back to Calheta, which takes over an hour and leads us through numerous tunnels that we now know well.

Before we head to the house, we stop at the harbor & beach and easily find a parking spot. We show our daughter the area, I test the reportedly +27 degrees warm sea (yes, it really is very warm - and at the lowest tide), then we go to the supermarket to buy some groceries.

At the house, a new friend is waiting for us: a little young lady cat, who actually comes not to beg or eat but is very affectionate. She cuddles up on my lap for the rest of the evening and falls asleep....

.... and unfortunately, she meows the whole night in front of our bedroom door 🐈🐱🫣😬🥱

For the statistics:

Walked: 8.8 km

Drove: 148 km

Overnight stay: Villa Cró in Calheta

Weather: In the east, cloudy & rain at +22 degrees, in the west, sun at +28 degrees