Santana

On arrival to Santana we made it straight for a quick glimpse, of what Santana is known best for – the traditional Santana Houses, immediately recognizable by their triangular shape and straw-covered roofs.

From here it was to the hotel – with time left for some exploration around the small town center, including a glimpse around the church.

Introducing Levadas – the Levada da Ribeira da Janela

We already had spent a bit of time walking along a levada in Funchal – this however now would be our first true levada hiking experience.

Levadas are irrigation channels diverting water from the wet Northern side of the island to the drier South. Madeira has a whole system or network of levadas – some going back centuries. They typical come with a very moderate slope, with just a few meters of elevation loss over distances of kilometers. Today the levadas – or rather the maintenance paths next to them – are popular with hikers, as they make perfect, near-even trails with often amazing views.

Today our bus got us from sea level up to about 430m – to start our hike along the Levada da Ribeira da Janela – featuring views of Ribeira da Janela. We walked a good 5km until we reached a tunnel, to then – after (for the brave ones) checking the other side of the tunnel – make the same way back.

Porto Moniz – Morning & Evening Impressions

We left Funchal after the wine tasting – and made our way to Porto Moniz – a trip literally to the other side of the island – straight to the North Coast on the island’s West side – a drive of a good 60km, done in less than 1,5 hours.

Most prominent feature of Porto Moniz are the Natural Swimming Pools, which are the remains of volcanic activity (plus a bit of human help, to transform the natural pools into a safe environment) – water is sea water – and with waves flowing over the pool walls there is constant flow of fresh (sea) water.

Panoramic Views

Winter has turned into spring, spring has turned into summer – and that virus is still around. With that, travel remains a local affair – and similar to last year, it was time for another trip to my parents and the village that I grew up in.

Similar to previous visits plenty of time was spent walking resp. hiking in the area. This time we were exploring a hiking trail, that had only been marked recently – the Haune Panoromaweg. The trail follows the valley around the Haune river with gentle ups and downs – and features great views of the area. Below some photographic evidence.

… and into a Covid-influenced Winter …

Guess what … the pandemic continues – and it clearly is winter now.

Temperatures have continued to decrease, at least the days are getting longer again.

It is now more than a year ago, that I have last been abroad – not sure, when that last happened in my life. As things are right now – leaving the state would already be something special … at least with winter and some snow coming in, there is some change outside – adding something new for the (continuing) walks and hikes.

Below a collection of photos from my winter experiences from January and February.

Corona Autumn

The pandemic continues, as we are moving into autumn.

With days getting shorter and temperatures decreasing, this would usually be a good time for a trip to some place warm for some outdoor fun, time at the beach and/or in the mountains – and some new adventures.

Well – not this year. For the past two months I have literally not left a 10km circle around my home (which probably never happened before in all my life). Adventures were limited to extensive walking and hiking trips through meadows, fields and forests right at my doorsteps. As such I got the full autumn experience – witnessing the full process from the early color changes of the leaves, to bald trees and up to the first snow.

Below a collection of photos from my walks / hikes through forest and fields from October and November.

Hiking to Eberbach Abbey

Today saw us making the hike from our base in the old town of Eltville through the vineyards up to Eberbach Abbey – a distance of about 7km.

Eberbach Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery, originally found in 1116AD and then extended over the 12th and 13th century. Buildings – as to be expected for that period – follow Romanesque and early Gothic architecture. Today (and after secularization in the 19th century) the monastery is owned by the state of Hesse – and serves as a museum, a venue for cultural events and a location for filming (parts of “The Name of the Rose” were filmed here). For a full account of the abbey’s history refer to this Wikipedia page.

Wine production has been part of the abbey from its early days – and remains so until today. The “Kloster Eberbach” wine – coming from the vineyards in the region – can be sampled and bought right at the abbey’s wine shop. Of course, we did not leave, before sampling some of those wines.

We continued our hike to the nearby village of Kiedrich (about 4km away) for yet another wine tasting and dinner – before concluding the loop and making the 5km walk back to Eltville for the night.