yeah, madeira is crazy steps everywhere. there are some flat parts here and there, they call them "achada" and it's a common name for an area where people live on this island.

the south of the island is not as rugged as the north. more sunshine and less rain has meant a lot more dirt from decomposing rocks, but it's really almost desert conditions on the first couple miles inland, and most of the population depends on water that runs through elaborate channels built around the mountainsides from springs near the top and around the southern parts where all the rain falls. they are cool those things, they call them "levadas" and you can usually walk along them, in most cases there is a pathway beside it but sometimes it gets a bit scary with steep drops right beside it, and sometimes it goes through small tunnels that are dug out of a steep bit of ground. over 600 years people have lived here, the amount of labor digging up rocks and building retaining walls and terraces, is incredible, and nowadays most of it is falling into ruin.

as you can imagine, everyone drives cars around here, and a lot of scooters and motorcycles too. i prefer it on the north side because of less people and more steep terrain and more greenery means it's a lot less noisy. anywhere on the south side there is much in the way of people is a zoo.