Portugal - Day 17
September 24, 2025: Our agenda for today was to explore Old Town Madeira, go to the Mercado dos Lavradores, relax on the Praia do Almirante Beach and have dinner at Santo Antonio Restaurant up in the hills. We did most of those, but with a few changes. We started with coffee on our veranda, which is SO relaxing! We have such wonderful view and it reminds us of Hawaii, which is our happy place. Then we got ready and ordered up a Bold (Europe’s version of Uber) to take us to Old Town. We did started at the market (Mercado dos Lavradores) and walked around looking at all of the unique shops. Since this is a tropical island like Hawaii, there are tons of fresh fruits. We tried a new pink-fleshed dragonfruit that tastes like berries, bought some amazing truffles and picked up a few souvenirs. After the market, we grabbed lunch at a small little cafe that serves brunch until 2:00pm called Bom Dia Madeira. The food was amazing. Jimm had the spicy eggs with peppers and I had the eggs, prosciutto and avocado on toast with a cappuccino. They also had homemade banana bread.
Once we finished our lunch, we headed to promenade toward Praia do Almirante Beach. When we got there, we decided against relaxing on beach since it was not a sandy beach, but a very rocky beach. Instead, we stopped at restaurant on the pier for a drink and relaxed for a bit before beginning our 50-minute walk back to our apartment. It was a nice leisurely stroll with a stop for gelato along the way and we booked a cruise for Sunday on the Santa Maria de Colombo. We had seen it out on the water from our balcony and decided we should give it a try. It is a copy of Christopher Columbus’ signature boat and takes you on a sail around Madeira’s southern coast. When we got back, we took a bit of a break before getting ready for our dinner at Santo Antonio up in the hills.
Santo Antonio was founded in 1966 by José Silvestre de Jesus and began as a small tasca (a typical local tavern) offering petiscos (snacks) and drinks. From the first skewers of espetada (grilled meat on laurel sticks) to the daily baking of bolo do caco (Madeiran flatbread), the place gradually became a staple for locals and visitors. I had heard about it during my research. Set against the backdrop of Madeira’s lush terrain and close to the coast, this location gives visitors a chance to combine a meal with scenic views. And the views were spectacular on the drive up and from the restaurant itself. We enjoyed a wonderful meal of filet and chicken on the skewers along with the bread and Milho fritos (fried corn squares) along with a red wine from Douro Valley. It was a lovely day and we are really enjoying this beautiful island.