Arquipelago da Madeira: Santo Porto – exploring the island on moped

Boring day for me.  The humans left me behind to explore the island.

They hired a moped, with a full tank of gas, for 30 euros for the day (24 hours).  And off they went, abandoning me, to go exploring.

They tell me a motor bike is the best way to see the island because:

*it is a small island with windy roads

*the roads are very steep (so forget cycling)

*there are lots of places to turn off the roads to catch the view

*there is very little other traffic on the roads

*when there is any traffic it is usually other moped riders

They could look down on the islands harbour and it’s tiny Marina.

The North side of the island was much more ‘dramatic’ with steep cliffs that were a mixture of volcanic rock and sand stone, dropping ‘breath takenly’ into the sea.

They then drove over to the West end of the island where the cliffs decended down back into the South beach.

Conflicting winds and currents collided making a froth of waves between the mainland island on off lying rocks.

(I will add a video for you here later…when Speiburg is done)

They finished their little tour with a trip to the botanical gardens, in the centre of the island, and the mandatory drink at a beach side cafe.  All in all they said it was a picture postcard day.

They still have the bike until tomorrow afternoon, so they are going to get some groceries and run them back to the boat before returning it.

They are also going to visit Christopher Columbus’s house with the kids.