Santo da Serra | Madeira


Vale Paraíso Levada

I'm continuing my Madeira posts after a looong time since I'd like to be done with them before going on to the Mallorca posts. This one is about an organized levada trip of Vale Paraíso (Levada da Serra) and a visit to the Santo da Serra marketplace afterwards. It's been so long that I certainly don't have my Madeira trip fresh in my mind but I'm going by old sent emails, a trip diary and sent postcards (I always take photos of the backs of sent postcards to be able to remember what I wrote). 

Madeira-postaukset jatkuvat pitkän tauon jälkeen. Tällä kertaa on luvassa kuvia matkatoimiston järjestämältä Vale Paraíso / Levada da Serra -retkeltä ja käynniltä Santo da Serran sunnuntaimarkkinoilla. 


Vale Paraíso Levada

I appreciated the old, crooked trees with epiphytes on them but otherwise Paradise Valley levada didn't really live up to expectations for me. It was probably my least favorite levada of the whole trip. And that was for a couple of reasons. 1) The levada (irrigation channel) itself was dry, so the vegetation wasn't that lush either. There are much more beautiful sceneries to see in Madeira. 2) The group was really big and we were just walking in a queue. You couldn't stop to take nice photos or to really look at the surroundings. And the one advantage of an organized trip is the narration. But when you're walking in a long queue, are you going to hear what someone says at the top of the queue? No. I think the selling point of this particular levada trip is that the wide path is an easy route to walk even for children or old people.

Pidin kyllä isoista, vanhoista, kiemuraisista, epifyyttien peittämistä puista, mutta muuten Paratiisilaakson levada ei oikein vastannut odotuksia. Ensinnäkin levada (kastelukanava) itsessään oli kuiva, eikä kasvillisuuskaan ollut erityisen vehreää. Madeiralta löytyy kyllä paljon paratiisimaisempiakin maisemia. Toiseksi ryhmä oli iso ja levada-retkellä liikuttiin pitkässä jonossa, jossa ei voinut paljon pysähdellä esimerkiksi ottamaan kuvia. Eikä oppaan selostuksista tietysti kuullut juuri mitään. 

Vale Paraíso Levada
Vale Paraíso Levada
Vale Paraíso Levada
Vale Paraíso Levada
Vale Paraíso Levada
Vale Paraíso Levada
Vale Paraíso Levada
Vale Paraíso Levada
Vale Paraíso Levada
Vale Paraíso Levada
After the levada however, we got to this mountain village Santo da Serra for the Sunday market, where they sell flowers, little animals, clothes and all kinds of things. 

Levadan jälkeen pääsimme Santo da Serran kylän maalaismarkkinoille. Markkinoilla oli myynnissä kaikkea kukista ja vaatteista pieniin eläimiin. 

Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra

We also visited a park in Santo da Serra and saw deers, horses and many different types of birds. And a lot of flowers which was nice after the pretty flowerless levada walk.  

Pistäydyimme myös Santo da Serran puistossa, jossa riitti eläimiä ja kukkia. 

Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra
Santo da Serra

More about Madeira / Lisää Madeirasta:
Levada do Castelejo
Fishermen's village: Câmara de Lobos
Art Doors in Old Town, Funchal I
Art Doors in Old Town, Funchal II

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