Obrigado from Madeira!
June 21, 2024
And just like that, they’re off! Sarah and I don’t know what we are going to do without them for the rest of the summer! An update on the past few days:
Our last day in Porto Santo was a dream. We woke up and met Joao once again for sea kayaking. Ferrell and Margaret were a power team on the kayak while Ava and I decided to be passenger princesses in the middle of our teams. Sienna showed us how she does it on Lake Michigan as she dragged Maela and I through the water. A few hours of free time at the beach was all this group needed to boost morale, as a few sunburns accompanied the day. On the ferry ride home, the girls all indulged the American comforts of a large hot dog and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Our 3 hour ferry ride and 45 minute drive to Porto de Cruz had us in for a late night, but the girls still had a sweet Moonup.
Our first day in Porto de Cruz, we were once again hit with a morning shower, so we had to adjust our climbing plans and move to a covered, artificial wall under the airport runway. Our first up the wall were Emily and Eliza climbing side by side. There were some tough routes, but Margaret and Maela were killer! On one route, Maela attempted a reach probably a dozen times, refusing to give up. A group of us charged up a nearby lookout point which was insanely beautiful with a beach view of crystal blue water and coastal cliffs. Layla inspired a rock-into-the-ocean throwing competition and won by a landslide (non-literally.) We ended the day with a huge meal of garlic bread, tomato soup, swordfish, and fries. Yet another day had come and gone. The next morning we started feeling that the trip was coming to an end, but we were still incredibly excited because our first day of surfing was here! However, due to the tide, it didn’t start until 6 PM, so we had ourselves a beach day. Edie began The Princess Bride for the fourth time and is forming quite the addiction. Our surfing adventures weren’t as exhilarating as we were preparing ourselves for, but we had a blast just the same finding that the small waves were good for our first day out so we could get our techniques down. We had alot of laughs, and Margaret showed us she is a natural on the board!
We went to bed pretty late, but everyone was on board for an early wake up for a sunrise hike before another day of surfing. There we sat quietly taking in the 360 view of waves crashing, houses dotting the rolling hills, and sun rays making it look as if heaven was just out of reach – a pretty magical way to start our final day. We hiked back to our hotel for a quick breakfast and change before packing into a van topped with surfboards and headed on our next adventure. Though they were a bit sleepy upon arrival some silly looking stretching and large waves quickly woke them up. Agnes and Margaret stood out as some outstanding surfers – Agnes did her signature Shaka as she rode a wave in allll the way to shore. After rinsing our boards and peoplewatching as the guides loaded our boards we took off down the road. Unfortunately about 10minutes into our journey back our ride came to a skidding halt as a car headed toward the van head on. We are all feeling extremely grateful because Cecilio, our surf instructor, managed to maneuver between the oncoming car and the other lane of traffic, clipping the front right tire and avoiding a much worse disaster. The girls handled the situation beautifully expressing how lucky they felt no one was severely injured – shout out to seat belts. After shaking out some of thestress from the event, hunger quickly settled in. Their skit had us in tears and afterward we started our very sweet final Moonup.
The love this group has for each other after just 17 days isamazing – we are going to miss them so much and are so excited to watch them grow. Leaving them in the airport today was heartbreaking, and we will be missing them this summer! Thank you for sharing them with us! We love you guys so much!!!!!!!
Reporting from Madeira!!
June 17, 2024
It’s hard to have any complaints over here other than missing all of our dads today! Exhausted from all the trekking we recharged our batteries–slept in, did some much needed laundry, and ate well. Thursday morning we suited up and looked super cool in our wetsuits for an afternoon of canyoneering in some of the coldest water we have ever been in. Emily and Ava helped to insist a mandatory plunge for everyone after they repelled down the waterfall.
The next day was our first real day in the sun. We went canyoneering once again–this time in much warmer water. We repelled down seven waterfalls and it was beautiful! Eliza wants her mom to know that we had a yoga session on the deck outside the hotel after canyoneering. We wrote letters, Maela played some ukulele for us and we all made friendship bracelets before dinner. We had Moonup overlooking the most beautiful mountain landscape, enjoying our last night in the mountains before going to Porto Santo.
