The cable car to Fajã Quebrada, Madeira, Portugal

If you like strong emotions, then, on a windy day, try a ride on the cable car that connects Achadas da Cruz with Fajã da Quebrada Nova, at Madeira.

It is an unforgettable experience.

Possibilities to take a cable car ride in Madeira are frequent that little or nothing is mentioned.

Cable cars are spread all over the island are they are always interesting.

We enter into a little glazed box with a chopstick on its back. The stick is attached to a wire, and there we go up and down the slope.

On the way we take some pictures, we blurted out some ahhh’s… so it’s the moment.

It’s always fun.

However, the cable car to the village is of another category.

Here you have some wind to speed up your heartbeat, a mighty wind.

Everything moves, and everything shakes.

The cable car ride turns to be more of a rollercoaster experience rather than a means of getting down to the fajã.

It is a not to miss experience.

At Fajã da Quebrada, we find a beautiful little place.

It is a very well maintained village, with a walk along the sea and with an enjoyable view of the town.

Can you imagine the isolation these people lived in before the construction of the cable car?

The only trail connecting this place to the rest of the world is the definition of steep in itself.

It was not only the isolation that was hard but also the immense human and animal effort to leave or return here.

On the cliff walls, there are marks of past waterfalls that are no longer. Older inhabitants sadly say that the water has been diverted, and they speak about having to pay for water that once was free and abundant.

This is a subject I will have to investigate another time.

The return up is another swing adventure inside the glass canister.

What a spectacular place.

David Monteiro