Going home before going away

As some of you might know I'm from Madeira (Portugal). What you might not know is that it's been a couple of years since my last visit. Money is short so when faced between visiting a country I didnt know and going back home I chose adventure, novelty, excitement and the fact that it would take me 2h to get there or just a short train ride. But this December I am going home. I am going to Madeira AND I'm taking some foreigners as well, one Belgian, one Bulgarian, one Turk and two 'Lisboners', ok, so mainland Portugal is not foreign but they will all be tourists on an island that I will perhaps not recognize, perhaps I will be more of a tourist than them while looking for my childhools building and routes. I just hope the food and the mountains are still the same. The rest will be taken care of by my camera. I plan to eat like a savage, trek around the valeys and enjoy the fireworks. Should I get a travel guide or something?