Location: Madeira
Anchored in Machico, Madeira, my day began at 1 a.m. with Del for anchor watch, and we talked the entire time about cookies and music festivals. After going back to bed, I woke up everyone to blasting Lorde, and everyone definitely appreciated that! We had PBJ wraps for brekky and packed a lunch of Mac and cheese that Xavi, Mac, and Fifi had made the night before. The dinghy ride into Machico was beautiful, nearing the red and white stucco houses lining the rolling hills. We had finally touched land after six days of being on the boat and our 5-day passage. It felt so strange and like we were continually moving. Argonauts met up with our guides for a surprise! A STUNNING, JAW-DROPPING, INCREDIBLE HIKE! We took the bus farther into Machico and started our hike uphill into the heart of Madeiras prehistoric forest, or Laurisilva, which is about 20 million years old, with trees even 800 years old. We saw many cats and dogs, which Miles definitely appreciated. I saw a lot of goats on farmland and was obsessed!
We trekked up the mountain, leaving Machico in the background, and then when we made it to the apex, our jaws dropped, and plenty of wows were heard. Towering cliffs and rocky beaches encompassed the northern coast, where we could see for miles and miles. We then hiked down through vines, bamboo, gorgeous succulents, and amazing-smelling bay-like leaves that can be used for cooking. The majority of our hike was downhill, or better said, on the side of a cliff (dont worry, we were completely safe, haha!). Our guides, Sarah and Charlotte, pointed out papayas, bananas, sweet potatoes, guava, and sugar cane being grown on little farms during our hike, making me especially hungry. After a couple of hours, we made it to Porto da Cruz, a cute town with gigantic crashing waves. We all were starving and ate lunch at the first restaurant we could find, and it must been hilarious to see 25 of us scrambling to find seats at this seaside restaurant. Calli, Chelsea, Miles, Eric, Del, and I sat together, and I, a trendsetter of coffee and drinks, got iced coffee, and Chelsea and Miles followed with the same idea. I decided to be adventurous and get the fish of the day, and it was delicious. We had a long and plentiful lunch before returning to the bus to take us back into town, where we were anchored. We had two hours of shore time, and a group of us headed to the fruit store and grocery to stock up on snacks. And of course, I had to get fresh mango!! Del and I had fresh pineapple smoothies on the beach before heading back to the boat. We had a chill ocean shower-filled afternoon and ended the day with burgers that Xavi and the team had made. They were, and I quote, saltier than the salty pit! So we definitely made sure to drink lots of water to balance it out. Its an early night for most of us because I see a future of anchor watch and another AMAZING excursion tomorrow!! Stay tuned!!
– Taylor