The Floating Garden

A photo essay from the island of Madeira

As I write this, I'm on a plane crossing over the Atlantic, coming back home.

I've been in Madeira, Portugal for more than a week, hosting a group on a journey to pursue wonder in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The trip was amazing in so many ways, and it was the birth of a dream (more on that later).

A few moments of reflection from what I saw:

Spiders in the Mist

On our first full day on the island, we set out for a "warmup" hike along one of the famous levadas—small canals carved into the mountainsides all throughout Madeira, bringing water down to the towns. When we began the hike, winding through the rainforest-covered mountainsides, there was a thick fog blanketing the mountains. It created a surreal atmosphere, and though we were walking along sheer cliffs, we couldn't see more than a few feet down.

I was disappointed. I knew the views of the valley, the sea, the sky, would be spectacular up here. But we couldn’t see anything through the fog.

Then, as I scanned the skinny path in front of my feet, I noticed a shimmering spiderweb stretched across the bushes to my left. I squatted down to get a closer look. I’ve never been particularly interested in spiders or their webs, but the mist-drops hanging from the strings of the web, and the stark stripes and pale yellows painting the spider’s back were fascinating to me. As we continued, I began to spot more and more of these same gorgeous webs, each of them with a radiant weaver waiting at its center. They were beautiful and haunting.

I went up the mountain in pursuit of wonder. I found it, but in a very different way than I expected. I lamented the fog at first, then I was grateful for it. It forced me to see things by my feet I would have missed if I could see the view I was hoping for.

As we went, the fog eventually did relent. It began to roll back gradually, like a curtain slowly unveiling the landscape. We got to see all we wanted—the plunging mountains, the blue sea, the orange rooftops scattering the valley—but I was most in awe of the humble spiderwebs.

Sunrise Church

“PR1” is the crowning trail of Madeira. It spans between the tallest and third-tallest peaks on the island. We hit the road at 5:30AM to be among the first to arrive the trailhead before sunrise.

We sat in the parking lot for a while, listening to the howl of the wind and admiring the stars. As the sky began to lighten up, we started the trek up to the viewpoint. Cars had been gradually filling the parking lot since we arrived, and by the time we started the steep walk to the top, there was a small crowd streaming up along with us in the dark.

There was a hushed excitement bubbling up throughout the procession of people. Happy chatter and nervous laughs echoed in between gusts of wind. When we made it to the summit, the mountain opened up into a spacious, flat clearing—like a table set by Mother Nature, it was perfect for all of us to spread out and find our spot for the show.

The soft light of the rousing sun began to illuminate the clouds. The sprawling mountain range in front of us glowed in gold. Faint shadows of the ocean waves on the horizon began to show themselves. It was beautiful, ineffable. And there was a collective holding-our-breath for what was coming.

Then, the sun finally crested over the horizon and revealed itself.

Applause sprang out from the people standing behind me.

It caught on quickly, and soon people were clapping and cheering all over the summit. People laughed, some probably at themselves, some with sheer joy at what they were seeing. I saw a woman nearby wipe a quiet tear from her eye.

I’d never seen such a thing in my life. A congregation gathered with brimming anticipation for the beauty of creation. A joyous release at the sight of the sun. Jubilation and cheering. Pure awe, collective wonder. It was a holy moment—for an instance it felt like a glimpse of heaven. And I felt so honored to be a part of such a crowd.

Born of Fire

A wildfire broke out in August here, burning long stripes and swaths of the landscape. The scent of the charred earth wafted in the wind every now and then. And on our levada hike, we came across several scenes of the scorched aftermath.

Shiny, blackened tree trunks laying in the dirt. Bare hillsides where lush vegetation used to bloom. Brown splotches of leaves choked by smoke in between the forest of green. All these dead remains of once-vibrant life.

But I realized that this is just part of it. Madeira is a wellspring of colorful flowers, fruit trees and other flora. It’s also the tip of a millenia-old undersea volcano. The island itself is the result of fire and magma churning out of the deep. The soil that births a teeming garden of flora is rich with volcanic ash. And, over time, even the burned places we walked past will recycle into even more fertile ground. From the death there will come abundant life again.

Wonder Passage

Over the past couple of years, God has opened my eyes to the power of wonder as a way of experiencing Him more deeply. And to the tragic lack of wonder with which we tend to live our daily lives.

I see wonder in Jacob’s waking-up at Bethel and declaring “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”

I see wonder in the cave on Sinai where Elijah saw the wind, the earthquake, the fire, and then heard the whisper of God.

I see wonder in the epic monologue that God gives to Job: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!”

And in Job’s humbled response: “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me to know.”

Wonder is a spiritual discipline we can cultivate. It throws open the gates of our hearts and minds, and shows us the greatness of God and His creation. It heals our cynicism and our self-centeredness. It retrieves the childlike curiosity we lost along the way, and makes us come alive again.

This trip to Madeira was the birth of a dream that I and some close friends have been nurturing. The idea that through traveling to experience beauty and wonder in the world could help open our eyes to the beauty and wonder that’s all around us at home. This is the beginning of a new project called “Wonder Passage” through which we’ll be hosting groups to some of the unique and beautiful places on earth. Maybe you’ll join us one day.

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