MADEIRA - DAY FOUR, THE DOLPHINS.

DAY FOUR

Today was the day of the Dolphins, but first, we wanted to take a look at the famous Funchal market. We got there relatively late, as most of the fish had sold out, but as you can see, there was still a LOT of activity in the fruit and veg side of things. I have never SEEN such a vast array of different fruits and vegetables in one place (maybe I should get out more?).

It makes you wonder how, and if, they manage to sell all the stuff they bring?
This lady certainly looked happy, and was dressed in national costume.

Just by looking, you KNEW these herbs had been picked only hours ago.
How fresh can you GET????

The flowers just blew us away.

And when did you EVER see a choice of spices like this?
Everything was set out so lovingly.

TRY! TRY! TRY! We were accosted all the time to try stuff. They cut these wonderfully tasting fruits and displayed them to try. I think they have a bit of a scam going here though. We tasted, and BOY did they taste good, so I bought ten Euros worth. The ones I bought weren't half as sweet and juicy as the ones on display though. I reckon they add sugar to the ones they've cut. Oh well, I'll know better next time ;-)

Dried chilli peppers - thousands of them

Then we went into the fish section.

These are black Scabbard - a local speciality. They are caught in deep waters off Madeira and are usually served filleted in steaks, or more specially on a skewer, called 'Espadas'.
Find out more here;
http://www.madeiraisland.com/eng/madeira/articles/espada_fish/

They are also VERY big on eating limpets, which they call 'lavas'.

I've never tried them, and still haven't.

Octopus have a big presence too.

And what a beautiful tray of colourful fish.
I can almost smell them cooking on the barbie!

Fancy a small Tuna fish steak anyone?

Now - have I got enough for a McDonalds at lunchtime?

After we'd seen all the market, we went to the offices of the Dolphin trip.
We were shepherded to a rib, and set off on our ride.

We had a lovely day for it too.
We sped across the calm sea for about 45 minutes to where they said we'd see Dolphins.

Sure enough, they made an appearance.
The shout went up, as everyone was SO excited to see the fins break the surface of the water!

They came RIGHT beside the rib, we could almost touch them. They do allow you to swim with them, if conditions are right (for an extra 20 Euros, of course), but today this school had many young, so no-one was allowed to swim with them.

Oh, now he's just showing off!

We also were lucky to see a basking turtle.

The views back to the island alone were worth the trip.

After seeing the Dolphins, the skipper decided it was fun time. He drove the rib at the cliff face at high speed, swerving away sharply at the last minute, with all the girls squealing with delight. He also stopped the rib whenever he saw anyone taking a photo. All in all, he was a really good guide.
This is the sumptuous Reids Palace hotel - probably THE premier hotel in Madeira, with a prime cliff top position to echo that fact.

The boat then picked up speed again, bouncing over the waves and roaring.
As you can see, it really upset Sue & I.

When we got back to Funchal, we just relaxed in a promenade bar.
Sorry this picture is a bit over-exposed, but the sun was cracking the pavements!

How lovely is this? We walked this so many times during our stay.
I miss it, and want to go back as soon as possible (not another two years, I hope).

These flowers - wherever you look, wonderful colours and blooms.

Looking down on the island fountains.

This is where you have to stand for the 'people cam'.
http://www.madeira-web.com/camera/cam-09.html
We stood there (as a few of you know) for about half an hour one evening, but it had a malfunction - that's known as 'sods law'.

Another fountain on the prom'.

And I love this statue too.
Beats the Cloughie one in the middle of Nottingham!

And what about this one eh?

Hibiscus

Young love blossoms too, and what better setting than Madeira?

This really WAS an enigma - such a fantastic place - almost in RUINS!!!
It had certainly been a LONG time since anyone has given it any TLC.

This was once a very grand courtyard, with this elegant fountain as the centrepiece.
Now, dry and dirty.

Looking north over Funchal in the evening sun.
(SIGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!)

In the old town, there are numerous cafes that open during the day, but the evenings are when they REALLY seek their business.
We were accosted at each one, but in a nice way. Each had a person outside, usually amusing in some way, trying their hardest to lure you in to eat. They all served virtually the same fare, but each insisted theirs was the best.
We ate at three of them over the week, and really enjoyed it.

Hmmm, seen anything you fancy Susie?

These flowers were just to the left of the menu Sue was reading.

And these too.

Not all of Funchal is pretty, some parts are VERY run down.
This is a side street just off the main drag.

The fountains looked even more delightful in the evening light.

As the light faded, we began the walk back to the hotel. This park was a favourite of ours.
Funchal has a very 'safe' feel about it. We often wandered about in the late evening, and we never saw anything to worry or threaten us. We saw lots of women walking around on their own too, so they obviously felt the same way

Fabulous!

We arrived back, and opened the curtains on the spectacular view.
Is it any wonder we were SO happy with the place?

