Spain & Portugal | FindPenguins

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Spain & Portugal
Bye to Sintra. Arrive in Lisbon
November 21, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Today we said goodbye to Sintra and made our way to Lisbon and the Ramada by Wyndham. Our flight to Madeira is early tomorrow morning, so repacking and getting ready.
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Spain & Portugal
Madeira and Ponta de São Lourenço
November 22, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
We caught an early flight from Lisbon to Madeira, arriving just before midday.
We had decided not to hire a car and just do the island by public transport, but an unbeatable Black Friday sale at €50 for 6 days automatic car hire popped up.
It was a bit last minute and we didn't know if we had a car until we landed in Madeira, but it all worked out well.
With the car, and an early arrival, we drove out to São Lourenço peninsula and did this stunning hike.Read more
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Spain & Portugal
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PR16 Levada Fajã do Rodrigues
November 23, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
A Lavada is an irrigation canal built to channel water from mountain springs to the areas that need water. There are over 300 levadas in Madeira.
Madeira is a volcanic island, so is extremely steep and vertical. There are a lot of tunnels and bridges on Madeira.
PR16 Levada Fajã do Rodrigues is a 8km walk that follows the Ribeira do Inferno, ending at the source of the water supply. It goes through 3 tunnels cut into the rock, the first is 50m, the second 200m and the last is 1 km long (took us a good 20 minutes to navigate the very narrow and low passage).
A very fun walk.Read more
Traveler Very magical and misty
11/25/24Reply
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Spain & Portugal
Walk around Funchal
November 24, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
A wet day (especially in the mountains), so we decided to take it easy and walk around Funchal.
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Spain & Portugal
PR6 Levada das 25 Fontes
November 25, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Not feeling too well this morning, so our early morning plans were scrapped and we took it easy.
Got to Levada das 25 Fontes late, but that meant finding a carpark right near the entrance and not many people on the path.
Beautiful green walkway and misty mountains.
Caught a stunning sunset at the end of the hike.Read more
TravelerAnother irrigation channel? Didn’t see any caves this time. Love the sunset.
11/25/24Reply
TravelerNo, no tunnels on this one. The longer, connecting walk has a 800m tunnel, and nearby is the longest Levada tunnel, 2km.
11/25/24Reply
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Spain & Portugal
Pico do Areeiro and sunrise
November 26, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Woke up really early this morning to drive up the hill to the highest mountain on the island (1,818m) to watch sunrise and do a short walk (this is part of the famous Pico to Pico walk, Pico Arieiro to Pico Ruivo), but bushfires a month ago have destroyed part of the track, and this and some other walks are closed.Read more
TravelerGot a crowd for the sunrise. Beautiful photos.
11/27/24Reply
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Spain & Portugal
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PR9 Lavada do Caldeira Verde
November 27, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
The Green Caldron
A gorgeous, and very popular Levada. We've figured that you have to go extremely early or very late to get parking at these popular Levadas. For us, it's sleeping in and going late 😁Read more
Traveler Not your usual cave experience, there are lights and a handrail
11/29/24Reply
TravelerThe lights were our headlights. We did see a lot of people just using the flashlight on their phones, and one person had no light at all!
11/29/24Reply
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Spain & Portugal
PR Levada do Balcoes
November 28, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
After checking out of our accommodation, we drove up the hill to do a short Levada.
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Spain & Portugal
Bye to Madeira
November 28, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Madeira Island is an interesting place.
It's a volcanic island, so a lot of steep vertical terrain.
The towns are built on every piece of flat ground you could find, plus a lot of vertical ground. There's a lot of terraces (both for residential and farming land) and a lot of hills in town.
The roads are very well maintained. There are a LOT of tunnels and bridges, some quite long - driving, you briefly pop your head out of one tunnel, before going into another, then another, etc. (I'd hoped to get a video of this, but unfortunately we didn't get one).
The island also uses a lot of cable cars as general public transport, some quite steep (one is at 93°).
The airport is very interesting. After we landed, we drove under the runway - it's a massive platform suspended by huge columns (we did get a video of this on our last day).Read more
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Spain & Portugal
Lisbon and the last day of our holiday
November 29, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Today is the last day of our Spain and Portugal adventures. We fly back to Melbourne on an early flight tomorrow morning.
So, we spent the day walking around Lisbon. We were both feeling a little under the weather, so it was a slow walk (there's a lot of steep hills in Lisboa).
First up the hill to the Castelo de São Jorge, then through the maze of streets that is the Alfama. Walking from here along the river, past Sé de Lisboa, to the Praça do Comércio. We then walked into Chaido for an early dinner, then back to Praça do Comércio to see it lit up at night.
Finally we walked up through Rue Augusta (the main shopping mall) and saw the famous Elevador de Santa Justa.Read more
Thanks God for his creation and protection over you guys [Vincent lee]
12/20/24Reply
Traveler🙏
12/21/24Reply
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Trip end
December 1, 2024