Arriving tired well after midnight the first thing we noticed about Maderia was how populated it is. Maybe it’s because we had come from the sparsely populated Azores but even in the dark we could see the houses stacked up the hillsides. The second thing we noticed were the road tunnels bored through the mountains… and how fast people drive through them. Every road seemed to go through at least one at some point.

To be honest Madeira was a shock to the system. Gone were the days of leisurely pootling around islands visiting swimming spots and going on hikes as and when we stumbled across them. Unless you got there very early everywhere is mobbed and car parks overflowing.

Adding to this there were wildfires raging in the central mountain range so a number of roads and areas were closed. In places there was an apocalyptic feel, with clouds of smoke turning the sun and air orange, along with thin coatings of ash everywhere. One fire was burning in the mountains 1.5km or so above our holiday home so we kept a watchful eye on local news and social media sites for information. On our last 3 summer holidays, Crete, Canada and now Madeira, there have been wildfires. A sad and concerning reminder of the changes we are making to our climate and environments.

Not dwelling on negatives here, Madeira did have its merits which we made the most of…

Many hikes on the island follow Levadas, irrigation channels used to carry water from the mountains to agricultural areas, which make going on ‘one of those walks’ more bearable for James. Often home to trout and edging around cliffs and underwater falls, helped make our hikes more fun by racing leaves down the watercourses and feeding the fish. Mountainsides were no barrier either, one hike had a claustrophobia inducing 1km long tunnel complete with water dripping from the low ceiling and path only wide enough for single file.

Spectacular high coastal cliffs were also a feature of the island. Too steep to cut out a road, cable cars to black sand beaches and swimming jetties with crystal clear waters seemed to be the norm. So, many hours were spent playing in the crashing waves and making sand and seaweed pies. Often followed by an ice-cream and beer (for mum and dad) stop on the way home.

After James’ fondness for feeding the deer in the Azores we were keen to meet some of Madeira’s fauna. On Sao Miguel a resident lizard in our holiday home kitchen kept chewing holes in any bananas we left out overnight, which we thought was novel. To top that, at one beachside restaurant in Madeira we discovered that lizards also like omelette and chips, much to James’s delight.

Most travel guides we’d read recommended a toboggan ride from Monte, a high suburb of Funchal, down to the city centre. We’d also read that it was a bit of a tourist trap with 2-hour queues, so we headed there ahead of its 9am opening time to secure our ride. The toboggans are basically wicker baskets with wooden rails steered down the steep streets by 2 chaps, ‘carreiros’, in straw hats. It was hilarious, Lucy squealed lots and James wanted to do it again. We rewarded our bravery with a coffee and cake at a farmers market, before yet another cable car ride over the city back to the top. There we visited the Monte Palace botanical gardens which we’d seen in photos of grandmas travels to the island a few years ago. So wandering through its lush greenery brought us back happy memories of grandmas love for all things gardening.

One of the games we played to keep James entertained on our many ‘one of those walks’ was creating our perfect Atlantic holiday island. Sao Miguel’s hot springs and coasteering/canyoning (and of course deer feeding), Pico’s natural sea swimming pools, Sao Jorge’s natural beauty and lack of tourism, Madeira’s cable cars and toboggan ride all featured. Whilst the islands didn’t have the wow factor of last years trip to Canada we had an amazing time exploring somewhere different. But most of all we feel lucky and super grateful for being able to spend the school summer holidays travelling together as a family.