Page 58 - Dreamscapes Magazine | Fall/Winter 2024

Land and Sea
FLOATING IN THE HEART OF THE ATLANTIC, THE TINY ISLANDS OF MADEIRA AND PORTO SANTO HOLD THE SOUL OF THE SEA
BY JENNIFER MALLOY
Our headlights like two small suns are quickly swallowed by the thick onyx cloak that currently blankets Madeira Island. Our destination is Pico do Areeiro. My husband, six-month- old son and I hurry to catch the sunrise, which is suddenly cresting an ocean of clouds that have settled over the coastline. The ethereal inversion of sea and sky overflows our travel cup with awe.
The clouds then part and we glimpse shrouded ridges that arc like the spine of a dinosaur, tumbling towards a surging sea. The “Pearl of the Atlantic” is beginning to reveal itself to us: a map to discover, a trail to explore, a treasure to be found after a lifetime of feeling lost.
A HIKER’S PARADISE
Lace up your hiking boots because Pico do Areeiro also serves as the trailhead for Madeira’s most famous of hikes. Vereda do Pico Ruivo via Pico Areeiro (PR 1.2) is the archipelago’s highest summit (and the third highest point in Portugal), and this thrilling trail exposes intrepid hikers to craggy cliffsides, dark, dank tunnels that cut through rugged peaks and rickety ladders hammered into otherwise impassable rock faces. Most people will hike this as an out and back, but be sure to book a local tour or order a pickup on the other side.
58 DREAMSCAPES FALL/WINTER 2024