What a great day to sleep in...no alarms set this morning! After leisurely getting organized, we headed to the Mercado dos Lavradores (market) across the street for some breakfast and some local fresh fruit. This market had a ton of produce and souvenirs, along with a fish market. You could see the local fishermen carving up the fresh catch of the day. It was cool to see, but a little fishy.
We made our way to the bus station to catch a bus to today's destination - Pico do Arieiro. This place stands at 1 818 metres, and is one of Madeira’s highest peaks, offering breathtaking panoramic views above the clouds. Problem today was that Mother Nature had other plans...snow! Yup, SNOW!!! Are you kidding me!??! The snow on the mountain forced closure of the roads and the hiking trails and cancelling any tours. WTF! Oh well, we can't control the weather. Time to pivot and go with Plan B. Oh and let us not forget Carnaval is also happening this week in Madeira, so many schedules have been revised. This cultural festival is a vibrant celebration filled with dazzling costumes, energetic parades, and an electrifying atmosphere where samba dancers and extravagant floats fill the streets with colour and music.
Our new plan was to go to to Camara de Lobos - which is a quaint fishing village just outside of Funchal. We were going to go here at some point, so we just shifted the time frame around. No worries. After walking around the village, we stopped at a seaside cafe for some 'poncha' - the drink of Madeira. 
We continued onto Cabo Girao - which has the highest sea cliffs in Europe. We boarded another bus for this route from Camara de Lobos. The roads were tight and winding - certainly glad I was not driving. We had a 30 minute stop - giving us time to enjoy the views from the Skywalk and walking across the glass floor, 580 metres above the sea - not for everyone!
Back to Funchal just in time for the Carnaval Parade going down the main promenade. So many people were dressed up getting into the spirit of the event - some of them were pretty funny!
After dinner, we stumbled upon a vibrant Carnaval street performance featuring samba dancers in stunning costumes, moving to the rhythm of lively music. It was an incredible sight to witness! We ended the night on a sweet note, enjoying a gelato as we strolled back to the apartment. Another fantastic day!
This featured blog entry was written by moorsey88 from the blog Madeira and the Canary Islands.
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