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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Lose Hill, Castleton skyline, Winnat's pass, The Buttresses, Snow, snow, QUICK QUICK - SNOW!

.....or; 'slow, slow, sat nav, slow'!

Our first day off in THREE WEEKS! We had worked hard, and we deserved it. It dawned (for a change) JUST how the weather men said - cold, sharp and clear - PERFECT for walking. There was a sprinkling of snow on the high ground, so I decided we'd do the Castleton skyline walk.

Sue had been given a new sat' nav for Christmas, so we turned it on. ( http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nWFj3fPLx8I ). We knew the way, but just wanted to see which way it would go. A big surprise was; 'at the end of the road - turn LEFT'????? We ALWAYS turned right, but we let her have her head, and followed the instructions.
I wish someone had told her that it had been snowing;

I soldiered on, but it WAS very dicey! It's probably a great way to Castleton in good weather, but I think I'd give it a miss on the way home, and go via major roads.

The views across the fields gave us a taste of what was to come. The skies were clear, pristine and bright
We soon arrived in Castleton, found somewhere to park, and set off.
To say it was cold was an understatement. Sue didn't start to feel her feet for about an hour, and it hurt my teeth to breathe, but that was all just small asides - what mattered were the SUPERB conditions.
A quick look left, and there was Mam Tor - the 'shivering mountain'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mam_Tor

We saw this young Shire horse in the frost and snow.

The sun, as it rose, came through the trees with a magical light. The fields had that frosty mist on them, the one where you KNOW it's damn cold just by looking at it.

We walked along the road to Lose hill hall, and set off on the climb to Lose hill.
This track doesn't look steep in the picture, but believe me - it WAS!

A glance back to the Hope valley revealed the only carbuncle in the area - the Hope cement works.

Ah well, just keep looking forward then, there were PLENTY of great views today.

I had been given a snowman hat for Christmas, so I thought I'd give it an outing.

It seemed like ages since I'd heard the 'creak' of fresh snow underfoot. Today I was reminded just how much I love that sound. Every footstep brought pleasure!

Looking right, we could see the tip of the Derwent edges.

But it was time to press on for the top. Sue is just about there in this picture.........

....and her reward was this spectacular view along the ridge to Mam tor (left), with Rushup edge beyond, and Brown Knoll to the far right.

Not many people about today, but I managed to get two walkers in this pic with us!

The Edale valley, and the southern edge of Kinder Scout. We thought there'd be even more snow up there, but as you can see, not much more than where we were.

We set off, with huge smiles on our faces, towards lunch at Mam Tor. I had packed my favourite canned soup - Heinz tomato - JUST the thing, with a hunk of fresh bread, to warm the cockles of your heart on a day like today.

Deep and crisp and even.

The shivering face of Mam tor, from Back tor.

Looking back to Back tor.

The old, collapsed road was a sliver of silver with the coating of snow.

This picture of the sky tells it all, what a GREAT day to be out.

We eventually reached the top of Mam tor. The sun was now beginning to get lower, and the final hundred feet or so we walked in shadow. NOW you could feel the biting cold eating into even the warmest of clothing.
(We still had another layer though, just in case it got any worse)

Someone, the Peak Park, I imagine, had added six icons, or pictures, depicting events on Mam tor.

Again, the Sparrowpit road, like the old road, was picked out in the snow, snaking across the moors.

Our next destination - the gorge of Winnats pass.
When the old road collapsed the last time, the road up this pass was improved to take the increase in traffic, and the old road was abandoned.

Come on Sue - get the snow shoes on!

Looking back to the face of Mam tor in the lengthening evening shadows.

A solitary vapour trail over Winnats pass.

The road, as it snakes down the pass.
These limestone cliffs make for a really impressive walk at any time of year, but when there's snow, it's probably at its best.

You just have to be careful, and watch where you put your feet.

SUE!! I said CAREFUL!

Oh, now she's just plain showing off!

Towards the end of the walk, and this is cave dale.

Soon, we were surrounded by the smoking chimneys of Castleton, and back at the car.
The light was fading, and the sky was turning pink in the evening glow of the sunset.

It had been a super day, and when we woke the next morning, it was drab and wet, so we felt even better that we had 'stolen' another good day to walk.

We felt it was well deserved!

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