Robbos World

MY WICKEDLY FAST IN A WICKER BASKET!

There are some amazing experiences you have heard about, or seen on the tele, but this was one of those “Absolutely Experiences at the Monte Toboggan ride in Madeira.

But first we headed up to Monte, around 500 metres above sea level, overlooking the spectacular amphitheatre of Funchal, its orange-tiled rooftops, the Atlantic Ocean and the harbour, where even Marella and P&O cruise ships were in port on the Cable Car.

I just loved getting to Monte, as it was only half og my adventure, as we took the famous Teleférico do Funchal cable car, travelling around 3,200 metres from Funchal’s Old Town up into the mountains, top tip arrive early before it gets to hot, and cruisers arrive by the coach load, and your waiting hours, I was there for 9am hassle free, by 10am its flooded with cruisers and tourists.

The journey takes about 15 minutes and the views are simply incredible, and dont move unless rocked by humans, dont think we did that,,,much

As the cable car climbs, Funchal gets smaller beneath you, the mountains rise around you and the Atlantic stretches out in front of you, and the views are just amazing, before you arrive in Monte, right beside the famous Monte Palace Madeira — although we weren’t there for the gardens… we had something considerably more crazy in mind!

Now its time for the much anticipated Monte Toboggans which date back to around 1850 and were originally developed as a practical way of getting people and goods down the steep mountain towards Funchal, I do love these facts, you may need this one day for the chase, trust me.. Fast forward nearly 200 years and here we were, climbing into a wicker basket with two men in white suits and straw hats standing behind us, no engines, no steering wheel, no seatbelt… just a wicker basket and a couple of very confident carreiros and 2 large handsome gents.

Then suddenly… WE’RE OFF! Down the steep, winding public asphalt roads we went, with the carreiros steering and braking using their rubber-soled boots, we were was told they use grease or lard on parts of the runners to help them glide faster, and believe me, it certainly felt like it, but still asked to go faster, as you would!

It takes roughly 10 minutes to cover the 1.2 mile circuit, but when you’re flying downhill, laughing, turning corners and watching the road disappear beneath you with your camera in hand, it feels considerably quicker!

The best part? With Maderia its climates never quite knows whatt its doing, as we had glorious Madeira sunshine, the next a little light rain, but nothing was going to stop us, and did speed us up.

What I love about the Monte Toboggans is that this isn’t just another tourist attraction, it’s the genuine part of Madeira’s history and culture, with the carreiros and their traditional wicker sledges becoming one of the island’s most famous symbols, and it origionally started as a practical form of transport, and now turned into one of Madeira’s must-do experiences — and sitting there being pushed down a mountain in a wicker basket, you can’t help but appreciate just how wonderfully bonkers it all is!

You can watch the sledges from the roadside, take photographs and listen to everyone telling you how much fun it is, but nothing prepares you for that first “WHOOSH!” as the basket starts sliding downhill.

Sometimes it’s about jumping into a wicker basket, hurtling down a mountain, laughing your head off and thinking, “What the hell am I doing?” And that, for me, is another fantastic chapter in Robbo Travels — Madeira!