Madeira -Day 3 Afternoon

A few relaxing hours in Monte (mount).

What a relaxing retreat from the hustle and bustle of Funchal. Even though the quaint town of Monte is still in the city and only a cable cart ride away it is quite different. Full of cobbled streets, hardly any cars, lush gardens. We made our way up by cable cart (bought a return ticket including entrance to Monte Palace tropical gardens: an 18th century Palace with acres of luscious gardens). Cable cart has a 1508 ft evelation. Although quite expensive I think it is worth the money and experience. If you want a cheaper way you can either catch a taxi from the centre of Funchal or buses number 20 and 21 are frequent. Cable car journey will test your nerve if you have vertigo. As soon as we got to Monte we had lunch at the cable car cafe/restaurant, lots to offer there, but if your after something cheap, like we were, then thy do nice filling baguettes. There are more expensive restaurant style places to eat if you fancy something a little more special or sophisticated. Re-energised we took a walk up to the church and its gardens, very hilly and lots of steps. Monte is in a beautiful setting; Jardim municipal is a free garden that anyone can walk through and is by the main square, it is so green and luscious, definitely worth a wonder around. Next on our agenda was a trip to Monte Palace gardens, we spent a few hours wondering around. The gardens were amazing, although just remember if you walk all the way to the very bottom you still have to walk back to the top. Towards the bottom is a little cafe which is where we had our 3rd FREE wine tasting session together with some traditional madeiran honey cake (1euro). It is so peaceful and relaxing here with various species of plants and flowers. It is based on a Japanese theme with ponds and red bridges. Near the Palace itself is is the home to a very scenic large pond with swans, fish, waterfalls and fountains. Perfect spot for impressive photos. Do take you camera as you can take endless snaps. At the top are a couple of small museums one based on an African theme and one based on various rocks/minerals. Learn about the history of Portugal with a walk back in time to the 15-20th century. There are paths devoted to displaying Portuguese history including Portuguese adventures in Japan with an impressive display of ceramic tiles. There is plenty to see and do and explore here. I'd definitely recommend these gardens!

We descended down to Funchal by cable car and had a lovely late afternoon stroll down the harbour. A lovely harbour although not too much to do if you like a lot of entertainment on holiday. An alternative descend (part way) would be to go on the popular toboggan ride which is very popular but also very expensive. Walking and exploring the back streets of Funchal, we caught a real insight into the real atmosphere of a Portuguese citizen. We visited Blandy's Wine Lodge (a famous wine maker and seller in Madeira) and now a popular tourist attraction. It is free to look around the yard and to visit the bar for FREE wine tasting (4th free tasting). Alternatively you can pay to have a tour around the whole property and discover really how this fine Maderian wine is made. We would have done this if we had go there earlier. We will definitely take the tour when we return to this amazing island. We then easily caught the bus back to our quiet hotel resort.

Madeira -Day 3 morning

After a much needed sleep, we made an early start and caught the bus to Funchal. Probably best to catch the bus to Funchal as it is cheap and easy. The road leading down to Funchal can get busy and car parking is more expensive than the bus fair. We weren't too sure where the car parks were so asked the staff in hotel and they said it was much easier just to catch a bus. We arrived in Funchal by 10.30am. Not knowing where to get off the bus,we just followed the majority of tourists on the bus. Our first port of call was the famous Funchal Market. Luckily it was just where we got off the bus. It was here that we discovered many wired and wonderful types of exotic flowers, fruit and veg. There is also wine, leather, meat and a huge fish stall. The market was amazing, it was a true reflection of the madeira tradition and culture. It was here that we had our 2nd FREE wine tasting session (the stalls furthest to the right). The colourful array of bright colours are a fantastic sight. Everywhere we turned we were harassed by stall keepers tempting us to try their delicious fruit and veg. They cut it in front of us in their hands with a sharpe knife as if they had been doing it for years(probably had). After giving into temptation we realised that the stall keepers expect you to buy their products once you've tasted them. We chose self catering in our hotel and so bought some fruit (try the custard apples if your there and the exotic passion fruits in various colours). If you buy from there be careful not to be over charged as I think we were. Go to the stalls that have their prices marked on them! I think sometimes you see tourists and push the price up. Although the fruit was absolutely delicious and well worth trying. Just be prepared to say no or try haggling!If you having a trip to Funchal you must wonder round the hustle and bustle of the farmers market even if its just for the experience and culture lesson. Towards the back of the market on the right there is a shop selling all the wonderful bulbs and seed flowers native to Madeira including the popular and most loved Birds of Paradise. There are more fruit and veg stalls upstairs. At the very back of the market is a huge room devoted to the love of fresh seafood on the island. It is quite a famous fish market and worth the experience of popping your head in. If you don't like fish, you won't like this, but is worth the sight if you can hold your nose. Next stop was to a picturesque little town called Monte (next blog).

