Tunnel das Sete Cidades

Today we went through the Tunnel from Mosteiros to the banks of Lagoa Azul. It is a 1.2 km long water drainage tunnel.

The tunnel was built from 1930-1938 in order to make it possible to drain water from the Sete Cidades lakes towards the coast (the lakes otherwise have no drainage).
Rather than in an open canal (as is e.g. common for levada tunnels on Madeira), inside the tunnel the water runs in a big waterpipe.

Be prepared for puddles, wet and muddy stretches, which may force you to either wade through or climb up on the low concrete wall that holds a smaller water pipe.
You will need torches inside the tunnel (take care that you have enough battery, it may take you about 1 h to go through it and back if a lot of puddles slow you down).

Since life is never boring for me, it has also taken an interesting turn here. After about half of the distance, some parts came off the sole of my hiking boot at the heel.

Of course, the best of all men had a piece of super string with him and so we decided to fix it well and move on. But the soles have probably both reached their denaturation date and so the other sole soon came loose 😂.

Of course, the condition of the first sole did not get any better and when we arrived over there, one sole was completely off and the half of the other sole was loose.

The question was: either hitchhike back or Rainer going back alone and then picking me up by car. We opted for the second solution, and the best of men heroically battled his way through the tunnel alone to rescue the princess at the lake with his golden horsepower.

The tunnel is a remarkable feat of 20th-century engineering, it was built by decision of the executive committee of the General Board, with engineer Francisco Xavier de Castro in charge of the project.

Drilling work on the mountain began on October 1, 1930, resulting in the construction of a tunnel over 1200 meters long, connecting Sete Cidades to Grota do Alqueive in Mosteiros. It was inaugurated 30th of December , 1937.

The tunnel cuts straight through the mountain and made it possible, for the first time, to control excess water and also provided an easy crossing (except for the claustrophobic) to the other side of the mountain.Read more