This was a fantastic hiking trip around beautiful Madeira. Our group of 15 hikers, plus our excellent guide Filipe, got along well. I think having a shared WhatsApp page for the group at the beginning of the trip was a great ice breaker as it provided a way to quickly build community by sharing pictures and comments as the trip progressed. We also lucked out with fairly good weather during our trip. We oohed and awed at the beautiful scenery like we were looking at fireworks!
Filipe was very helpful in giving us options for sections of some hikes (like taking the van instead of hiking down steep switchbacks), pointing out the local flora/fauna/history of where we were traveling (e.g., the unique Laurisilva Forest), organizing delicious dinners for the group at local restaurants that he often attended, collecting a tip kitty for the drivers and hotel staff (he always made a point of giving the tip to the driver of the day in our presence), providing suggestions for activities during our free day in Funchal (everyone went to the tropical gardens at Monte), and booking taxis or transfers for us on the last day of the trip. He led us on a variety of hikes along levadas and hilly areas that left us feeling the burn at times (some of the downhill stretches were a killer on the front of my thighs!). He also quickly administered first aid when someone fell after hitting their head, and he did his best to maintain a safe environment while we were hiking. I really liked it when we walked through an 800 m tunnel by flashlight (torch)! Filipe also reminded participants to use sustainable hiking practices by packing out toilet paper used along the trail. Regarding this last point, I would like Explore to list in the final documentation that people should bring toilet paper and baggies for packing out waste toilet paper. I was prepared and brought my own. Some of the trails we hiked on had pockets of toilet paper strewn about, which is both unsightly and unsanitary. I would like to see Explore encourage more efforts by the Madeira Park Service to build pit toilets or place porta potties in areas of heavy use. The current practices by several tourists is not sustainable.
We stayed at three different accommodations on this trip: Hotel O Colmo (Santana), Hotel Euro Moniz (Porto Moniz), and Hotel do Carmo (Funchal). I have provided separate Tripadvisor reviews of each of these hotels. All of them were conveniently located, had friendly and helpful front desk staff, and had delicious breakfast buffets. The beds were too hard for me at Hotel O Colmo and Hotel Euro Moniz, although I discovered folding a blanket lengthwise and placing it under the bottom sheet took the edge off. Hotel Euro Moniz was my favorite accommodation, followed by Hotel do Carmo as a close second.
I feel so fortunate to have had this extraordinary hiking experience in Madeira with such a good group of people. My Explore trip in Slovenia last year also had a wonderful group of participants. I hope my upcoming Explore trip in Japan in two weeks will be just as good!