Today we got the ‘special’ bus out to Pico do Ar***ro. Arriving in darkness, we stumbled our way through the crowds to bag a good spot for sunrise. We sat down on some rocks and watched as the orange tinge on the horizon intensified, as well as the crowds.

The sun broke, and immediately things weren’t as beautiful before. For one, you could see the crowds of people, secondly the orange tinge had gone, replaced with harsh yellow. And photos were now clogged with drones and posing people. Overall, it had been more enjoyable before.

Luckily the sun brought warmth, so I began to unfreeze, slowly. Even with a hoodie and rain jacket, I didn’t stop shivering until about 10am. Picking our way through the crowds, we visited the radar station and had spectacular views all the way to the coast. With the lush mountains surrounding us, fresh air and the faint hum of drones, we set off for the Pico do Ar***ro to Pico Ruivo walk – well, the open section of it.

After paying the €3 fee online, we marched off with the rest of the hikers. Finding a gap, we could now see the vertical drops on the edge of the path. Fighting against the wind, we made our way towards the amazing ridgeline ahead. Luckily the path was shut just before we would’ve had to go across this narrow and deadly section. After stopping for a snack, we returned to base.

The way back was steeper, but we managed to make it. The ticket man was there now, checking if people had paid their 3 euros – quite a few hadn’t and were trying to make excuses!!

Settling down at the Snack Bar, I had the best hot chocolate of my life. With absolutely no milk, it was purely chocolate (and proper chocolate). It was like the espresso to coffee, except it was hot chocolate.

Warm and happy, we set off for our final walk of the day: Vereda do Burro (or the Donkey Trail). A 7km family walk, we predicted it would be easy, especially as it went from over 1,000m elevation to sea level. Turns out we were very, very wrong…

After walking 2km without difficulty, we started going back up! We went into the clouds, where we saw a very spooky looking farmhouse. Soon we could make out the observatory up there as well. Given the cloud cover, it’s probably not a great place for one! Beginning our descent again, we saw a raging river that we had to cross.

Making our way down slippery mud steps, we managed to rock hop across the water, to then precariously climb back out the valley. But then the path looped back down and we crossed the same river again, then again, and then once more. Tired, we met a sign saying we still had 2km to go. Brilliant.

We caught a glimpse of the ecological park’s main building, not far to go now! The path widened till we were on a farm track. For 100m or so, we had the easy walk we had been promised. Then, the walk branched off and took the direct route down. With aching knees and another river crossing, we finally made it to the building.

Turns out, it was just a farmhouse with some nice donkeys. So, not the end of the walk. Mum told us it was still 1km away. Trudging over to the path, we crossed yet another river then went up, then down. Then more ups and downs. Until finally we made it to the end of the walk. Mum called a taxi, and we waited while the peacocks screamed like they were being murdered. An amazing day out with spectacular views but jelly for knees.