Madeira, the 'Garden Island', is renowned for its botanical treasures. But, as Ben Woods discovers, it now has an adventurous side too.
The view from the lookout could have been slapped across a postcard – but I was having trouble taking it in. Despite the sight of undulating hills and white-copper houses, I was panicking about my journey back down the mountain. It was not the height that was posing the problem, but the mode of transport: an oversized wicker basket pushed down by two grown men.
I was told it was tourist tradition in Funchal, the capital city of the Portuguese island of Madeira, to ride the cable car up the mountains and take the toboggan ride back down.
And while its true that some traditions never die, I couldn't help but wonder how many victims this taxi ride had taken since its maiden voyage in 1850.
However, my drivers, decked out in straw hats and white linen outfits, were quick to wave away my concerns.
They pulled one of the flimsy baskets from the stack, placed it in the middle of the road, and ushered me into position. 'You hold on to this,' one said, handing me a thin rope, before we were off, the basket shunting forward, their running feet slapping concrete, and the speed ever increasing as we embraced the hill and leaned into the first corner.
If truth be told, I had no reason to fret. The ride, as Ernest Hemingway described it, was exhilarating. The drivers handled the basket like would-be Lewis Hamiltons, easing it around narrow bends and letting it accelerate down steep straights. When cars attempted to pull out, they made alarmed cries, while I sat tight and enjoyed the view as we glided into the landscape I failed to admire earlier.
For years, this 19th century ride had been the only place for adrenalin-filled fun on an island renowned for its tranquility – but no longer.
Madeirans are reaching out to travellers harbouring an itch for adventure, with rock climbing, abseiling, canyoning and paragliding becoming strong economic drivers for the island's tourism trade.
Yet, for those who fancy a thrill, but don't fancy squeezing into a crotch-hugging harness or swan diving off a cliff, there are some alternatives. Some of the best ways to appreciate the island's sub-tropical surroundings can be done so by taking a few risks – albeit on a smaller scale.
Or so my guide Cristiano Andrade assured me, as I clambered into the back of a 4x4 and set off in search of Madeira's ancient forests.
Cristiano's Mountain Expeditions company thrives on the abundant beauty of the natural landscape. His jeep tours navigate the flora of the Laurisilva Forest, which spreads 15,000 hectares across the north slopes of the island.
And while their main aim is to give you a wholesome experience of Madeira's green and pleasant land, the safaris also have their fair share of excitement.
From the outset, our driver was arrowing down dirt tracks, lumping over rock-strewn roads, and inching up steep inclines, as we climbed into the upper echelons of Madeira's mountainous terrain.
At times, it was difficult to know where to look next. New panoramic vistas seemed to emerge with every turn of the wheel. There was mountain ranges carpeted by trees, spits of rock sitting in the sea like broken teeth, and plenty of cavernous drops that emerged near the roadside with no barriers to save us.
'We had a landslide that blocked this route not so long back,' was one of the first things Cristiano told me, as the driver shifted down a gear and sent the jeep struggling up a near 40-degree road.
'We are usually the first ones to find them because not many people drive these routes.
'But the mist is the real problem. A few months ago I had to reverse the jeep back about a mile in the fog because of a car coming the other way – imagine that, on these roads.'
On my journey, the only sign of mist was the heavy-cotton clouds that hung around the shoulders of the vast mountains in the distance. Below them were small patch works of agricultural land where the Madeiran's cultivated fruit and vegetables for the Funchal market.
But the purpose of the trip was not just to absorb the sights. Cristiano was keen to show me the island's levadas: a series of man-made brooks, which carry water from wetter side of the island in the north, to the sunnier side in the south.
The canals were built over five centuries to irrigate the agricultural plantations on Madeira's slopes and valleys. They consist of narrow pathways called esplanadas that run for more than 1,000 miles across the breadth of the island in small-snaking streams. We followed the Castelejo Levada on a three-mile hike through the forest. Here, the sound of the bubbling water accompanied us as we walked among the dewey air trapped beneath the canopy.
During the trek, Cristiano took time to point out the rich variety of mosses, lichens and ferns near the pathway, which were punctuated by the bright Madeiran flowers. But despite the island's beauty, many of the young people are keen to move away from the countryside to live in Funchal, or cities in mainland Portugal.
'There are better opportunities for them there,' he said, 'Many of them go to work and send money back to their families on the farms you can see around us.'
One of the places these young professionals head to is the neighbouring island of Porto Santo, where they flock to its golden beach- something Madeira sorely lacks.
Towards the end of my journey, I decided to take the two-and-a-half hour ferry ride from Funchal in order to experience it for myself.
At first, I was little underwhelmed. While you can't deny that the long strip of sandy coastline has its beauty, it is certainly nothing Southern Spain hasn't shown you before.
Where Porto Santo does excel, however, is in its remoteness. So far, the island has remained relatively unspoilt by tourism, with only a smattering of hotels, and no sign of the towering white holiday resorts that blight some of Spain and Portugal's revered coastlines.
Because of this, Porto Santo has kept a simple charm that allows its finer quality to sing. The beach, for example, was near deserted when I arrived in September, while its exotic bird sanctuary, the Quinta Das Palmeiras, and geological wonder of The Piano (similar to the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland) remained accessible, inexpensive and unpretentious.
But this could be about to change – and not for the first time. Centuries ago, the island's ancestors saw their beloved island overrun by Algerian privateers who had a penchant for killing anything that moved.
Today, they face a similar, if slightly less grisly, situation. Replace the pirates with tourists from mainland Europe, and the corsairs with Boeing 747's, and you start to see a clear picture of this 21st century invasion.
If the rumours are to be believed, holidaymaker Thomson is looking to up its stakes in Porto Santo by investing in year-round direct flights to the island, rather than just just the summer season.
So the time is ripe to book your trip, before this simple charm becomes lost in a new economic adventure.
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