Nun´s Valley

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Our first full day in Madeira, we signed up for three tours. The first was the sailing excursion that I last wrote about. The second was the Nun´s Valley tour we took on Thursday afternoon.

The minivan picked us up at the hotel and took us to a lookout point, Pico dos Barcelos, about one-third of the way up the mountains above Funchal. It turns out that when you look at Funchal from the sea, you can see only about two-thirds of it. From Pico dos Barcelos you look down on more Funchal tucked in behind hills that block the view from the shore.

From there, we wound up the mountains, twisting into and out of draws and ravines that hold more houses perched here and there. These houses are old because at some point there was a law passed that allows people to build only so far up the mountains. They want to preserve the rest of the mountains in their natural state.

The highest point on the tour was at Eira do Serrado where you can look down and see forever. It was an incredible view straight down into a valley that holds the village of Curral da Freiras, a river and many farm fields. You can also look across at more mountains of sheer cliffs and green foliage. At this point, you´re high enough to almost be in the clouds that hang around the mountain tops on most days.

We then drove down into the village for a half-hour visit. The story of this valley (Nun´s Valley) is that starting in the 16th Century, pirates made routine raids on Funchal. The citizens set up a lookout system that gave them about an hour´s warning that the pirates were coming. That gave everyone time enough to gather their treasures and head for the hills, so to speak. Curral da Freiras is where the nun´s of Funchal´s main convent would come with the church´s documents and treasurers.

The raids happened so often that they eventually started to grow crops up there in order to survive. After the crops were established, the nuns stayed to care for them. Even after the raids stopped in the 19th Century, the nuns stayed. I think they are gone now because there is only one small church in the village and no sign of a convent.

It was a pleasant interlude in which to absorb a great story. We visited a couple of shops that were open and had a snack of coffee and their local hazelnut cake at the cafe before returning to the hotel.

More later.............

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