The São Lourenço headland, comprised of volcanic ochre, red and black rocks, is thankfully out of the reach of property developers due to its status as a nature reserve. Once past the only exception, the artificial village of Quinta do Lorde, you enter an unexpected landscape whose mineral and maritime scenery battered by the wind, is the undisputed kingdom of lizards and petrels. Near Abra Bay, one of the most beautiful paths of Madeira leads to the tip of the headland.