Ruth and I finally got away for a little sunshine in the first week in November. We only booked a few weeks in advance, and we got ourselves a good deal on a holiday in Madeira.
Famed for it's fortified wine and cake (the latter an english invention), Maderia is located about 600km off the coast of Africa, a little north of the Canaries. Madeira has few beaches, and therefore tends to attract a more mature visitor than the canaries do, and is a year round destination for relaxation, sightseeing, fishing and SUNSHINE!
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We chose to ease into our holiday with a cruise aboard a replica of Santa Maria (Christopher Columbus' ship).
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This picture of the Hotel District of Funchal has the Belosol Aparthotel (our refuge for the week) highlighted.
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Ahh, good old fashioned rigging. Ruth couldn't be talked into a climb to the crows nest though!
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These cliffs at Cabo Girau are 580m high, the second highest in the world.
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The vertical line on the cliff in this picture is a lift mechanism - a tiny cabin carries tourists and farmers from the top to the orchards at the bottom.
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More rigging - this one Ruth's handiwork! Look how blue the sky is!
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Me!
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On the way back to Funchal, we had the opportunity to swim off the side of the boat! Very refreshing!
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If you look carefully at this picture you can see a series of green pylons up the mountainside - this is the Cable Car from Funchal up to Monte
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Ruth and the Santa Maria.
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View from the top of a rocky outcrop near the harbour, right across the centre of Funchal. Ruth and the Santa Maria grace the foreground.
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Lunch after our cruise, and Ruth checks out our "Rough Guide" to Madiera. Invaluable book that!
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The swimming pool at the hotel is not very warm apparently!
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Ruth in the cable car up to Monte - not nearly as scary as we feared it would be!
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Me in the cable-car, with a freighter waiting to enter the busy port of Funchal visible in the background!
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Due to it's mountainous nature Madeiras roads need many spectacular bridges like this one. More bridges and tunnels are in construction right now as part of a vast program to improve infrastructure.
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A rather nice hotel in Monte were we stopped for some much-needed lunch.
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The traditional way to descend from Monte to Funchal is by toboggan - a wicker basket with wooden runners.
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Two blokes pull and push the toboggan to get it started, ensure it corners correctly, and brake (using special shoes!) at the bottom.
Ruth and I opted for a more leisurely descent by cable car however!
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A light refreshment for me in Funchal to recover from the cable car.
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And one for Ruth.
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Dinner at the "Moby Dick", an excellent Restaurant which is unpromisingly located in the dingy courtyard of a block of flats! We only found it thanks to a review in the Rough Guide - brilliant food , we went twice!
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A good meal should always be followed up - on this occasion with a "Madeira Sunshine" cocktail for me...
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...and a "Madeira Superstar" for Ruth!
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For two days in the middle of our holiday we hired a car to get us out of Funchal...
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...and enjoy some of the islands spectacular scenery.
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Having seen Cabo Girao from the sea, now we're looking straight down 580m!
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The small speck in the sea towards the top of the picture is the Santa Maria - the ship we were on two days earlier.
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We were almost in the clouds at the viewpoint, with more cloud forming around us as we watched.
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Ruth and I.
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On leaving Cabo Girao we drove round the coast to Ponta de Pargo, the most westerly point of the island.
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Behind Ruth, the next landmass is America!
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Ruth practising for her new job as a "Max Power" cover girl!
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More cliffs at Ponto de Pargo.
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And the view to the North - towards Porto Moniz...
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...site of a well-known lido (sea filled swimming pool). The tide was in and the sea was rough though, so we didn't swim!
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Volcanic rocks on the north coast ar Porto Moniz...
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...accessible by this very windy road!
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Guys, paint your fishing boats something other than blue and they'll be a little more visible at sea!
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The village of Ribeira da Janela, perched to the east of Porto Moniz.
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View up the valley at San Vicente...
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...and the peacock that tried to steal our ice-creams as we enjoyed it!
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The caverns at San Vicente are actually Lava pipes...
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...a relic of the islands volcanic history.
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Having driven round the west side of the island, we headed back across the mountainous interior to Funchal as the sun set.
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This windfarm is on a plateau 1500m above sea level!
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At this height, the sea of clouds lies below...
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...looking for all the world like surf on a rocky coast.
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The landscape up here is barren, almost martian. Ruth hurries back to the car to get out of the wind!
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Having dined well at "The Grannys House" (Rough guide recommended in spite of the name) a little dessert is in order...
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mmmmmmmm!
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The next morning sees us at Pico do Arieiro, 1818m above sea level and the second highest point on the island.
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I suppose it's 1819m if you count the marker at the top!
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This is a panorama over about 180 degrees (scroll across to see more) from Pico de Arieiro. Spectacular.
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About a kilometer below, we strolled along the levada (drainage channels popular with walkers) at Ribeiro Frio to a viewpoint called the Balcoes.
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The view was spectacular, but even as we watched some cloud rolled into the valley obscuring most of it.
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After our walk, we headed down to Santana on the north coast for a little lunch.
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Santana is famed for its traditional A-shaped thatched houses.
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The view towards Porto Moniz from Ponta de Sao Jorge...
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...and the view towards the lighthouse.
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Back at Santana a cable car plummets to a little settlement.
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After a walk at the easterly point of the island during which I fell and discovered lava is quite hard, a bottle of BSE was required with dinner!
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We ate aboard the Vagrant, a yacht (now concreted in) formerly owned by the Beatles...
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...and now a tastefully illuminated fixture on the Funchal seafront.
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Ruth on the sea wall...
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...yeah, that's right, look cheery!
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Eastern Funchal by night.
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Water features in the Parque Santa Caterina in Funchal...
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...followed by cocktails at the Mira Mar hotel.
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A morning game of pool which I was determined not to lose preceeded a trip to...
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...the lido in Funchal. It was beautifully bright but rather breezy!
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Normally you can swim in the sea here, but the windy was strong and the sea was rough so the red flag was up...
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...and the sea kept coming into the pool anyway!
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View over the lido, as a small fishing boat fights its way back to Funchal with its catch.
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We couldn't resist dropping in to Reids Palace, Funchals best hotel, for a cocktail. This place is ranked 4th in the Telegraphs list of the worlds best hotels! Very suave!
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Cruise ships often visit Funchal, and here the QE2, and the Crystal Symphony are berthed. The beach is quite muddy, and the waves stir up the mud discolouring the water in places...
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Narrow, steeply inclined streets in Funchal...
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...lead up to the Brittish Cemetry, a haven of calm overlooked by the Fortaleza do Pico.
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The view from the fort is worth the climb though...
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... but you have to show ID to get in as it's still used by the portugese millitary (hence the flag)!
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The view north from the fort.
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Here you can just make out the Santa Maria (left of center) dwarfed by the QE2!
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Blandy's wine lodge in Funchal will let you sample any vintage Madiera up to 15 years old for free. Here I'm waiting to buy some to bring home!
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Ruth holding our place in the queue to check in for the flight home.
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A delay in our flight let us enjoy a little more sunshine before...
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...our inevitable departure after the best holiday ever!
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