Madeira - Day 2

For our first excursion, we made a late morning start up to Pico de Arieiro (1,818m - the 3rd highest peak of Madeira ). It was a gorgeous sunny morning and we were looking forward to the spectacular views of Pico de Arieiro. What is it with the lack of road signs on the island?? Buy yourself a good road map if hiring a car here and be prepared to take a few accidental de tours. Once on the mountain road, we just followed the windy, sometimes narrow road up and up. About half way up there is an obvious vegetation change - it suddenly changes to a sub-tropical climate (jungle like). I wouldn't have been too shocked to have seen monkeys swinging from tree to tree. The further up we drove, the less we could see, we hit really bad fog/mist and rain. (we were in the middle of a cloud). It said that this would happen in the travel books but also said "at the top you will emerge above the cloud to find glorious sunshine and spectacular views." Unfortunately we got to the summit and still couldn't see 1 metre in front of us. I'm sure it would have been magnificent if we weren't emerged in a cloud. A word of advise if you are planning a trip here, leave early morning or late afternoon (to avoid the notorious midday rain)Very disappointed we left and made way North to Santana. Along the way we discovered a very pretty village called Ribeiro Frio by chance. This delightful spot surrounded by woodland is the home to a trout farm. It is free to have a look around. If you pass through here there is a restaurant and a few small shops. There is a levada walk situated at the bottom of the hill opposite the restaurant (on the left as you head down hill. We walked for about 30mins but you can go further if you wish. Even though it was still raining, the views were fab. In fact I think the rain added to the atmosphere. We carried on to Santana and found the traditional A-framed houses. There are a couple of tourist ones that you can pop your head into and take photos. These are worth the trip if you like to explore the culture and traditions of the island. The north of the island and the mountain ranges are the wettest parts of Madeira which is why Madeira has so many levadas (transporting the water from North of the Island down to the South). Levada walks are very popular in Madeira and there are plenty of them, they can offer some fantastic views and interesting walks. Good for exploring Maderias flowers and wildlife.

Day 1

Having survived Easy Jets very first flight to Madeira we were whisked off in a mini bus which took us to autoeurope - hire car company located just outside airport. No problems apart from a queue to collect car and also had our booking under 'Richard' rather than 'Christian'. We then made our way to the supposed 4* Hotel (Hotel Tropical) in Canico de Baxio - More popular with the Germans. A very limiting resort, not much life to it and not many things to see and do. The best way to get around the island is by hire car. If you don't fancy this, there is a bus stop just up the hill which will get you to most places(cheap) and frequently goes to Funchal. There was roughly the same amount of bars/restaurants as the duration of our short holiday (5ish). One restaurant stood out from the rest and was also one of the cheapest. A very peaceful ambient outside setting amongst the luscious plants. It's situated just off the road down the stairs (can't remember what it is called). This was our first experience of FREE Madeira wine.(believe you me there was plenty more to come). There is also a good Italian restaurant (bit more expensive) and a cafe/bar (cheap but good food). You must try the traditional seafood dish - espada (scabbard Fish) with banana; sounds weird but if you like fish, you'll really like this.