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MADEIRA - DAY TWO, THE SLEDGE RIDE

DAY TWO

THE SLEDGE RIDE

Now we'd had a look around, sussed the place out (a bit), and set out a sort of itinerary. Lots of big towns, especially tourist ones, have those tour buses. They are usually very good value, and show you the very best bits, so I like to take one early on in any holiday. The one in Funchal is, like Barcelona, actually two! One does the inner city highlights, and the other goes further afield. You pay one price, and can hop off and on either bus all day. So, we bought our tickets on day one, and got ready to do the trips on day two.

Here's the position of our hotel room, one of the best positions, I'd say.

Thanks to Alison travel in Bakewell for sorting it for us :-)

First though, a walk down to the pool. Looks lovely in the morning, and so quiet!
We then took a stroll downtown. We really got to love the prom' walk.
This morning, a big Norwegian cruise ship was coming in.
Next it was back on the cable car. It costs 10 Euros each for a one-way trip (15 each for return). Although we'd 'done' it the day before, it was a lovely ride, and also the quickest way to get to where we wanted to go to.
Sue looks worried about something, don't you think?

A street entertainer.

Was THIS what Sue was worried about???
(Well, it's a MUST DO when in Madeira)

It's a bit 'hairy', but LOADS of fun! The reason we didn't do it yesterday was we were told to do the trip early on, before the sledge pullers were tired, and had had a few beers!

HANG ON!

You can see the wax marks from the runners of the sledge on the road. The sledges reach quite fast speeds on some of the hills. As usual, a photo doesn't show just how steep these 'roads' are. Believe me, in some places they really are very steep.

After the ride ended, we decided to walk the rest of the way down to Funchal town. You could get a taxi, but then you'd miss all the views and photo's. This bridge before the tunnels looks lovely and very aesthetically pleasing.

In this sub-tropical climate, bananas grow anywhere and everywhere. The banana plant takes about nine months to fruit, then it won't produce again unless it's cut back severely. This leads to local women, who only have one child, being called 'banana trees'.

The way to differentiate between new and old building is defined by little clay sculptures on the edges of the roofs. Birds means it's a new build, I think gargoyles meant it was old.

Where else would you see a sea of flowers like this in a city centre?
The smell was WONDERFUL, especially in the evenings.
Under the flowers is a river. They cover it with netting for the flowers to grow on.

A glimpse of snow on the mountains. Lots of Funchal people, as far up to the age of 30, have never seen snow close up, only like this on the mountains. Because of this, they have a custom where anyone who drives up into the mountains when there is snow, builds a snowman, and puts in on a blanket on the bonnet of their car, and drives back down to the city with it so the people can see and touch it.

Next it was tour bus time. Just LOOK at these lovely Funchal back streets.
There were fountains and statues everywhere, not to mention lovely trees.

There were also a fair amount of run-down and dilapidated buildings like this one. We asked, with land especially on the front where this place was, so expensive and at such a premium, why were there places like this? We were told that if someone owns a building, sometimes they go away and leave it to rot. But, when they return, building reg's allow them to knock it down and re-build a nice new one in its place. This can be VERY lucrative. Also, if they've made money abroad, then come back, they can replace a shack with a fabulous new building (complete with doves on the roof). That's why, we were told, you see so many shacks and beautiful houses side by side.

As the bus climbed, we got a great view of the harbour.

The sprawl of Funchal.

Another really good statue, and one of my favourites.

After the first tour, we hopped off the bus and went back to the hotel for some lunch on the patio.

Then it was on to tour bus two for a trip to Winston Churchills favourite place, the fishing village of Camera de Lobos, with its incredibly high sea cliffs.
On the way, we passed this, my LEAST favourite statue. It's supposed to be an angel, but most locals hate it, saying it looks like someone who has hung themselves, and brings bad luck. I have to say, I agree with them.

We then reached Camera de Lobos, and first view showed us why 'Winnie' liked it so much!

The land is heavily terraced here, like most of Madeira, for full utilisation of crops.

A strange sight - a fishing boat full of fish skins drying in the sun and breeze.

Where were the fishermen? Here, playing cards.

Some of the local lads were enjoying the sea on this lovely, sunny day.

Again, money from the E.U. had been used in this place. This was a lovely sculpture of boats on a sea. There were a few more, one was a huge marble table with a plate and bowl on it. I like this one, but thought the table thing was a bit pointless.

The impressive and breathtaking sea cliffs of Cabo Girao, Camera de Lobos.
See what one guy did here; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35F2roxAI7A&feature=related

Come on then - where's the beer?

After the trip, we decided to go to the swishest hotel in Madeira, Reids in Funchal. Everyone said you MUST take afternoon tea, just for the experience. A few finger sandwiches, a fairy cake or two, and a pot of tea - TWENTY EIGHT EUROS!!!! (each). We passed on that, but it was nice to listen to the pianist........

.....and the flower arrangements were nice too!

Looks almost plastic, doesn't it, but these are real, and grow in abundance on the island.

Right Susie, time for our evening swim, in you get.

And what nicer way to unwind and relax than a warm Jacuzzi?

And, of course, a nice glass of wine on the patio - CHEERS!

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