Saturday morning was quite the wake up call when our alarms went off at 5 am to catch the ferry to Porto Santo. We had a glamorous morning drinking coffee on the deck of the ship and exploring all the cool features of the ferry. Agnes started the day with a 7 am pick me up of Ben and Jerry’s, and the group shockingly learned that Margaret does in fact sleep with her eyes open. Upon arrival, we walked to our hotel and explored the island, but alas, the rain came. We sought shelter in some local boutiques but soon decided to embrace the wet and go for a swim. Ferrell led the charge straight to the Porto Santo Pier with Margaret and Edie quickly jumping on board. The three decided they were definitely jumping from the pier and soon got Maela, Layla, and Ava in the water with them. It is so awesome to see them making the most of the day amidst the weather. Once the weather cleared, we spent the afternoon with Joao, our snorkel guide. The girls saw an octopus, some rays, starfish, puffer fish, and all kinds of other things!
This morning we went for a coastal hike with Filipe and Goncalo to the top of Porto Santo and all the way down to the ocean. We swam in tide pools and watched the waves crash for hours. The group has taken to a reading streak and are now trading books around, so we spent some time on the beach relaxing and reading. We shopped around, drank Brisa (a Madeiran soda), and took to the pier once again for Sienna and Agnes to give the jump another go! We had burgers for dinner at a beach side restaurant and walked around the village center. Emily has decided to sponsor a local stray dog and bought him a bacon and cheese crepe. During Moonup we talked about all of our dads and what we love about them. This group seems to have some good ones!
Happy Fathers Day from Madeira; we love you all so much!
A few messages from the girls:
Hi mom and dad! Portugal is so fun and I’m so grateful you guys let me go on this trip! Also happy father’s day and happy birthday to my dad, I miss you so much and can’t wait to see you again. Love you guys so much!! Say hi to Charlie for me! -Maela
Hey Mom and Dad! Portugal is so fun thanks for letting me go! I can’t wait to tell you about it when I get back. Love you! Happy late Fathers Day! -Sienna
Mom! Dad! Thank you so so much for sending me on this trip. It’s easily the hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I love and miss you both!! Happy Father’s Day!-Edie
Hey Mom and Dad and Reeves! Thank you so much for sending me on this trip! I’m having so much fun and this is the best experience ever! I can’t wait to tell you all about it! I love y’all!-Eliza
Hey family, hope y’all are having a good summer so far! Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to come here, I am having a great time. As much as I love this trip, I’m so excited to come home and tell you all about what we have been doing! Happy late Fathers’ Day!!!! I love you guys so much!! -Emily
Hi Mom, Dad, and Alex, thank you for letting me come on this trip. I am so grateful for the opportunity. I hope y’all have been able to go to the beach a lot while I’m gone. Alex, I hope you had a great dance recital and I am sure that you did great. Happy Father’s Day!! Thank you for everything you do Dad. I love and miss y’all so much. I can’t wait to see y’all soon. -Agnes
Hey mama and dad!! I miss you guys!! We’ve been having so much fun here. Right now we are in Porto Santo! Also, happy Father’s Day dad! 4 more days until I get to see you! I love you all very much! Tell Mase I love him! -Ava
Hi Mom and Dad! Portugal is so much fun and I’m so grateful you guys let me come! Miss and love you so guys so much! Happy Father’s Day dad love you! See you so soon! – Layla Esquivel
Hi mom and dad! I miss you guys and I am so excited to see you. Happy Father’s Day to you dad, we’re now running on 11 years of me missing it but I love you! I hope Papa and Harley are doing well. See you at the airport! -Ferrell Wilson
Hi!! I am having so much fun here and so exited to see y’all in a few days!! Happy Father’s Day!!Love y’all!! -Margaret
Hello from Madeira!
June 13, 2024
Hello from Madeira! We are having a blast!
Thankfully all traveling was smooth. The girls have been loving on each other since first meeting in the Lisbon airport, and it has been awesome to watch them grow closer throughout the past week. Upon arrival in Madeira, we met our outfitters, Filipe and Goncalo, and drove to Porto Moniz, a small town on the west end of the island. We checked into our cozy hostel and went swimming in some natural pools along the water. We had to split the group into two rooms of six and four, but they insisted they all sleep in the same room, so we moved some mattresses to the floor. Our first meal was delicious, and we ate with an ocean view. We were all so jet lagged and exhausted, but they all rallied for moonup (our time to circle up and debrief the day.) Our first LODs (Leaders of the Day) were Sienna and Maela, and they set the tone so well.
