After I spend the morning in the park doing a quick climb up Mount Everest in a team exercise simulation for work, the nice weather is over and it starts drizzling.
I decide to still take the bus to Ribeira Brava and do a trail run on the Levada do Norte. Depending on my speed and the weather, I could then continue back on the western side of the Serra de Agua valley or cross over to Curral das Freiras. I end up doing neither.
I arrive at Ribeira Brava at 13.30h and start the steep uphill climb immediately. The drizzle continues on and off, seldomly turning into real rain, but also never quitting for more than a few minutes.
3km/600vm of this …
After an hour, I arrive at the Levada do Norte and start a beautiful two hour run/hike along the canal, always a steep drop on my left and a cliff on my right. This is certainly not a path for someone with vertigo or fear of heights. A few of the tunnels that I cross are partially flooded. I have to walk on the levada rim, which is fine, until the last tunnel is really low. Ouch, my poor back. The levada is in bad repair at times, but in two places workers are right in the process of fixing it.
Around 16.00 h I have to decide where to continue. It’s still raining and the mountains in the east aren’t looking any more inviting than those on the western side of the valley. So I walk down to the village of Serra de Agua and catch a bus to Funchal.
Overall a very nice levada and a day well spent!