We had booked one of the trips , “Hidden Vistas” and today was the day. We were due to be collected at 8.20. Us and another couple were still waiting at 8.55. Mal went in to ask reception if they had any messages and only then did they tell us that our rep would be late!
Suffice to say that the rep was so good, passionate about Madeira and also her job so she was easily forgiven. Amongst our visits were a trip to Santo da Serra , the fishing village of Canical and Christ the King statue of Garajau. We also went to Machico which used to be the capital before they changed it to Funchal. She told us so much about the island. There was a huge fire in 2016. Up until that time all the rivers were covered with bougainvillea as this one still is, the only left that is!
We never realised how diverse the island is, growing different fruits and vegetables depending on the climate of each area. It really was so interesting and it made us want to come back to Madeira another time to find out more and to see more of the island. 87% of the Flower Festival flowers are imported. As she said, there would be no flowers left in their gardens if they didn’t!
Madeira is treated as the poor relation to Portugal, a little like North Cyprus is to Turkey!
We also watched a plane taking off. One of the couples with us who also arrived on Monday, their pilot had two attempts at landing. This often happens because of the cross winds and also the shortness of the runway, straight into the sea! As our rep said “most planes do a dance before they can land”!
We even managed to see a few whales/dolphins.
We also lit a candle for Torin in one of the churches , all electronic now!
It was a really interesting day. In the evening we had a booking in the Italian restaurant. It was nice considering Mal likes neither pizza nor pasta!
Thought for the Day – “Waking up to see another day is a blessing. Don’t take it for granted. Make it count and be happy that you are alive.”