Hiking in Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz – Madeira), Hiking, Trekking, Walking Trails, Tracks, Pedestrian Routes, Portugal

You hadn’t heard from us in a while. This is the first text written in a world turned upside down, in a life that stopped overnight and changed us around. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, since March a lot has changed in the world, in the world of others and ours as well. In the midst of this chaos, one positive thing: the family grew and from now on there will be four of us discovering new paths and trails throughout Portugal. Now it’s time to readjust the puzzle pieces, to readapt a daily life that will never be the same again. We continue, as always, in love with Portugal and we will continue to demonstrate this love in these pages where many of you also begin to discover a special country, the result of restrictions in this pandemic era. We hope that this massive influx of tourists to the less frequented areas of our country, unaccustomed to the “stress” of mass tourism, doesn’t mean the destruction of “our” hiking trails. We hope that this massive tourism is not synonymous of lack of respect for nature and for who lives there.

Santa Cruz is much more than the municipality where we find Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport.

Long before we even imagined that we would experience these upheavals in our lives, we visited the wonderful Madeira. The latest articles posted on the blog report several adventures we spent over a week on the island. On the last day of this visit we walk along the streets of Santa Cruz in an announced but not definitive farewell.

Santa Cruz is much more than the municipality where we find Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport. When the discoverer João Gonçalves Zarco arrived here, he made a cross of fallen old cedars, christening the place of Santa Cruz (Holy Cross).
We started this short walk on Bela de São José Street and went down towards the Court where we turned to Palmeiras Beach. On this rock formation beach, we didn’t find white sand, but the peculiarity and the magic of black pebbles, where straw parasols contrast in this seemingly unlikely combination.

We walked along the seaside through Alameda Park and in playground we wanted to reward Maria with an afternoon of fun. During the week he overcame great challenges proposed by his parents, on more or less tiring adventures, and always with a smile to give in return. Today was her time and so the games in the playground continued almost until dusk.

We still had time to visit the Santa Cruz Mother Church, built by João de Freitas to replace the old chapel of Bom Jesus, and on the opposite side of the square, the Santa Cruz City Hall with its gothic portal with a broken arch and twinned windows.
We returned to the apartment with the last rays of sunlight, it was time to start packing to say goodbye to Madeira on the next day.

Points of Interest:

Palmeiras Beach, Alameda Park, Santa Cruz Mother Church, Santa Cruz City Hall.

Tips:

Do not throw garbage on the floor.
There are restaurants and cafés where you can boost your energy.
At Palmeiras Beach, in addition to a refreshing dive in the sea, there are also two swimming pools that you can enjoy.