Explore With Ilse

01/06/2026

Thank you , for a fabulous week of hiking and learning! Bruno was with us from start to finish, guiding our hikes, telling us stories about growing up in Madeira, teaching us about Madeira’s history, pointing out the grocery stores where we bought our daily lunches, and recommending restaurants, and which dishes and drinks to order from each place.

And a big shout-out to David, our driver (last photo)—thank you!

💥The ultimate gift on vacation is to NOT have to think—thank you, Bruno and David, for allowing us to BE in all the present moments.💥

31/05/2026

For our final hike in Madeira, we were picked up at the hotel at 5:45am in order to make the sunrise—so worth it!

Our early morning layers quickly came off as the sun rose higher and as we hiked the famous Stairway to Heaven—lots of steep steps.

And then we hiked down the 6000’ mountain. For hours, we went down uneven steps—only a few sections of no-steps on the trail. My phone says we descended 64 floors this way. Bam! Bam! Bam! Every step down, the knees taking the brunt of the weight. By the time we got to the hut, many knees were screaming.

(I’ve noticed there aren’t many photos of this part of our hike—no shade, hot sun, trying not to trip … I guess we all just wanted to getterdone and not stop for photos! 😅)

Pro tip, which I learned through PT a few years ago: Engage your glutes on the way down. We often remember to do this on the way UP, but people don’t realize the importance of also doing this on the way DOWN. This doesn’t happen naturally—you have to 💥think it into being.💥 I had to go to PT for this! When you engage your glutes, you can feel the pressure lift off your knees. And of course, poles help relieve knees too—but for those of us who don’t like to hike with poles, it’s imperative that we engage our glutes!

29/05/2026

The day we hiked through the Fanal Forest (yesterday’s post) was Kerry’s birthday! So the day began with a musical entrance with phone-accessory discoballs.

Immediately after hiking, our guide, Bruno, took us to his friend’s restaurant for authentic Poncha—a drink made with fresh-squeezed lemon or orange juice and a lot of Madeira rum—a lot. This drink was born to help the fishermen stay warm, back in the day—and I have to believe that it also helped ward off scurvy!

After showers, the Negroni-hour began. First in M’s room, where he discovered the tea kettle makes for an excellent Negroni mixing vessel. After we got run off the rooftop patio by teeny-tiny biting gnats, we landed on the patio outside the restaurant.

THIS is what I love about my trips—everyone wants to hang out together! When Bruno came down to meet us for dinner, this is what he saw—the 16 of us laughing and behaving as if we’ve known each other for years. Another fun-loving, inclusive, kind, drama-free group. 🙏

And after dinner, another round of Happy Birthday (our 3rd of the day, I think!), a candle to make a wish on, and a kiss from a friend. 💖

The next day was our day off from hiking in the capital city, Funchal—we all agreed we didn’t have enough time here! Some of us went to the botanical gardens, some of us took a ride in the city gondola, some of us did a food/wine tour, some of us did a Madeira wine tasting, and we all just wandered for hours through this vibrant city where the mountains meet the sea, admiring the door paintings, the markets, the churches, the architecture—then we shared our stories and photos at the end of the day.

28/05/2026

The UNESCO protected Fanal Forest. We hiked through multiple ecosystems, starting at alpine with a few more layers of clothing on. The trail and humidity quickly warmed us up, and when we came out of the trees, we walked through the fog that moved in and out, sometimes so thick that I almost lost sight of the person in front of me!

These laurel trees are iconic and native to Madeira. Despite the UNESCO protection, and because of tradition, beef farmers bring their cows up here in the spring to roam free all summer. This makes for excellent quality beef, I’m sure, but it jeopardizes the future of this forest—the cows eat the saplings as soon as they appear.

Another reason this forest is in jeopardy is because it is one of the many places in Madeira that has recently exploded in popularity because of social media—some tourists come here so they can climb these ancient trees for photos, sometimes breaking off limbs.

(Yes, I understand that I also post about these places on social media—but I believe the difference is that I talk about responsibility and respect. I hope that because of my posts, anyone who goes to the places I post about will think twice before climbing something they shouldn’t. And because of my posts, I hope people learn that there are tour companies you can choose to travel with who put significant money into each community they visit, and they pay their guides a living wage. Please spread the word—let’s make good choices!)

Madeira is at a pivotal point of needing to step up its regulations to protect places like this. Our last hike of the week reminded me of the Inca Trail—and how Madeira does not need to reinvent this wheel!

