It may come as a surprise that Madeira has a high country, but Pico Ruivo is Portugal’s third highest peak at 1861 m (6,106 ft). There is a fantastic hike from Pico do Arieiro at 1,818 metres (5,965 ft), Madeira’s third and Portugal’s 5th highest peak. We drove up in complete darkness to witness the […]
Spring
Madeira’s Coast
As mentioned in my hiking post about Madeira, this is not a place to lie on the beach and there is a reason for it. For the most part, there are no beaches and even on the few beaches that exist the waves are crazy and you don’t want to go swimming there. We went […]
Hiking Levadas in Madeira
Apart from seeing all the flowers, the main reason to visit the Portuguese island of Madeira is to go hiking, particularly along levadas, i.e. irrigation channels which bring water from the wetter regions of the island to the drier. On our last trip to Madeira 8 years ago we didn’t see much of the island […]
Aglio e Olio
As much as I love cooking and baking elaborate things, every now and then I want to make a quick dish packed with flavor and be in and out of the kitchen quickly. Enter this simple and classic dish which is delicious anytime. As the name suggests, there is no need to scrimp on the […]
The Garden's Seasons
Whenever the first pear drops to the ground, I feel as if late summer has started and we are quickly making our way to autumn. The past two years, I posted first a recipe for zucchini rolls and then two summer salads. This has been an interesting garden year to say the least. We had […]
Roasted Carrots and Barley
This dish is packed with flavor from the spicy roasted carrots and the lemony barley topped with dill. For me, carrots can be eaten throughout the year. When I was a little girl my aunt once said if I eat a lot of carrots my hair will grow really long and someone else told me […]