Great day today. We woke up late and got going slowly but we had a good plan and it all worked out.  A unique aspect of Madeira is its system of levadas, essentially irrigation ditches, which date from the first settlements on the island in the early 1400s.  We have seen such irrigation networks in a number of other places but what sets Madeira apart is their extent.  Also, for many of the levadas the island Park authorities have established hiking trails that run alongside.  For the most part this means that the trail will be more level unless the levada suddenly plunges downhill to establish a new level, as they sometimes do, or the trail consists of several different levadas on different levels with steep connecting trail sections between them.  Originally many levadas were constructed with hand tools on a vertical cliff face, by workers suspended in baskets from above.  Not surprisingly, the death rate was high, but the need was great to bring water from the rainy mountainous north to the dry south.

Today our idea was to find a trail in the broad middle plateau of the central mountains, an area we had not yet visited.  We settled upon a trail called Ovil - Levada do Alecrim - Barragem do Pico da Urze.  At least that is what All Trails called it.  It's not really a Park trail as it seems to consist of a loop trail, going out along one established levada trail and then a loop back along a different levada that may or may not be sanctioned, depending on how you interpreted a sign we came across just as we were finishing.  The loop trail is listed as 2.6 miles but the highway people have cut off driving access to the trailhead, apparently based on some phantom construction that we did not see.  This added about another mile-and-a-half to the route to walk to the trailhead from a different parking location.

Once we reached the original trailhead, after pushing our way through the occasional gorse thicket, the trail was quite nice.  This trail consists of a short gradual descent to a point where the trail meets a fairly modern levada.  From there the trail begins a loop which follows a levada on one level in one direction and a different levada on a different level in the other.  The two levadas are connected on each end of the loop by a steep descent or ascent, depending on which way you go around the loop.  We chose to make the immediate descent to the lower levada.  This route led us down a steep trail and then along a stream passing several beautiful waterfalls along the way.  Eventually we met up with the lower levada which was a beautiful old-style structure.  After a bit we came to a trail leading back uphill which took us to what appeared on the map to be a nice alpine lake.  Our idea was to eat the dates and apricots we had brought at the lake (sadly, our last ones from Israel).  Unfortunately, the "lake" turned out to be a concrete-lined reservoir surrounded by a fence.  Not scenic so we continued on the loop, following the new modern levada that fed into the reservoir.

Once we completed the trail and were back at the car, we were still looking for lunch so we decided to continue on across the island to the southwest corner that we had not yet visited.  There we would no doubt find a target of opportunity for lunch.  That opportunity turned out to be Dominos in the town of Ponta do Pargo.  No, not that Dominos.  There we began with our now "usual order" of bolo do caco garlic bread and a glass of vinho verde.  By now, Phyllis had researched this bread and learned its ingredients include cooked pureed sweet potatoes, but we really don't detect any sweetness.  (Bolo do caco is traditionally cooked on a searingly hot basalt stone, because originally the locals were forbidden to have ovens.  Only the rulers and upper class were allowed to have ovens, and poor folk had to pay to use them.)  Phyllis followed that with roasted squid while Craig ordered a dish called "Black Pig Feathers."  It seems to be a fairly thin cut of pork marinated in a delicious sauce and grilled.  The pig was wonderful and Craig is sure he won lunch.  Phyllis is not completely convinced but she has an inexplicable soft spot for squid.  Regardless, it was an excellent way to end a great day.