Willson Fernandes took every tight turn, steep plunge and narrow miss of parked cars like the pro that he is, driving me in his Land Rover through the back roads of the island of Madeira. We were in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, about 900 miles southwest of the Portuguese mainland, but the hill-studded landscape, challenging roads and the rotating patches of functional housing, opulent villas and open terrain reminded me of Saint Barthelemy, far to tour west, in the Caribbean.
Wilson, who is part South African, speaks excellent English. He drove me to Paul da Serra, a broad plateau, for a view from nearly 5,000 feet above just about everything. The Fanal Forest sits atop the plateau, coloring it vivid green with the native evergreen til trees that gave the island its name. (In Portuguese, madeira simply means “wood.”) Til trees can live for centuries, and some, in laurel forests such as this one, were on the island when it was discovered in 1419.
We pushed on. Wilson engaged extra power on the vehicle to bring it up a steep incline. After more twists and swerves, we arrived at Porto Noniz Natural Swimming Pools. Wilson explained how to use the public baths, where crashes of waves could be heard each time the ocean intermittently accepted its license to crest over a recess in the barrier wall, foaming and lunging into the main seawater pool.
Only after I was in the pool did I decide to follow the lead of the men one-third my age who had swum to the point where the waves broke into the enclosure, there to climb and sit atop the low wall until the next wave carried them off. I succeeded only in landing prone on top of concrete, and then I was tumbling and bobbing my way slowly back to the sanctuary of the lifeguard station, swallowing in salt water, only to feign a nonchalant indifference when I resurfaced for good.
As Wison drove me away, I texted Diana Pestana, the assistant assigned to me at my hotel, The Reserve at the Savoy Palace (Leading Hotels of the World), to confirm my dinner reservation. The Reserve is a hotel within a hotel. The luxurious Savoy Palace, part of the Savoy Signature Collection, is refined. The Reserve is grand beyond all rational expectation; but this was a birthday trip, and the years have honed my ability to pamper myself to a fine cutting edge. My junior suite had a large deck and a plunge pool, all with a view of the town of Funchal, of a small harbor and of hills seemingly shaved down by the low afternoon clouds sliding through their crests.
I threw off all my clothes and landed in my plunge pool, swishing around like a contented goldfish. I let the warm twilight air-dry me while lying on the chaise and then slipped into the satin pajamas left for me by housekeeping. Battling the roaring Atlantic had had its place, but this was travel as nature had intended.
Later that evening, at Nikkei, The Reserve’s Asian restaurant, Wellse Khadki, assisted by Ngima Sherpa, prepared six of nine tasting courses in front of those few honored to sit at the chef’s table. A muscular afternoon was now tempered by unique presentations of tuna sashimi, Norwegian salmon cured in Madeira wine, and A5 Wagyu beef over rice. Each course was paired with a Portuguese wine, and dessert closed the performance in company with a glass of Blandy’s 10 Year Old Madeira Sercial wine.
Madeira was uninhabited when discovered by captains serving Prince Henry the Navigator. It is now home to a permanent population of about 270,000, which swells in season by the addition of up to 200,000 temporary residents and visitors seeking notes of the Caribbean way of life so close to mainland Europe. Tourism has become as natural here as baseball in Fenway Park, but the tempo and the temperament appeared to remain authentically Portuguese.
As my swim demonstrated, I think of myself as an adventurous traveler, but The Reserve, with its helpful staff, now kept me close to home. The maid service was a masterwork in attention to detail: I do not recall previously returning to a hotel room to find my underpants neatly folded.
I therefore spent the next morning in my private spa on my deck, took lunch at Terreiro, a contemporary, family-style Portuguese restaurant on the secluded back lawn of Savoy Palace, and then at last was off on foot for a visit to town.
Funchal proved surprisingly vibrant for its size. The narrow roads of the countryside were replicated seemingly in miniature. True, there were many shops with souvenirs and the inevitable restaurant street where hawkers holding photographs of indifferent dishes virtually begged passersby to overpay, but all in, the atmosphere was convivial, even celebratory.
The Madeira Cable Car takes you up the steepest incline far enough to reach the municipality above, but riding it would have been too obviously prudent. In a repeat on dry land of my struggle with the ocean the day before, I lurched and sweated the last 600 feet up a road that would have made a San Francisco street appear level. When I at last reached the entrance to the castle, staffers greeted me warmly and explained that they were shutting the monument down for the day.
This time, I knew the drill: taxi back, up to the suite, clothes off and into the plunge pool of my private spa. A short time later, I was in Laurea, the hotel’s real spa (billed as the largest in the country), massaged for a soothing hour by a skilled craftswoman named Marina.
That put me in the right mood for my concluding feast, at Galaxia, atop Savoy Palace. It is a gourmet restaurant grounded in Madeiran ingredients and traditions. I went for the Rings of Saturn tasting menu — seven courses, one for each set of the planet’s rings, expertly paired with Portuguese wines (including more Blandy’s 10 Year Sercial).
Back in my room, my satin PJs were perfectly laid out on the bed, where I now neatly folded the day’s clothes as well. I slipped into the plunge pool and texted Diana my breakfast order. The sky had mellowed into a tranquil black. Orange lights decorated the hills like blooming flowers. Low clouds again wafted through the peaks. All was gentle and at peace.
_____
If you go ...
Staying there:
The Reserve at Savoy Palace, Funchal, Madeira. Book through Leading Hotels of the World: tel.: +1-800-223-6800; https://www.lhw.com/hotel/The-Reserve-Funchal-Madeira-Portugal.
Dining there:
Galaxia and Terreiro are at Savoy Palace, and Nikkei is at The Reserve, but all are open to outside diners. They were so memorable, all I had to add to my diet from the town beyond were a couple bottles of Coke Zero.
Getting around:
For short trips, taxis are plentiful and inexpensive, but have cash at the ready, not a card. Many choose to rent cars or motorbikes, but you need to be comfortable with conditions that test a motorist’s skills. Four-wheel drive is a must. To book a private driver and guide: Prestige Tours 4x4, +351-933-604-273, www.prestigetours.pt.