Four Years Later September 2021

We take what has become our regular flight from Manchester, arriving at around 8pm, the difference this time being that we plan to stay for a couple of months, not a couple of weeks. The usual relaxed welcome as we breeze through arrivals in moments is rudely replaced by a long queue at passport control where passports are stamped and questions are asked, the most unwelcome being, 'When are you leaving?' Thank you Brexit! By the time we collect the car and are on the road we realise that we will be too late for our usual supermarket visit en-route to the house. A diversion into Funchal allows us to pick up a few things, and gives me chance to use my fledgling Portuguese as the shop assistant speaks no English. By the time we arrive at the house it is 10.30pm.

Sao Vicente is shrouded in cloud for most of the first week, with the mist visiting regularly at our altitude. The sun can usually be found on this island though, and trips over to the south of the island reward us with warmth and sunshine whilst we walk along the seafront or relax with a 'copo do vino verde' as we watch the waves crashing on the rocks. Sandy beaches are few and far between on Madeira, the mountains and valleys giving way to a dramatic and craggy shoreline which delivers its own beauty.

On Sunday we walk from the house deeper into the valley, following the path that originally led us to The Perfect Cottage and ignited our love of this valley and the island. The path was less overgrown than I remember, now a track used by the island tour jeeps. It winds along, hugging the hillside and undulating steeply in parts. We exit the track to follow the road down the valley and past Zeferina's Place where we stayed on our first visit.

Into the village, we rise again on a new road; up past Solar da Bica, ascending through the valley until we emerge onto the old road and home. A tough but satisfying walk that has taken a couple of hours and tested some rarely used muscles, such is the nature of the terrain, but it feels right to reacquaint ourselves with the valley.