Postcards from Portugal
Postcards from Portugal
Levadas & Serendipitous Rainbows
“Thinking of you from here.”
That’s the message of love behind these “postcard” posts: A quick round of highlights currently from Portugal and the flavors and fun on Madeira from me to you:
1. Love those Levadas
A big goal for John and I in being in this warmer climate during winter is to easily be physically active and daily moving. We knew Madeira would deliver on the hiking front but have been blown away by the uniqueness and diversity of (free!) hiking options.
Most of the hiking trails on the island follow “levadas,” a word stemming from the Portuguese verb “levar” meaning “to carry.” These levadas are a network of aqueducts totally over 1,350 miles (1,170km), used to capture and reroute water from different sources for agricultural irrigation. Levadas originally date back to the early 1500’s when the first colonists arrived (Madeira was uninhabited prior) and saw the economic value of sugar cane and then wine and today bananas.
Today, these “Levadas da Madeira” mostly border mountains but also go directly through them via tunnels and rugged rocks, bringing irrigation water from different sources to its intermediate or final destination. The bonus here is they make exceptional hiking trails as they are surrounded by lush greenery and pass through a variety of terrain, including through those tunnels (bring a flashlight!).
These hiking trails are called “pequena rutas” or “short routes,” better known as PR routes. These are 23 official routes, including both “Levada” walks as well as “verandas” that are more classic hiking trails.
Because these are old paths alongside aging tunnels, there are often rock avalanches (hopefully not where we’re walking at the time!) so we’ve learned to check that the trail is open.
Weather also plays an important factor in deciding which PR to do when, both for John’s photos and keeping the experience enjoyable for us middle aged hikers. “Slippery when wet” takes on new meaning when you’re walking alongside a cliff! Weather cams really helps as weather can be totally different on varying sides of the island.
2. Rainbow Serendipity
We had a spurt of winter rains last week, typical of the season. Mostly light drizzles that we could still hike and explore around in, but an unexpected bonus to all this has been the rainbows, both number and intensity!
There’s something about rainbows that rekindles that sense of awe and magic and I feel like a kid again. Does this happen to you? You spot a rainbow and you feel like you’ve made this amazing discovery and it fuels this immediate giddy surge like it’s your tenth birthday.
It’s the true serendipity behind the rainbows that creates that magical feel: You’re heading somewhere with a completely different agenda and — poof — all of a sudden you see a glimmer of color in the sky and pull over the car. And often, when staring excitedly at the sky from the side of the road, another tourist joins in and the magic is shared.
And, of course, John is quick to get out his camera gear. In a world where AI increasing can digitize a rainbow into any photo, the magic of capturing a real one grows even more magical.
Check out more photos (and ordering options) from John D. Ivanko on Alamy
Beautiful!