Oh, sweet lord, why? Who decided that Europe’s tallest cliff needed a glass-floored viewing platform jutting from the top? Never mind that, who decided that I should be stood on it? Ah … there she is, sticking to the landward side of the thing like a terror-crazed limpet. I’d laugh, but I’m fighting an unexpected urge to do the same. Heights have never really bothered me and still don’t … it’s the drop that’s making my stomach try to crawl out my ears.
You won’t need more than an hour to enjoy the stunning views and tummy-wobbling terror of the Cabo Girão Skywalk. But if you’ve arrived there via the bus – don’t just rush off. The walk down is incredible.
Better views than the Skywalk
Leaving the crowds behind, the Vereda do Cabo Girão zig-zags down some 2,000 steps through the terraced allotments, houses and smallholdings typical of Madeira’s steepest slopes. It’s like being back in the Ecuadorian Andes.
Drystone basalt walls create stepped terraces (poios) of chocolate-rich soil in which verdant shoots thrive. Cheryl is almost as green with envy. Shallow and narrow concrete levadas run alongside the walls to provide irrigation. Small piles of rags here and there aren’t random litter but a simple method of diverting water flows as needed. The disquieting dead-stares of disembodied dolls are used for bird scaring. We hope.
For me, the aerial view across the entire valley’s poios are even better than those from the Skywalk – without the crowds or vertigo. For an hour we navigate our way to the cable car at Rancho, just above Câmara de Lobos. Here we encounter the only people we’ve seen. A German couple in full hiking gear, walking poles and all. They ask for directions to the Skywalk.
‘Up. Go up. If you start tasting cloud, you’re going the right way.’
And so it is, Cheryl has to face her fears for the second time this day as the Fajãs do Cabo Girão cable car plummets over the base cliffs towards the shore below. My stomach, despite being a frequent flyer with the rest of my body, reacquaints itself with the emergency exits that are my ears. It really is rather steep.
A peaceful lack of down
The thrilling ride down takes us to the pebble beach at the very base of Cabo Girão. Whether it’s the sunshine and sea spray or the lack of precipitous drops … it’s a peaceful spot for a stroll and to chill for a while. After taking the cable car back up, we walk down through the upper reaches of Câmara de Lobos to the town centre.
This picturesque seaside town has a bunch of restaurants clustered around the harbour. Feeling like we’ve earned refreshments, we start looking for something suitable. Poking our head into a gloomy little snack bar, I notice a waiter serving some tables through a door at the other end. We duck through and find ourselves at some tables right on the harbour next to the pulled-up fishing boats. Perfect.
Large beers served with free salty yum-yum snacks – tremoços (lupin beans) and olives take the edge off and some fresh espada (scabbard fish) fills a gap. We have a pleasant explore of the harbour before jumping in an Uber back home.