The next morning, we swam in the natural pools of Porto Moniz. All the girls jumped off a diving board overlooking the ocean, and we got lots of videos to show for it! After swimming, we took our last showers for a few days and started the trekking portion of our trip. The first hike was tough but we stopped halfway up for ice cream on the mountain which pushed us on. We cooked up some chicken burritos on the camp stoves and enjoyed another moonup crammed inside Emily and Agnes’ tent. On the first night of camp, it POURED, but thankfully only while we were sleeping so everything stayed dry for the most part. We made a big breakfast of bacon, eggs, yogurt, and toast before we set out for our second day of trekking. This was a long one but the girls collectively made it their mission to impress the guides. Sweet Edie was getting pretty sick and the lack of sleep was not helping her to recover. On day two, we had to hike her out to the road and take her to the hospital in Funchal. She ended up needing to be treated in the hospital and took it like a champion. Needless to say we did a whole lot of reading that day. To make matters just a little bit worse, Edie’s GoPro slid off of her book and onto the concrete, shattering the screen. She had objectively the roughest go at this first bit of the trip, but I have never met a more resilient person who can bounce back as quickly as this girl! While Edie and I were at the hospital, the rest of the group summited after 8miles of hiking! Eliza and Margaret were on cook crew for the group and made a delicious ragu pasta sauce. We had moonup in the tent again competing with the elements. We had a chilly night in the tents with temperatures below 40 degrees.
On day three of trekking, Layla had adopted the nickname “Turbo” and always took the front upon the request of the group. The group hiked nearly 7 miles with spare time to spend at a mountain café for an ice cream stop. By day 3, morale was high, and the girls seemed to be getting into a good rhythm with each other. At camp, Maela, Layla, and Ava cooked up some chicken curry (along with resident chef, Ferrell, who frequently joins the cook crew for quality control.) Margaret wants her parents to know that she is trying tons of new foods! Yet another cold night awaited us, but the group had toughened up so much. We were so impressed with how well they have all adapted to the routines of cooking outside, cleaning dishes outdoors, setting up and breaking down tents, etc. The next day of hiking was supposed to be the day that we summited two famous peaks, but Mother Nature had other plans for us. We were greeted with nothing but freezing rain and wind. After hiking straight uphill for 4 miles, we were forced to reroute back down the mountain and take taxis to our “campsite.” Everyone stayed so positive and kind to each other. To add a cherry on top, Layla found a whole slug in her sandwich, so the girls were begging to stop for food on the way to camp. I had told them that we were headed to pick up Edie and Sarah E who had a much different day than our own. Once we got to the mountain café to collect them, I told the girls they could run in and get some food. They walked in barefoot carrying their wet backpacks and were greeted by a host who said “I’m sure you guys are ready to get upstairs.” We surprised them with showers and warm beds. Edie and Sarah E were waiting on us there and enjoyed the morning drinking coffee and playing chess while we hiked in the elements. Being the only people staying in this mountain hostel, we made ourselves at home ordering tons of food and having the most delicious dinner. We showered and cozied into our bunks for a night of “Agnes Night Live” with hostess, Emily. The next morning, we slept in, enjoyed a big breakfast, and summited the tallest peak in Madeira! Edie had such a rough start being sick this week, but she got right back into the hiking with us on days 5 and 6! She summited right alongside the group! We were glad to have her energy back on the trail.
The sun finally showed up on days 5 and 6 as we trekked down to Funchal and had one last night of camping. Margaret cooked us her special–chicken quesadillas! We gorged ourselves in all our leftover food and Portuguese desserts. In the last hours of our trek, we traded two miles of walking for a traditional Madeira activity–tobogganing!We road on the street sleds down to the center of Funchal and explored for the afternoon. We treated ourselves to an ice cream run–and of course to a browse through Zara. We made our way by taxi up to a mountain hostel to shower and do some laundry.
The girls are amazing, and we have loved being their leaders so far. Thank you for sharing them with us!
To the Island They Go - Day 1!
June 6, 2024
Hello Madeira Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning that the group has landed safely in Lisbon and is off to Madeira! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure as they dance around the island.
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