Last 2 photos: 1. Close-up of a frog in a bog. 2. The bog! Zoom in, and you’ll see a few of the thousands of frogs that were in this bog for mating season. It was SO loud that we had to yell to the person standing next to us to be heard.

Our day ended with a birthday party, which got fabulously (but respectfully!) raucous, because the next day was our day off from hiking:) I’ll post photos tomorrow!

27/05/2026

So yeah. Today was somethin’. The scheduled trail was washed out, so our born-and-raised-in-Madeira guide, , knew just the trail to take us on. The only other person we saw on the trail was an old woman leaning across her fence to talk with us.

And there was a lot of UP. A LOT. I don’t normally look at my phone for health stats, but here we are. (Second photo)

And it was HOT without shade. And each of us from Maine commented at some point how grateful we were that Madeira’s ticks don’t carry Lyme’s disease—we walked through a lot of tall grass and ferns. (FYI—we never saw a tick! 😅)

And it was another glorious day of hiking that ended at a beautiful hotel (where we were welcomed with a cold glass of Madeira on the rocks) with a rooftop infinity pool overlooking the ocean and natural pools carved into the volcanic rock.

And Bruno found a 4-leaf clover! 🍀

26/05/2026

Our second hike in Madeira began in a downpour. As soon as we got out of the van at the trailhead, the skies opened. Our guide knew the worst of it would pass quickly, so we found shelter for a few minutes, then started our hike in a soft drizzle. Eventually, the rain stopped, and the clouds moved in and out for the rest of our hike.

We started walking along Portugal’s famous levadas (aqueducts) serving people’s private gardens. Then we hit a forest, before ending on a cliff trail overlooking the ocean and dramatic coastline. Strikingly beautiful calla lilies grow all over Madeira!

Final 2 photos—first one is the zoomed-in shot of the people in the last photo.

25/05/2026

24/05/2026

The first of 5 hikes in Madeira! Madeira is a small, stunning Portuguese island off the coast of northwest Africa. It’s the land of Madeira wine, iconic hiking, lush vegetation, and a gazillion flower varieties.

The first hike is when the guide assesses everyone’s hiking ability, and it’s always a beautiful way to get to know the people you don’t know on a trip. One of the things we discovered is that many of us enjoy a good Negroni. So at the end of every day, beginning on this day, we gathered together for cocktails before dinners. (I’m home now, writing my posts as retrospect.)

This group of 16, most of whom were strangers before this trip, came together seamlessly on the first day. From the photos on my future posts covering this trip, you’ll have a hard time figuring out who knew whom before the trip!

11/05/2026

If you’re looking for a unique trip of a lifetime, I’ve got you—come to the Baltics with me in September! Registration for this trip closes on May 16, 2026, so time is of the essence. DM me for more details or click the link to our website in my profile.

02/04/2026

I’m supposed to be finishing up a 2-week trip in Sri Lanka right now. We were all supposed to fly through the Middle East on March 20. As soon as we knew we couldn’t do that, we looked for flights through Europe, but the price gouging was almost criminal—there was no way any of us could pay thousands of dollars (if you wanted only 2 layovers, the cost was $6000 for economy!) when we didn’t even know if Etihad and Emirates would refund us the thousands of dollars we spent on those tickets.

So even though Sri Lanka remains a safe country to visit, we just couldn’t GET there. And travel insurance does NOT cover cancellation due to war, BTW.

As sh!tty as this is, all my emotions are for the people in the crosshairs, and about the war and the general state of parts of the world right now.

As for Sri Lanka, this poor country needs tourism badly—they’ve struggled through corrupt government, civil war, natural disaster, and now THIS. Please add beautiful Sri Lanka to your travel list!

So I took my *gift* of time to visit my son—I hadn’t seen his life in Colorado since June, when he graduated. I spent a long weekend with him, finally meeting his amazing girlfriend and getting to see him in his post-college life.

This was a gift beyond words. 💝

Then I spent 3 nights by myself in Santa Fe. I had visited this magical place about 15 years ago and had always wanted to go back.

I almost cried when I took my first bite of these huevos rancheros, realizing that all the huevos rancheros I’ve ever eaten were just WRONG.

And during my wanderings, I happened upon the Chrism Mass at the cathedral; I never knew such a ceremony existed. This is when the anointing oils for all the parishes throughout New Mexico for the year are blessed by the Archbishop. Every parish sends a representative priest; there were at least 50 priests, all dressed in white. And the procession was led by 2 Pueblo Indians drumming and chanting to bless the church as they entered. This High Mass was said and sung in both English and Spanish.

This spontaneous solo retreat was also a gift. ✨

May you be surrounded by loved ones in peace and love. 🕊️